UNC-MIami Quotes

North Carolina 88, Miami 91 • February 27, 2018
Postgame Quotes
Miami Head Coach Jim Larranaga

Opening Statement
"That's a heck of a win for us on the road against a top-10 team. We have the utmost respect for Roy William's staff and his program, and his team had been on a roll – six-straight wins. I was actually very, very concerned about their pressure, and in the first half we did an absolutely great job. In the second half, they really got into us. Fortunately, we were able to score enough that we could stay in front, and they were impossible to guard. My favorite stat here is that they had 11 offensive rebounds, and we had nine. So, we kind of neutralized their tremendous rebounding. We made, I think, eight-straight free throws to end the game, and Ja'Quan Newton's heroics, making all of his free throws and then making the game-winning shot was really special. He'll remember that for the rest of his life."

On if there was a play called for the last play or if it was out of the scramble
"It was 'Ja'Quan, score so we can win this game.'"

On what he was thinking as the ball was going toward the rim
"We still had one timeout, and when the ball went through the net, when Joel [Berry II] made the shot, I considered calling the timeout. But I saw Ja'Quan go on the run, which I felt like that was our best chance before they set their defense. And Anthony Larence [Jr.] is a very good inbounder, and he got it to Ja'Quan in rhythm, in stride, so he had a lot of speed going forward. And with three seconds left, you basically have three dribbles, and then you've got to launch. I don't know how many dribbles he got off, I wasn't counting, but he got across mid court, let it fly and it looked good the moment it left his hand."

Ja'Quan Newton, Senior Guard
Walking through his game-winning shot
"Well when I was guarding Joel [Berry II], he came down here. He hit a great shot. As soon as he hit the shot, I came around and I wanted the ball. So, I told Ant [Anthony Lawrence Jr.], I was yelling for it. I was yelling for it, I got it and I looked at the clock when I was dribbling up court, and it said three seconds left, and I was just like, 'I've got to shoot it.' And once I shot it, it felt good coming out of my hand, and then my arm made it go in for me."

On if he has made a buzzer beater before
"I've made a buzzer beater before, but not at this type of level. This is one thing I always dreamed about. I always said I would hit a game winner like this. I always watch it on TV, somebody do it, and for me to actually do it right now in this moment out there against North Carolina is something I will remember forever."

North Carolina Head Coach Roy Williams
Opening Statement
"We're sorry that we're in here so late. Senior night's important. It's one of the most important things we do, but I apologize for being so late. We had some opportunities. We didn't play very well in the first half and didn't do a good job at defending. It felt almost like you were down eight. I told them we would make a comeback, and we cut it in half when they got to 16 [points]. We cut it down pretty quickly. Then it was just a workman-like thing after that. We missed some layups. They were tough layups. They did a good job defending around the rim, but we had some layups that we missed, we had some free throws that we missed. The kids kept competing. I really thought we were going to win the game. I really thought we were going to, but you have to congratulate Ja'Quan [Newton]… He made a big time shot and the clock ran out on us… You realize how fortunate I feel to have coached Joel Berry [II] and Theo Pinson for four years? It doesn't get much better than that guys."

On importance of this senior recruiting class
"Well when they came, the academic stuff had just started. There was a lot of negative recruiting going on and people telling them that they would never be in an NCAA tournament, people telling them, 'Are you sure you're making the right decision?' Those guys believed in us, stuck with us. Joel [Berry II] said something that I'll never forget. He said, 'I just trusted Coach Williams.' Just think how we would have been. We had Marcus [Paige] and Brice [Johnson], but the last three years we've been pretty doggone good and Justin [Jackson] and Joel [Berry II] and Theo [Pinson] have been huge."

On how it feels personally to know the trust Theo [Pinson] and Joel [Berry II] had in him as a coach
"I don't know if I can put it into words. I don't know if I could come up with an intelligent enough answer to say it, but it means everything to me. I'm a coach, it's what I do and getting kids to believe in you is part of being a coach and I do feel very fortunate. It's one of those treasures you have in coaching."

On his relationship with Theo
"He is a unique young man. He really is. He's had some tough times with his foot, broken twice, and almost broken a third time to bounce back from that and to stay as positive as he has been. He has been a great teammate. He's been a great mentor to the younger kids. He's been a breath of fresh air to me. I'm more serious than Theo is so he has added something to my life. That why it's been really special. I never thought I would come in and try to break up a player's press conference, but I felt like I needed to do that yesterday. So, he has made Roy Williams a better coach. He's added a lot to my life."

On the final sequence of plays
"Well, we had two options. Joel [Berry II] can always pull up and shoot it and we also had a down screen for somebody on the other side. He saw enough daylight and pulled up and shot it and it went in. Marcus [Paige] against Villanova. You think that it goes in. You think now you have it in to overtime, but Jaquan really sized it up. He starts right, they make him go a little left, but he tried to get enough space and he felt like he could make it. He made a great shot."

North Carolina Players

Joel Berry II, Senior Guard
On last-second shot
"It just so happened to go in. I mean there is really nothing you can do about it. I am stunned. I always think if we go into overtime that is going to be our game, but they stepped up and hit a big time shot."

On similarity to Villanova
"That is exactly what it felt like. That's why out there in my speech I said 'I don't know what it is' but it's something just about teams stepping up and hitting shots like that. It's a little different because Villanova was at least NBA range but this one was all the way at half court. When it just went in I couldn't believe it. It just shocked me a lot."

On the rest of the season
"That is the fun thing about basketball. You can have your ups and your downs and you always get another chance to play. I know during tournament time it is a little different. You lose, you go home. Right now, we got to be blessed that we be able to get back out on Thursday and practice and get ready for Saturday. We just got to put this one behind us and get ready to move on from it."

Theo Pinson, Senior Forward
On his relationship with Roy Williams
"Like I said he just lets me be me. He doesn't hold me back as far as 'Theo don't do this today, we don't need that.' He lets me… Not do whatever but I know time and place he lets me have fun with the guys just as far as making sure everybody is loose and pressing, just little stuff like that… I just can't thank him enough for that."

On if he has loosened up Roy Williams as a coach
"I don't know about that… He is still old."

On being able to express his feelings about Coach Williams
"It was huge for me. I have been wanting to talk to him about it all year. I wanted to sit down with him and let him know that but I thought it would be pretty cool just to let him know that on senior night after a win but we didn't get the win. Just let him know that, how much that meant to me for him to let me be myself."

On crazy ending to senior night
"It was just one of those things. It kind of felt like Villanova. It was one of those games which you want really bad. It's a tough one. It was a big time shot. Tough."

On Joel Berry's shot to tie the game
"I knew if he got it off cleanly it would have a chance. He's made big time shots like that his whole career here. Even in high school he made shots like that. I'm proud of him. He kept us in that game and made big time plays. I told him that he was hot and he needs to get the ball every time. "

Cam Johnson, Graduate Guard

On playing his last game with Joel Berry II and Theo Pinson
"It was pretty emotional. They are a big reason why I decided to come here, to play with guys like that, that I've been playing against for a couple years. Since being here I have really developed a good friendship with them. I love the way they play, I love playing with them. To know that I won't be out there playing with them again it is definitely an emotional thing. They had great careers here. Anybody would do anything to have a four-year career that they have at the University of North Carolina. It's such an honor to be here. It's such an honor to play with those guys. I think we all know at the end of the day we will do everything we can to win, play for each other and play for everyone."

Kenny Williams, Junior Guard
On defensive mishaps
"Tonight, we got off our game a little bit. I think everyone knew this whole month we were a little bit more locked in on the defensive end. We just got to bring it a little bit more every night. We can't take nights off because that's when teams will attack a weakness if they see it."

On why Miami was so successful
"We gave them a lot of middle drives. Especially from the sideline. We try not to give them that drive but a lot of times when they dribble we just opened up and let them get the middle. Once they get that, the whole defense breaks down."

On offensive mishaps
"I think it was us. In the second half, we threw the ball away on our first three possessions. It was us beating ourselves. Silly turnovers that turned into easy buckets for them. That was really it. We couldn't get into a flow. Give them credit for playing hard and attacking us, but for the most part we beat ourselves.

Luke Maye, Junior Forward
On playing last home game with Joel Berry and Theo Pinson
"I've admire them my entire time here. They've taught me so much. I go out there and I try to give them all I've got and it just wasn't enough tonight. Gotta get back to work. Got to get in the gym and get better and try to improve. But it is such a blessing to be able to play with guys like this and they work so hard. They care so much about the team and that's all that matters."

On Joel Berry and Theo Pinson's leadership and passion for the game
"They're so passionate about the game. You just always feel like they are in the right spot and they always are doing the right thing most of the time. They are just fun to be around. When you have leaders like that who enjoy the game and enjoying being around us it makes the game so much easier to play."

On his feelings after the buzzer beater after Berry's big shot
"It's tough. Joel [Berry II] is an unbelievable player and for him to play like how he did tonight just speak volumes on how he is as a player and what he does. He just hit a big shot. It's tough but you just have to move on. You have to get better."

Players Mentioned

Joel Berry II

Luke Maye

Theo Pinson

Kenny Williams

Related Videos