Postgame Quotes: Wake Forest vs. Boston College
1/3/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Wake Forest Head Coach Danny Manning
Opening statement…
"I thought the game tonight was an interesting game from our perspective. Being down at halftime and not having a lot going, we were able to come out in the second half and grind one out. I thought we did some pretty good things on the defensive end, according to the numbers. We have to go back and watch tape. I know some of the players on Boston College missed some shots they normally make. I thought we did a good job of contesting shots and rebounding the basketball. We had some guys that had some off nights offensively. We had some other guys that gave us some good contributions. We had really good shot balance, but I wish we could have moved the ball just a bit more."
On offense…
"Our offense doesn't change. We want to play inside-out. We want to throw the ball inside. We were able to do that. I thought our post guys did a good job with having some patience. We got sped up a couple of times, but I thought they did a good job of having a presence."
On the upcoming schedule…
"For us we have to use this as momentum. We have to get better from this."
On improving over the past two years…
"We're a better shooting team than the past two years. We're not going to make all of our shots, but we have enough guys that are threats from the perimeter. Other teams have to go out there and respect that. That's going to open up interior passes. For us being able to make a shot from time to time is going to help us out. The guys are into it for the right reasons, they play hard, they play together, and they like each other. We feel that is going to take us a long way.
Wake Forest sophomore forward John Collins
On the tough stretch ahead...
"I think coach told us that we have the fifth-toughest schedule in the country coming into conference play. Even last year, when we didn't have as good of a season, we still had an extremely tough schedule. We're used to tough schedules, and I think we've shown that we can play with anybody in the country. It's just a matter of us finishing out games, so I think we've got to be solid, show some poise and composure, and finish out these games. It's the ACC, it's expected that we're going to have a tough stretch - every stretch is tough, regardless of who you're playing, so we'll be prepared."
On getting opposing posts in foul trouble...
"I go through the same thing with foul trouble. I did a good job today of posting, and posting hard, forcing them to fight around. [Mo Jeffers] fouled out and [Nik Popovic] got the tech...Coach always puts an emphasis on Dinos and I to post, post, post, and force post fouls so we can get in the bonus and knock down free throws late in the game, which we did today. I think Dinos and I did a great job just posting and getting the bigs in foul trouble."
Wake Forest junior forward Konstantinos Mitoglou
On the approach heading into tonight's game...
"We expected that win and we wanted that win so badly. We've prepared the last couple days after the Clemson game to finish strong. Our mindset was to get this win. Now, tough games are coming - the ACC is always tough. We've got to be ready, and we got confidence from this win."
Wake Forest graduate forward Austin Arians
On the difference compared to the last two games...
"I think the emphasis on defense, definitely. There've been a couple games more recently, for example with around seven minutes left against Florida State, we just had that lapse for around two or three minutes and that killed us. I definitely think when we got that lead and we got it up to around 10, we huddled up after each possession and said, 'keep getting stops.' Stops were what was going to win us that game, it wasn't going to be the offense."
On recovering from Saturday's off game...
"It was definitely nice to bounce back. Coach Ballard pulled me aside and told me not to let that game change me, stay aggressive, stay myself. It's definitely nice having those guys have my back when you do have a down game."
Boston College Head Coach Jim Christian
On offense in both halves…
"In the first half I thought we had some really good looks from good shooters, and we just couldn't make any. In the second half I thought we settled for threes and stopped attacking the basket. Our team can't win on the road and shoot that percentage from three."
On the loss…
"It's our first road game. It's a lot of guy's first time on the road. Maybe that had something to do with it, but hopefully we'll improve that."
On offensive struggles…
"We executed pretty well from the beginning of the game. Some nights you just don't make shots, and I'll try not to make too much of it."
