University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Vs. George Mason Post-Game Quotes
December 7, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 7, 2003
North Carolina Head Coach Roy Williams
"You realize it's much easier to play George Mason after their youngster got hurt. Lamar Butler is a great shooter for them and I'm sure Coach Larranaga would have liked to have him for more than three minutes. I thought they had a whole bunch of them in the first half. The first half they made a bunch of shots and we were having difficulty guarding the shooter.
"The second half we made some good shots early; we got the ball inside to Sean, we got the ball inside Jawad. Rashad and Melvin started making some shots. It was one of those things when, I think, the second half just rolled much better for us. "
On Raymond Felton:
"I'm extremely happy for Raymond. I got on to him a bit at halftime because he had three turnovers in the first half. He didn't have any turnovers in the second half but it got to be an up and down tempo game and he really made some nice decisions. For us to have a youngster to have 18 assists, we're extremely happy with that. I told him there have been a lot of talented players to play here and they've never had 18 assists. "
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On Rashad McCants:
"He banged his knee a little bit. I think he just some has some tendonitis. He'll be fine. I took him out and told him to start icing it right then. "
On Sean May:
"I think Sean May have as good as hands as anybody I've ever coached. What I like is that he's trying to do the job on the defensive end and he's going after the ball. We've got to be a better rebounding team. Sean does give us that inside presence and if you have that inside presence then those guys shooting the three are a lot more open because they have to worry about Sean. "
On the player/coach relationship:
"I have fun a lot of times when they play well. I think we have a good relationship. I think the kids respect what I'm saying and how hard the whole staff is working. I feel comfortable with he kids; they're good kids. The junior class has had two rough years so I'm hoping they are enjoying this."
North Carolina Player Quotes
What was the difference, energy wise, between the first and second half?
"We just didn't want them to stay in the game, like the Cleveland State game. We knew that they had a lot of energy and they were hyped to play, so we knew that we had to pick up our energy level."
What did Coach Williams tell the team at halftime?
"Just to play more pressure defense and try to create more turnovers. Just to get out and break and get some points on the board."
How much did you work on your positioning in the off-season?
"We worked on it a lot. We worked on it everyday. Coach has been telling me when we watch it on film that I have been posting too high. So, I have tried to get a lot deeper, tried to draw my man's attention away and then come back. I think that worked out well for met today."
Coach always says what great hands you have. How much of that were you born with and how much of that have you developed?
"I grew up around basketball, but I think that it was something I was taught. My father did a great job of teaching me and being aware of what is around me. I have just been blessed and I have a point guard that can put the ball where I can get to it."
You got the dunk that led to Raymond's eighteenth assist. Were you aware of how many assists Raymond had at that point?
"No, I didn't. I didn't even realize that he was in double figures in assist until they said it."
Are assists sometimes overlooked on the stat sheet?
"Yes, that shows how unselfish a player is. Raymond did a great job distributing the ball tonight."
Did the team's defensive intensity lead to the offense we saw in the second half?
"Yeah, we got a lot of steals and things like that and we got easy buckets on the other end."
When was the last time that you had more assists than that?
"No, I think last year the most I had was sixteen."
How good are Sean's hands?
"Sean is a great player with great hands. When you have hands like that, that is a package that you just can't teach. It is like a gift from God, he ahs the best hands there is. He can catch anything. He has great moves in the post, and he uses his body well. Sean is a great player and we missed him last year."
George Mason Head Coach Jim Larranaga:
"That looked like two different games to me. In the first half we came out with lots of energy and were willing to play an up-tempo game with Carolina even though we know that is their strength.
It is also the way that we play and the way we have been playing and we did not want to make any changes and tell our players we can't run with them. We came out and we ran for the first twenty minutes, and I thought we had a lot of energy, and played efficiently and we executed on offense.
We were never able to defend them quite the way we would have liked to, but that's a credit to them. In the second half it was over almost in the first three minutes. We did not stop them a single time.
They may have missed a shot or two, not many, but they tipped those in. Even a missed field goal led to a basket. Obviously giving up 65 points in the second half is not what we want our defense to do but a lot of credit goes to them; their execution, their ability to get Sean May involved. We know we did not have a chance of stopping him individually. We tried to give John Lewis some help in there but it was too little help, too late."
On Lamar Butler:
"That really hurt us because Butler is an outstanding three-point shooter. He has been nursing a sprained foot. His toes have been bothering him and we think he reinjured that. The x-rays did not show a break, which is the good news, but it is a reoccurring injury."
Is Carolina an enjoyable place to come and play?
"I enjoyed the first half. We want to be the best team in our league and we are working towards that. What happens is that when you play teams like Maryland and North Carolina they expose your weaknesses and they show you what you have to work on. So we'll get a change to review the tape, talk with our players, show them the opportunity defensively that we had to stop them and didn't. Hopefully we will improve on that. The next time we a face a team of that caliber we will be ready to defend them better."
