University of North Carolina Athletics
Doherty Discusses Thursday's Duke Game
January 30, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 30, 2001
As his team prepares for Thursday's game at Duke, Matt Doherty met with the media Tuesday afternoon at the Smith Center. Here's some of what he had to say:
"I'm looking forward to an exciting week of basketball. We've got a busy schedule with not only Duke but then a couple afterwards (Georgia Tech and Wake Forest). Hopefully, we'll get better in practice because I don't think we played great at NC State. That's not to take anything away from their effort, but after looking at the film I felt like we played with one week of practice under our belt. So we need to get better, and hopefully we'll get better today in practice, tomorrow in practice and be ready to play Thursday night at Duke."
On playing at Cameron Indoor Stadium:
"We have a group of players who have been through the league for at least two years. We start a senior (Brendan Haywood), two juniors (Jason Capel and Kris Lang), Ronald Curry -- who's been through a lot of different kinds of wars on the football field and he's a competitive kid -- and Joe Forte. So I hope they don't (get intimidated). I don't think they should. It's a great place to play. I think we should look at it from that perspective. It's a great environment in which to play college basketball. I haven't seen one of the Cameron Crazies come out and block a shot yet or steal the ball. But that's certainly a great environment and a fun environment. I think you have to look at it that way."
On Mike Dunleavy:
"That's what makes them so dangerous is that you can't cheat off of anybody. You look at their stats and it's incredible -- their shooting stats and their three-point shooting. Usually you say, `Well, we can help off of this guy,' but not with them, especially with Jason Williams' penetration. And then when they get offensive rebounds, the first thing they look for is to lay it up, but then look to kick it out. They really fan out well and relocate for open three-pointers on offensive rebounds. You can't leave anybody open. And Mike Dunleavy's such a smart player. He'd be a fun player to play with, because he gives it up and he thinks a pass ahead, a play ahead. Obviously with his Dad being a great player he's watched a lot basketball and he's got a great feel."
On Nate James's defense:
"It's great. You look back at some of Coach Krzyzewski's early teams and he always had a defensive stopper, like a Billy King, the guy who always relished that role and really took it on and did a good job. But I think the thing with Nate is that he's also really proven his offensive game. He can shoot, he can score, he goes to the offensive boards. He's a strong kid -- you look at his shoulders and then look at how quickly he can slide his feet. He can probably guard any position on the floor. It might be a stretch for him to guard the center spot, but he's quick enough and strong enough and long enough to guard a lot of different positions, like when Chicago had Jordan, Pippen and Rodman."
On the rivalry with Duke:
"I think for me it's kind of going full circle. It's neat to have been in these rivalries as a player and now as a coach. As a coach you worry about a lot more things than you do as a player. As a player you kind of just take care of yourself and you and your teammates just go to bat, whereas here (as a coach) you have to worry about a lot more and you put a lot more into it because of the tapes you watch and the thinking that goes into preparing for a season. It's fun. It's exciting. It brings back a lot of memories -- both good and bad. We've had a lot of nice wins against Duke, but we've had some tough losses against Duke, same thing with NC State and all the other teams in the ACC."
Keep an eye on TarHelBlue.com over the next two days for our exclusive pre-game coverage of Thursday's UNC-Duke game.
Wednesday: UNC 84, Duke 78 (March 3, 1996)
Shammond Williams scores 26 points and Jeff McInnis adds 25 as the Tar Heels hold off a late Duke rally to defeat the Blue Devils 84-78. The win was Carolina's seventh consecutive over Duke, and its third straight in Durham.
Thursday: UNC 102, Duke 100 (2OT) (February 2, 1995)
After trailing by as many as 17 points, Duke battles back and forces overtime against the second-ranked Tar Heels. The game then goes to double overtime when Duke's Jeff Capel sinks a 30-foot buzzer-beater. But Carolina prevails in the second OT, behind four points from Donald Williams and three from Jeff McInnis. Jerry Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace scored 25 apiece in the game, while Williams added 24 in the thriller.
