University of North Carolina Athletics
Postgame Quotes
November 12, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 12, 2004
Quotes from head coach Roy Williams and several North Carolina Men's Basketball players after the Tar Heels' 100-69 victory over the Mount Olive Trojans in the exhibition held November 12, 2004.
HEAD COACH Roy Williams
Opening statement:
"First of all about the game, I think we did some things better. We're not the same basketball team without Rashad McCants, and we're not the same without Raymond [Felton] in the second half. I was pleased with some of the things we did. We were better defensively tonight than we were last Friday night. They challenged us to try to run. In the first part of the game, we were sort of tip-toeing through the tulips instead of trying to play extremely hard and force the issue. After we got that out of our system, I thought what we did is that we missed a lot of easy shots. We got the ball around the rim and had some wide-open shots we didn't make. I love Mount Olive's competitiveness. They came back at us making shots, and I think that part was really good for us. Going down the line, I was really pleased with Marvin's [Williams] activity. I think he was in to it. He's a unique youngster so that when he makes a mistake he knows it immediately. He's concerned about it, he feels bad about it, but he just keeps playing. I think that Sean [May] got a few more minutes tonight. I like the way he goes to the free throw line and shot the ball there. He needs to make a little bit better decisions. He's had a lot of little nagging things bothering him, but I think he's had a good preseason. I thought Jawad did well. Raymond is just so much better at being a true quarterback this year than he was last year. The other night 12 assists and one turnover or two. His shot didn't go in, one for six and one for five tonight. He really has been shooting the ball well, so we are really pleased with him. We tried to give Quentin, Wes, and Melvin each a four minute stretch in the first 12 minutes of the second half. We wanted to give them all a chance. I always say it is a glorified practice. Those days are over with now. Seven days from now we tip it off for real, so we better have improved. We have five more days of practice to try to get better."
On Raymond Felton's status
"I wanted to give those other guys an opportunity of playing with the other guys who will get the most minutes. We are very disappointed for our team and for Raymond. He is extremely disappointed right now because he realizes that he won't be able to help us in the next game. He played in a league that was not sanctioned. He thought it was sanctioned, someone had told him it was sanctioned. I'm disappointed in the people in the league because they shouldn't do those kinds of things, but they passed the word around that it was sanctioned but it was not. Raymond made a mistake as well. We tell players that they have to get permission and Raymond did not do that. He took the word of other people instead of getting permission from us, so the NCAA took one game away from him. We appealed it, we lost the appeal. The ironic thing is that if a youngster does have permission then they probably would have not penalized him. If he had asked us, and done it the right way, then we would have found that it was not certified and it would not have been a problem. If a youngster doesn't get permission but plays in a league that's certified, then there's no penalty. Raymond didn't do what he was supposed to do and he knows that. He told me this summer and I said `I'm assuming you checked with Coach Holliday'. I guess that night he went over and found out that it wasn't sanctioned. We had a conference call with the NCAA November 5th. It was a 30 minute conference call."
On Rashad McCants' condition
"They did a MRI yesterday, and it's his left shoulder. I'm mad at him for when he dunked the dickens out of it at the game last week with his left hand and he hurt it more. I told him that he has to have more savvy than that. They don't really think anything's there, but he has pain. He went out and shot before the game tonight, so like every great shooter it doesn't hurt nearly as bad when you're shooting the ball. I'm hopeful that we will have him, but Dr. [Tim] Taft is out of town, and he's reading the MRI tonight or tomorrow morning."
On Raymond Felton's NCAA violation
"It's a difficult situation. It's a league that's been sanctioned for 30 some years and you feel bad for the guy. Once he found out he stopped playing. But, I'm not on the NCAA committee, so I'm not sure what I can say. No one feels worse than he does and we've just got to pick up the slack for him. It's just the same as if he went down with a sprained ankle and couldn't play. That's how we've got to treat it. We can't look at what happened and the reason he's not playing. But, we're going to miss him. He's our general."
On the difference between playing a college team and an all-star team in an exhibition
"It has its advantages and disadvantages. This was a real team that goes and practices every day, battles every day. They're not as talented as some of those all-star teams. But, for a school like us sometimes it's better to play some of those all-star teams because a lot of those guys have been through the experiences that we've been through by playing at big time colleges. These games are always hard to play in. In exhibition games you get up a lot and you want to just run and gun and not settle. It takes a lot of discipline."
On the first few minutes of the game
"It's been a long week. We just couldn't find our rhythm. We had turnovers on a lot of fast breaks. We were just anxious to play. Once we got settled down it was good for us to have gone through a little adversity. They got up on us and we didn't fold. We kept our composure."
On the turnaround after the first timeout
"I think once we had the lineup changed and got some fresh guys in it helped. Marvin really came off and sparked it with a dunk from David Noel. He sparked our first run. I think that timeout just helped us get some other players in."
Did they give you a little bit of a challenge tonight?
"Yeah I think so...We weren't doing the kinds of things we knew we could do from the beginning, so Coach yelled at us a little bit, and then we got it going."
You've got to play the first game without Raymond. What's that going to mean for the team?
"It means we've got to step up. Everybody. Everybody has to play their role and a little bit more. Playing without Raymond is going to be tough, but we're going to have to step up to the plate and accept the challenge."
Is there something the rest of you do to help the backup point guards?
"Yeah. Just try to calm them down, help them through it, so their nerves won't get too bad, things like that. So I think we can help them through it, and if the other four guys on the court play their position and help them out, I think we'll be good."
What is the most amazing thing you've seen Marvin do so far?
"This summer we were playing pickup, and he grabbed the ball, swiped through and just jumped. He just jumped and just dunked the game point. And I was like, man this boy's serious. From that point on, I knew he had it in him, and it was just up to him to show it, and I think he was showing glimpses of that tonight."
On his role in Raymond's absence
"You have to prepare yourself mentally when you know Raymond's not going to be there, and if I get the opportunity to go in there, I need to step up and take care of the basketball so this team can win that game. Knowing that beforehand allows me to prepare myself."
Can you talk about your own feelings having sat out a year and getting a chance to play now?
"I was just so excited today, just watching basketball. I guess it's been like a year and a half since I've played in a basketball game. Until we played Winston Salem State last week, I was so nervous, just hadn't had a basketball game in a year and a half, and then tonight to be out there running around was just fun, a dream come true to be in a Carolina uniform."
Is playing in Smith Center different from what you thought it would be?
"I got a chance to watch it last year, so I wouldn't say different than I thought it would be. It was so exciting to be able to put that uniform on and play out in front of the Carolina fans. It's just awesome."
Are you ready to step in for Raymond maybe in the first game of the year?
"Oh yeah definitely. If I get that opportunity I'll definitely try to do my best. It's a good opportunity for Quentin and me as well. If Coach has the confidence to put me in the game I'll be ready to go. It'll be a good learning experience."
What was your reaction to Raymond's situation?
"Obviously disappointed because he's our leader, our starting point guard. It's going to be difficult to go play anybody and win without Raymond, but then again also I realize it's an opportunity for me to maybe step up and get some minutes I wouldn't otherwise get, and I hope I'll take advantage of that opportunity."
Are you ready for that?
"No question. We play against Raymond every day in practice, and I think anyone on the team, presented with the opportunity, is ready for that challenge."
On his role in Raymond's absence
"A lot more responsibility, a whole lot more minutes than usual. But it's nothing I'm not used to. I'll do whatever the team needs me to do."
How do you think you played in the time you ran the point?
"I think it was solid. I may have had one turnover. But each and every day of practice I play the point, so I'm just trying to get better."
How does that change anyone else's role?
"From every guy on our bench, we have to step up and you've got to be ready to play because you never know when your number's going to get called."
What was your reaction when you heard about Raymond?
"Very disappointed, but I guess that's the rules. I know if Raymond knew the situation he wouldn't have put himself in that position. But, hey, it's a learning experience, and we have to react to it. It's a challenge for us, and if we're going to be one of the great teams in the country then we have to be able to answer the challenge."
