Post Game Quotes
2/25/2020 10:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Opening statement...
"Congratulations to Danny and his team they've hung in there. They outplayed us, we were fortunate to be tied at halftime. They really came and outplayed us in the half. Justin Robinson saved us or else we should have been down 10-15 points. Second half we played defense and we didn't foul and we got a 10-12 point lead. We started fouling again and that got them into single digits."
At the end of regulation turnovers...
"The last minute we just gave the ball up. There's no excuse for those two turnovers we had. You got to be strong with the ball. They took advantage and Brandon who'd has just been a stud for them for four years, hit a big time shot. We should've been stronger with the ball."
On fouls…
"I'm angry with us for fouling so much. They had 18 free throws in the first half. We fouled, i'm not blaming the officials and then we didn't foul and that's the key for us to beat them. We didn't get messed over or anything. They just started to be really aggressive."
On his Duke team…
"I'm disappointed in our group. I didn't think we came the way we should and the way we practiced. We show our youth so much, Tre (Jones) is the veteran but then we're young. This is our 28th game you'd think we'll be older by now."
On Brandon Childress…
"Brandon played well over 100 games for Wake Forest. Four seasons of ACC play, he's a veteran and he's a great kid and a competitor. Scoring does not surprise me because that's what really good competitors do and that's what he is."
Wake Forest Head Coach Danny Manning
Opening statement:
"I thought that was an unbelievable college basketball game, especially for us in the area where the Big 4 is important with all the attention that all our schools get being in the ACC conference. Probably a little easier for us to say because we won the game, but I still think when you look at plays guys made, the effort level that both guys played with, I thought it was outstanding and very fortunate to be part of a game like that. Tonight, we needed to get off to a good start and we were able to do that. I thought our guys did a really good job of executing. We made some shots, we moved the ball, and we did some things with the basketball in the first half to be where we were at. Selfishly, I wished we could have built up a lead the way that we played, but they made some key plays at the end to close out the half. I thought that Tre made over Ody to tie it was a good shot. I thought Ody played great defense, that was just better offense and you tip your hat to Tre. I thought Tre was outstanding all night. In the second half we did some good things. I thought we had a couple opportunities where guys bowed their necks and found ways when we were down some. That's always great to see. Just looking out there, both guys played hard and you could tell that everyone was tired, especially in that second overtime. For us, we were able to make a few more shots and extend the lead."
Thoughts on what Brandon did, despite being 0-10 before hitting the three to tie the game…
"I didn't take him out. You have games like that. For him it's his last go-around so to speak and I was going to take him out to give him a breath, but he was going to be back in and have the ball in his hands. There were some opportunities for us late and we were able to switch the ball, went flat, and allowed him to go make plays. He made some plays for us and to have the guts to continue to do that after not playing that well in the first half speaks volumes to the type of young man he is, the character he has, and the trust and the work that he's put in. That came to fruition in the second half with him making plays and hitting shots."
On beating Duke…
"You are always happy to win in our league. For us, we needed a game to give us momentum going into the next game. The next game then needs to give us momentum into the next one. Our guys did a great job of coming out tonight and getting us off to a good start and creating some of that momentum and some of that energy. It's a great win for us, no question about it, but we enjoy it tonight, tomorrow our guys can enjoy it a little bit more because we're off, but we'll be game planning for our next one coming up. Hopefully we can take this momentum from tonight, roll it up into practice, and then roll it into senior night on Saturday."
On Olivier Sarr's play in the paint tonight…
"Olivier's had some stretches where he's been able to do that for us. I thought tonight he got really comfortable. They didn't really bring double teams, so for us we just made sure we had really good spacing and he was able to get angles towards the basket. I was really more impressed with his shots with the left hand more than anything. He was coming across the middle and finishing with his left hand. That's a tough shot. Defensively, you're making him shoot a tough shot over you with his off hand and it goes in, sometimes you have to say that was just pretty good offense."
On the locker room after the game…
"Fun. Excited. As the young guys say, they were lit."
On how he ended his scoring drought on a big-time three...
"I don't care about percentages, I don't know if you've noticed that throughout my career. I was 0-for-12 against Carolina last year, 0-for-6 at Duke. This year I was 0-for-7 against Penn State. I'm satisfied with the shots I take. It might not go in as much as I want but I just want to find the right moments to take over the game. I did that."
On the all around effort today...
"It wasn't just me; look across the board. Olivier had one of his best games, 25 points, I think that's a career high for him. That is big time. Look at Chaundee with 24, Jahcobi has been playing out of his mind these past few games. He deserved the start today, I'm so proud of that kid. I've watched him be frustrated, hit that freshman slump. I told him to just keep working, god work and hard work. Keep working and don't worry about what anyone else says. Nobody believed in him but I believed in him. We don't care about outside noises we care about everyone in that locker room and what we do for that program."
On the battle back at the end of regulation...
"Like my head coach said, we can't tease them with that type of effort. We just have to continue to battle throughout all the forty minutes, whether it's 45 or 50 minutes with two overtimes. It just shows you what we are capable of. Now we have to take this momentum and take them into senior night and then the following two games on the road next week against two great teams."
On beating Duke in his final chance to do so...
"I was just crying and celebrating because when you went through what I went through in terms of people doubting you and always hearing 'man you're not as good as your father,' 'you don't belong in the ACC.' All you want is the opportunity and I did that and I got an opportunity and I just took full advantage of it. I was ready when my number was called. Like I said, I was 0-for-10 at first but I stayed with it and made shots when it mattered to win the game. It was a team effort. You can cross out my stats but the way Chaundee, Isaiah and Olivier - those guys played- and Jahcobi. I mean, I can't thank those guys enough for their effort. Jahcobi has been relentless."
On the feeling after a big win...
"A lot of people go four years without beating Duke or being in a close game with Duke so knowing that I can go back ten years from now and say that my junior I beat them is awesome. I am really happy for the guys, everyone played really well. We stepped up, played big minutes. Jahcobi did well, everyone did well, Brandon came in clutch. It was a good win."
On Brandon's play...
"I knew he was having a rough game but we trust him and everyone trusts him to take that shot. Like I said, he has been in the gym a lot, he works a lot, taking the shot for him I'm not surprised. As a senior that's great, I can't put that into words. He struggled a couple months ago at Duke, they scouted him well. I'm proud of him."
On the feeling in the locker room...
"It was awesome, I was tired though in that second OT but we fought and fought and fought. I'm just happy. It'll give us momentum. This Thursday we will come back and practice really hard. Just know that we have it in us now, playing hard for forty minutes. We could have folded easily in the second half and they were up like ten points but we kept fighting."
Olivier Sarr
On why the improbable comeback win was made possible…
"Toughness. We stick to our principles, great ball movement, communication, great stops, and everything took care of itself."
On Brandon Childress going 0-10 before heating up…
"Shooters shoot. Just keep shooting like that, that's cool with me. That's what he does. He's gotta know that his teammates trust him and he's gonna make shots and he's gonna miss shots. Keep shooting."
On how fun the locker room was postgame…
"It was amazing. Great win, being able to be with the fans on the court. It was just a great moment."
Jahcobi Neath
On the feeling of beating Duke…
"Feels great. Got a good win, legendary win. Feels awesome, it was the first time I ever had a court rush, first time I ever beat Duke, so it's a great night. What can I say?"
On building momentum in-game and since the last game vs. Duke…
"Last time we played at Cameron, we were way too passive and we were just letting them take it to us. We weren't taking anything to them, they were just the aggressors the whole night. So tonight, especially since I got the start, I know coach trusted in me to set the tempo and attack the rim and get those guys in foul trouble. I ended up shooting 10 free throws in the first half, so I think I did a solid job."
On Coach Manning's trust in him late-game…
"We work really hard and he sees that. I trust in my ability and I believe he trusts my ability also. Down the stretch, I just gave it all I got. I kept telling the guys, 'It's not over with. We got fight in us, just don't give up,' and we didn't. It worked out well."
