University of North Carolina Athletics
Post-Game Quotes
January 14, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2003
Recap| Box Score| Photo Gallery
Matt Doherty Quotes
"That was a heck of a college basketball game. You guys (the press) get in free, get to eat all the free food, but I think if you paid for it you wouldn't feel cheated because that was a heck of a college basketball game. I was really proud and I'm sure coach Shyatt was really proud of his guys. It's a shame somebody had to lose that game. I was really proud of our guys. We had to go through Raymond getting sick and Rashad getting in foul trouble. I think we played with great emotion, great energy and that's what we talked about - great heart. The crowd gave us great support -17,000 plus and it was a great college basketball game."
"For a team like this to go through what we've gone through with injury and things like that I'm really proud of our guys. I really think we learned from the Miami game."
On holding Clemson to 35% shooting in the second half ...
"I thought that the first half a lot of their shots were either dribble penetration and we didn't help the helper on baseline drives or I don't know what their points were off offensive rebounds."
"I think they got a lot of their points off those types of situations. Plus, they're big. (Sharrod) Ford is a good player, (Chris) Hobbs is a good player, (Ray) Henderson is a good player and (Tomas) Nagys is a good player. They all are big and Jawad (Williams) is 205 pounds battling his tail off."
"I can talk about everybody on my roster about how proud I am of them."
"It is fun to see this team grow through a very tough schedule and Sean's (May) injury."
On Rashad McCants' eight consecutive points near the end of the game ... "To me every possession was crucial. ... He's a big time player and those were big time shots. He's done it all year. He made huge plays."
On Damion Grant's contribution to the team ...
"Damion has been great. ... He has not been going up and down in practice, but he gets some adrenaline going and he makes a difference. Guys can't just turn and go through people. He is big and strong and has a prescence. Offensively he is getting more and more comfortable catching the ball and going to the basket. He made a big foul shot."
On feeling pressure of keeping the undefeated streak alive vs. Clemson ...
"I think that when you are on the floor or coaching the game you're not thinking about a whole lot of that. You're hopefully playing in the here and now."
UNC Player Quotes
Jawad Williams
On the game...
"It was exciting. We won a good college basketball game today. Rashad stepped up really big at the end and it was a great team effort."
On the teams' adversity...
"We've been in this situation before. We went through it in Miami...today we pulled it out. We stayed together and we won that game with our heart. Our heart. We stayed together, kept a positive mind and we pulled it out."
On defending the tradition of Clemson never winning in Chapel Hill...
"It was good, but we really can't worry about that. I was part of the team that lost all those streaks. Best thing to do now is to just play hard every night. I still have a few years to go."
Raymond Felton
On defending the tradition of Clemson never winning in Chapel Hill...
"It didn't really run across my mind during the game, we were just trying to come out and win. But we knew in the back of our heads that we were trying to keep tradition going, so we did want to win the game just like we do every game."
On his play in the first few minutes...
"Coming out, Coach told me to try to look for my shot more, and still get my teammates involved, so that's basically what I try to do. I got some open shots, I pulled up, I knocked them down. Second half I did more passing, trying to be more of a team player, giving my teammates the ball more often and just trying to win the game."
On if he felt like he was in high school again...
"It felt like it, but it's a different level. It's nothing like high school."
On leaving the game...
"I had an upset stomach. I thought it was a little bit more than that, but that's all it was, so I came back out."
On playing the Huskies on Saturday...
"The Huskies are a great team, but I think that we have an advantage because we're playing them at home. Even thought they're still a great team, they still could beat us here, that still gives us the home-court advantage. We know the goals, we'll have our fans behind us, so we're going to come out, play hard and try to win the game...that would definitely be a great win for us."
John Holmes
On the win...
"It was great, it was exciting. That was pretty intense college basketball atmosphere out there. Fans were into it, everybody was into it and it's obviously great to come out with a win."
Larry Shyatt's Post Game Quotes
"I think really you can't hand that kind of spread to a quality team at home in this league, and I'm proud of the way we got back into the game. It certainly wasn't by dressing up with three-point shooting. It was Clemson's way, drives and feeds and good teamwork."
"I think we had a seven-minute stretch where we just flat-out defended them. But then once you get the lead it hurts a little more down the homestretch, and I can't help but to think of McCants coming back and hitting a couple of big shots. They were big, but nonetheless, down the homestretch I think our guys were focused, I think they did the right things at the right times on both ends."
"Simply put, we knew they were going to go to four corners. Sanders took a shot that we liked from where we were standing, but you know what, there was great offensive rebound put-back by McCants, a big-time play by a big-time player."
"I guess I'd like to find one play that typified how I feel about our club. It was with about 35 seconds to play, and we were going to go down and run our high-low set. We did and we looked inside and they did a nice job so we pitched out to Chey for a wide-open look. He missed, which sort of happens to Clemson a lot, but you know what, Clemson got the board and put it back in. At that point, I felt like we're playing our way."
"They're a good team, and I think we're a good team."
