University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC 93, NC A&T 57
February 18, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 18, 2003
Recap| Final Stats| Photo Gallery
Matt Doherty Post-game Quotes
"(I'm) glad to have a game where we can play everybody and we can have some fun. I'm sorry that it happened to be Curtis Hunter because I have a lot of respect for Curtis being a former teammate. But our kids played pretty well. I thought our kids played really well tonight and I like to think we would have beaten a lot of people. I was really excited about our unselfishness. We had ... 31 assists on 31 baskets and I've never seen a number like that. I thought that was very impressive."
"I was impressed how we maintained our focus on the offensive and defensive ends from the beginning to the end. Sometimes those games can get a little sloppy and our kids, I thought, were pretty sharp."
"Again, just their unselfishness. I put Raymond back in at the end because he only had five points and I'd like to see him get to double figures and I'd like to see Jackie (Manuel) get to double figures and those guys were just content to play. Raymond went back into the game and he wouldn't shoot - the first half he was talking about assists. On top of that, I thought our crowd was really good."
On the team's unselfishness ...
"I said at one point in the game that unselfishness is contagious. ... I think that is a trademark of Carolina basketball. I think coach (Dean) Smith would be excited about the number of assists we had."
On not leaving Raymond Felton in the game to get the assist record for one game ...
"I don't want to ever try to humiliate an opponent and I don't think Raymond would want to get that record just because he's out there. I think he'd want to get it in the flow of a good game."
On this game improving the team's confidence ...
"I think it's a feel good game. I think our kids feel good. It's a fun game and it's a game that I feel some of our players should have confidence. ... I think guys should feel good about themselves and hopefully that does help going into the stretch here. We had a tough stretch."
On coaching against a former Carolina player ...
"It's hard. ... I don't want to rub it in whether it is Curtis or anybody. I've been on the other side of that as an assistant coach and it's not fun. I think you have to respect the game and you have to respect your opponent."
UNC Player Quotes
On the win...
"Any win right now is important to us and good to have. It helps us prepare for better teams - how to execute offense when we need to. We know we should have won the game Sunday, and most of the games we've lost we should have won. Coming out tonight, we wanted to focus on executing our offense and playing good defense."
On what big plays in this game mean overall...
"We get out in the transition more, and that's something that we are very good at. It helps us recognize our strengths."
On what this game means in relation to the upcoming Maryland game...
"Team chemistry, knowing what other guys can do, what we're capable of, what kind of defensive effort we need to bring to the table. It's going to be a good game, just like the last one."
On the upcoming Maryland game and their big inside pressure...
"They have big guys, that's something we've faced all year. I'm used to big players that outweigh me by about 50 lbs., but you've got to go out there and play hard.
On looking relaxed...
"We lost to Clemson, but we're not going to be scared of anybody. We're going to go out there and play everybody tough every night. Hopefully we'll get a win."
On looking relaxed...
"We just wanted a game like this. Basketball is what I love, if it's not fun, we're not playing. That's what we try to do every night - we try to have fun. That's what basketball is all about."
"No matter who you're playing you have to execute in order to get great shots and get in transition - that's what we did tonight, and we came out with a win. Now we just go back to practice and work our butts off and after that we look at the tapes and see what we did wrong, and build on that."
On his dunk...
"It felt good. I think everyone was a little shocked. It was my first collegiate dunk - I haven't dunked since high school. Hopefully I'll get to watch it on tape, relive it a little."
N.C. A&T Head Coach Curtis Hunter
"It's never tough for me (to come home), I don't play anymore. But it's always a joy to come around and be welcomed. It's been a while since I played here, but they always welcome with open arms. I think you try to use a game like this to show our guys what it is really about. Hopefully, they'll learn from it. We've played three other ACC teams this year, but this one is always a special one."
"I'm always trying to do the same things, trying to get guys to compete consistently on a regular basis."
"When you play teams that are the caliber of the ACC, the mistakes you make, they score on them. It's still all about going out there and playing. If you say, 'They lace their shoes up just like we do,' go out there and play like (you believe) that."
