Postgame Quotes
2/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Wake Forest Head Coach Danny Manning
Opening Statement...
"I thought in the first half we came out and did a pretty decent job of guarding Notre Dame. Offensively, we had good ball movement and got some shots that we wanted. In the second half they came out and shot a much higher percentage and we have to do a much better job of guarding. I thought for a while their (Demetrius) Jackson took over the ball game. He was scoreless at half and then he came in the second half and he got all of his points in the second half. I thought he had a big impact on the ball game. Notre Dame is a very talented team; they shoot the ball very well. It's a team for us that we can learn from because they continue to stay disciplined in their offensive sets."
On missed opportunities...
"We had good looks and we didn't make a lot of them. We went after offensive rebounds really well; we had 18. We turned the ball over two, three, or four times when getting the offensive rebound while trying to power it back up. They did a good job of walling up and being tall. We probably should have just passed it out and gotten into some type of offense, but we didn't do that. The effort on the offensive glass was good. We just have to come away with more points than we did with 18 offensive rebounds."
On John Collins and Doral Moore…
"We're excited about those guys. We think they are going to be really good players for us for the duration of their careers. John got his taste of starting today and he came out and had a really good game. He had 16 points, six rebounds, and shot 50 percent from the floor. Doral came in off the bench and was good for 13 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks. We're excited about those guys. They did all this in a total of 40 minutes."
Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey
Opening statement…
"I'm really proud of our group because I thought for us to win, we had to defend. To hold them to 58 points, 38 percent (shooting), that's one of our better defensive efforts. That's an area we must continue to work on and improve on for March. I love how we played in the second half, especially our two main guys who kind of willed us to win. (Demetrius) Jackson and (Zach) Auguste were flat out fabulous."
On bouncing back after losses…
"You remember, to start that streak (of not losing back-to-back games), the loss that started it was the loss to Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament. We got our butts kicked and we were 15-17 and we were searching. It's really pretty powerful. You've been able to bounce back 13 times in the last two seasons. It's really powerful. We kind of like Tobacco Road, quite frankly."
On adjusting to Wake Forest's zone defense…
"The zone defense got us a little bit in the first half. In the second half, I thought we did a better job with it. We drove it more. (Demetrius) Jackson drove it; (Steve) Vasturia drove it. We ball screened it more. I thought we settled for jump shots in the first half."
Wake Forest Sophomore Guard Mitchell Wilbekin
On the loss...
"We did pretty good tonight. We still have a lot to improve. We've got to play smarter and not take plays off defensively and crashing the boards. It is a positive that we're still really young and our freshmen and sophomores are getting a lot of experience. I think that will help us next year."
On taking the ball to the rim more...
"I don't want to force anything, but this year I've definitely tried to get in there more. I still could probably do a little bit more. That's what I've got to work on. I'll work in the offseason on getting stronger and learning how to finish through contact."
Wake Forest Freshman Forward John Collins
On closing out games...
"We've had a problem closing out games, so it's a familiar feeling. Obviously, it's something we want to get better at."
On not converting offensive rebounds into points...
"We're definitely a little bit disappointed that we couldn't convert more of those 18 offensive rebounds. It's a great number. We wish we could convert more, but we're happy that the effort is there. If you keep getting 18 offensive rebounds a game, you're going to convert eventually. I'm just happy that the effort is there."
On the late-game scoring drought...
"I think we got a little bit frazzled. That's really it. I think we've got to do a better of calming down and trusting the offense. It's a young team out there. I think the only real upperclassmen was CM (Codi Miller-McIntyre), so we're still young. It will come with time. Nothing really to worry about."
Wake Forest Freshman Center Doral Moore
On improving as a team...
"It's the little things. Today, our shooters weren't making shots, so we should have drove it more to draw more fouls. Coach (Danny Manning) said we shot 19 threes today. If we cut that down, I think we've got a better chance to win. That's pretty much it. We played good defense. We had good stretches. Offensively, we know what coach is telling us. We tried to freestyle a little bit too much today and you see what it gets us."
On getting more comfortable with more playing time...
"Especially for a young freshman, all of those reps are needed so I can learn from the turnovers and the missed rebounds--the little mistakes. It's all a process."
On going against Notre Dame's Zach Auguste...
"He has unlimited energy. He comes at you every single time, so I just need to stay down and wall up, but I didn't do that a couple times. I need to correct my mistakes, but I look forward to the next game."
