Wake Forest vs. Pitt - Postgame Quotes
2/22/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Wake Forest Head Coach Danny Manning
Opening statement…
"Pittsburgh came out and punched us in the mouth. They made plays and shots. We had opportunities that we weren't able to convert and we turned the ball over. You have to give Pitt credit - they made those things happen. We came out of halftime and the guys regrouped. I thought the effort on the defensive end was the best that we've played all year for a half. We really locked in. The guys were focused, determined and had a great sense of urgency. We guarded and rebounded the ball well, which gave us a chance to get back into the ball game. Offensively, we had some things go well for us. We started making shots and getting good looks. We had some guys step up and knock down big plays. We're happy and proud of the effort the guys put forth to come back from 19 down to win the ball game. For a while we did not have a lot going except the guys' determination."
On the team's offense…
"Offense is not our problem. As far as offensive efficiency, we rank pretty high. Defensively, tonight, is what got us the win. Offensively, shots are going to come and go. You're going to make some and miss some. We can hang our hat on that type of defensive execution."
On the defensive stand…
"The guys just continued to lock in defensively and take pride in making multiple stops in a row. It was a great, grinded-out win for us."
On being a young team…
"We've been a young team, it's not a secret. These guys have fought. We have been on the losing end of a lot of games similar to this. There's not been one ounce of quit in any of these guys. They come to practice every day with a great mindset: willing to work and get better. Tonight was a game we were able to enjoy because we did it when we didn't have our best offense. We had multiple guys make contributions. We just scrapped and found a way."
Pitt Head Coach Kevin Stallings
Opening statement...
"We're bitterly disappointed to have lost this game. It was a game that we felt like we should've won. It's not the first time this year that we get a little tight in the second half and don't shoot it well. We got into some bad lineup spots when [Michael Young] got into foul trouble. We didn't play well enough offensively. We needed to keep them at bay. It's very disappointing. We were in a position to win. We should've won, and we didn't."
On if the team was pressing with Michael Young on the bench in foul trouble...
"It's not so much pressing. We're not nearly as good of an offensive team when you take 20 points off the floor. We committed some silly fouls. We put ourselves in a box. We don't have the kind of team that can absorb a 20-point guy on the bench for 13 minutes in the second half."
On if Wake Forest did anything differently in the second half...
"Not really. We had to go small when [Michael Young] went out of the game and [Wake Forest] adjusted down when John Collins had four fouls and we thought that would be to our advantage. You're not going to win on the road shooting 30 percent. It's amazing that our defense even gave us a chance to win the game shooting 30 percent for the game."
Wake Forest Forward John Collins
On his favorite moment tonight...
"I don't know if I have a favorite because they're all instrumental to the win, but I would say the one that is going to be most forgotten is Austin's block. Austin rarely gets blocks, but for him to come and get a big time block at the end of the game was amazing.
On his defensive performance...
"In the first half, it was obvious that Young was getting the best of me. He has a great skill set, 17 points in the half, and I kind of took it personally. The second half, I manned up and played some defense to help my team out."
Wake Forest Guard Brandon Childress
On tonight's defensive performance...
"It was one of our best defensive performances of the year. We were down 19 tonight, as we were against Carolina when we came up short, but we were in the same situation and we got over the hump."
On finding a way to win...
"We got through adversity. We shot 3-for-15 (from long distance), usually we hit more than three 3-pointers. It was a surprise for me to see. We had to get over ourselves and find a way to victory, we had to place trust in one another and find a way to win."
Wake Forest Guard Bryant Crawford
On emotions during tonight's performance...
"It may have looked fun, but we were losing. Losing isn't fun. We had to step it up on defense and we did."
On recognizing the victory...
"I knew it was over when they tried to throw a little lob play and turned it over to Brandon, who got fouled and knocked down both of his free throws."
