University of North Carolina Athletics
Orlando Melendez Quotes
October 17, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Senior forward Orlando Melendez
On the team's comfort level with Coach Doherty in his second year:
"We feel real comfortable with Coach. We know his style now, we know how tough he is and what a hard worker he is. We have adapted to him and can work as hard to look as good as him and have a great season."
On the team's standing in the ACC and perceptions of this squad:
"We are going to be up there in the top two teams this year. People are not thinking about how athletic and how good this team is going to be this year, people are just thinking 'Well, Joe Forte left and Brendan Haywood left, so they're not going to be as good as they were last year.' Actually, we have three players who are great freshmen and we've got nine people who were here last year and had that great season last year. We have experience, we just need to get everything together and work hard and we'll be all right."
On this year's team leaders:
"The four seniors are going to be the leaders of this team on and off the court. Including myself, Brian, Kris and Jason. We are going to be in there all the time pushing each other and pushing the rest of the team to reach a higher level."
On whether Jason Capel and Kris Lang:
"They're ready, they've have been working hard for it and they've prepared for this year to assume their responsibility to carry the team. Now, we are just going to adapt to their game and their experience."
On which area of his game has improved the most this summer:
"Defensively, which is the thing I've been trying to get better at all year. I think that was the reason I didn't play much last year because my defense wasn't as good. But the experience I gained playing with the [Puerto Rican] National team and obtaining the first-team All-Defense gave me a little more confidence."
