Postgame Quotes: Wake Forest vs. UNCG
11/24/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeMBB)
Wake Forest Head Coach Danny Manning
Opening Statement...
"Today's game, especially in the second half, was a shooting contest. We both would like to do a little better job on the defensive end. They're a very talented team. Francis Alonso's a terrific player. We knew going into the game that he was a terrific shooter and he got loose for 10 threes and made seven. A couple of them were really good defense, just a better shot, but a couple we didn't execute the way we needed to. They're a very talented team and we're fortunate to come away with a win. Doral Moore was really good for us: 6-of-6 from the floor and he made some big free throws for us down the stretch. We need to get him more touches. He's shooting an extremely high field goal percentage right now and we certainly have to take advantage of that. We had a lot of guys down the stretch of the game who stepped to the free throw line and knocked down some big free throws for us. We ended up winning the rebounding battle, but for a while there, we were in bad shape. James Dickey came in early in the game and got four early offensive rebounds because he's so active and plays with great energy. It's a step in the right direction for us, but we must continue to get better."
On practices leading up to the game...
"It's a step in the right direction. From here, we just have to continue to keep the trajectory going up. That's the goal every day, whether it's practice, game or drill-to-drill. We'll certainly try to maintain that mentality once we step back on the practice court."
On UNCG...
"They're really, really good. Last year we played them and we beat them on a buzzer-beater. They had us on the ropes there. They run really good offense. They have three guys that are shooting the ball at a really high clip. Coming off the bench you have Malik Massey, who's shooting it well too. The other guards play their roles well in terms of getting into the paint and creating havoc defensively. Jordy Kuiper came out and hit three threes on us to start the game. We didn't get out to him in time, but we made some adjustments and went small late in the game so we wouldn't give up pick-and-pop opportunities. This is a really talented team and I think they're going to be a force to be reckoned with in their conference.
On the pace of the game...
"They came out with some soft pressure. By the time we got the ball over half court, we were looking at 20 seconds on the shot clock. At that point, we wanted to make sure we executed and got a good shot."
UNCG Head Coach Wes Miller
On Francis Alonso's strong performance...
"Francis has really worked this offseason to turn himself into more of a complete player. Not just a guy that's going to come off a screen and shoot the ball. I think he's a tougher cover now because he can do so much with the ball in his hands. We don't play him at point guard much, but he's kind of like a point guard on the floor. Then you add his ability to come off screens and knock them down. I thought he did a nice job of creating opportunities. I thought our team did a nice job of executing some plays to get him clean looks when they were trying to take him away. Obviously, he had a terrific performance shooting the ball tonight."
On Wake Forest's 3-point shooting...
"We missed a couple of defensive assignments, especially in the second half. I thought we did a good job of guarding the three in the first half. They only had three makes in the first half. In the second half, we had some defensive errors. One time, Demetrius Troy leaves the corner late in the shot clock and we give up a three. We tagged the wrong guy on the weak side and gave up a three. We didn't communicate well enough on the backside. We made some errors, but you also have to give them credit for knocking down some big shots. I thought the shot Keyshawn Woods hit in the last couple minutes with two seconds on the shot clock was big. It was pretty deep behind the line. Bryant Crawford made a three to beat us at the buzzer last year, so we're used to Wake Forest making big time threes on us at the end of games and it was no different tonight."
On pushing Wake Forest deep into the shot clock...
"I think our three-quarter court pressure can slow you down, depending how you want to attack it. I thought they tried to attack it pretty deliberately and that led to longer possessions."
