Postgame Quotes
11/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Wake Forest Head Coach Danny Manning
Opening Statement...
"UNC Pembroke played a really good ball game. They came out and they took it to us in the first half. They sped us up and we turned the ball over far too many times, but they play with great effort and energy. Ben [Miller] had them ready to go. I can certainly see how they beat UAB in their exhibition game last year. I think for us in the second half, we came out and we played better. Devin Thomas was a key to the game—he got a double-double for us. We have to get better across the board."
On limiting turnovers in the second half...
"We started throwing the ball to the same colored jerseys. We were careless with the basketball. We have to do a much better job with taking care of the basketball. Like I said, I want to give them all the credit in the world, because they came out and dictated tempo and they made things happen, but for us to give up 48 points off of turnovers and second chances, we're not going to be that successful this season if that continues—and that won't continue."
UNC Pembroke Head Coach Ben Miller
On Wake Forest's play in the second half...
"I was really impressed with the adjustments that Wake Forest made at halftime and how they improved their defense in the second half. They are really good on defense and offensively they will continue to grow, especially when they get Codi Miller-McIntyre back."
On the Demon Deacons going forward...
"They are going to be very hard to play against and they are a team that's going to continue to get better and better. They have a tremendous staff with Danny Manning as head coach. He's going to build a great program and we saw in the second half what they are capable of."
Wake Forest Senior Forward Devin Thomas
On providing leadership and stability for the young players…
"I'm just doing my role. Everyone makes mistakes their first game. But luckily it's an exhibition game, so none of those turnovers count until next Friday."
On the contrast between the first half and the second half…
"It was hard for us to get back in the first half, but luckily we had a little run at the end. We had a little juice to go into the second half and we took off from there. We were being more efficient than in the first half and we took advantage of opportunities on the fast break."
Wake Forest Freshman Guard Bryant Crawford
On his contribution to the game…
"I definitely picked up the energy on defense and made their guards a little uncomfortable. I just found my teammates that were open and that would make big plays. I just had to find a way other than scoring to impact the game."
On areas in which he can improve…
"I've been doing pretty well in practice keeping my turnovers down. The coaches have kept me to a limit and I've been doing pretty well with that, but today when I got in the game I made too many turnovers. Cutting down on a few of those turnovers could help the team out a lot."
On being able to make the small plays… i>
"It's kind of hard coming from high school and making a lot of homerun plays and things like that. But I'm in college now, so I've got to make the small plays. I've just got to be smart and take care of the ball."
