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University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC-Illinois Postgame Quotes
November 30, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 29, 2005
Coach Williams Postgame Quotes
Opening Statement:
"Well congratulate Illinois. That was a fun college basketball game. If you didn't care who won, you had to enjoy that. The problem is we care deeply whether you win or lose. They're a fine basketball team coached by a really, really good coach and a really, really good guy. Dee Brown is one of my favorite players. I thought it was very fitting that James Augustine had a nice game since he had such a tough game in St. Louis in the National Championship.
"But I'm really proud of my team. They were down 13 or so and they kept playing and trying to make plays. I told them that they played harder and better than I coached. And I apologized to them for that. I looked out there a couple times and we had four freshmen and somebody else out on the court. It's a fun experience for them, but you've got to congratulate Illinois.
"We got some good defensive stops. We got it to two points, and then we turned it over twice in a row. One of those was a play that I called and the kids haven't run it enough. It was stupid of me to call the play and we turned it over.
"I just love how hard our kids played. It was a joy for me to watch that and the way they competed."
On whether Illinois' experience edge was the difference:
"I think it was important to them. Coming out of the timeout - I can't remember which timeout it was - the ball was out of bounds on the side. We'd used our last foul. They walk out on the floor and all the sudden Dee [Brown] yelled at the teammates and called them together and said something else to them. I admire things like that, seeing kids being leaders. I think that was good. But I can't fault my club.
"Needless to say, James and Dee didn't seem to be too carried away or emotional. They were just businesslike. They got their team into what they wanted to do. But it was a great effort by our kids. I enjoyed that. I don't enjoy losing. There's no question about that. And we're not going to make excuses. I screwed it up, and we'd like to have made a few more shots, but they really did play awfully hard."
On if their enthusiasm will be as necessary during the season as it was today:
"I think so. I talked to them beforehand. I think it's a given that we'll have to come out and play with such passion to have a chance in big games because of the experience factor. When I was at Kansas, we had Kirk [Hinrich], Nick [Collison] and Drew [Gooden] as freshmen, and they didn't all three start but they played a heck of a lot. There were like three games that year that we got blown away - 25 or 30 points. It's something that you have to go through, but as long as we keep competing as hard as we are and get better - we've got to execute better, we've got to get better defensively - we're going to be OK. We're going to be OK."
Illinois Coach Bruce Weber
RE: On the play of Brian Randle at the end of the game.
"He was one that really froze early in the game. Then he kind of got used to playing, hits a couple big threes. He's worked on his shot very hard. Probably we had four fouls on him, maybe we should've put him in a little earlier when they were making the run, but I guess we got him in right at the right time."
RE: On the play of guards Jamar Smith and Rich McBride
"Jamar and Rich made some big shots and it's not easy for anyone to come in to this environment. The crowd got into it. We talked about not letting them have huge runs. We took care of the ball down the stretch except a couple times. Jamar can shoot the basketball - three for four from three. He's just got to become a little stronger, a better defensive player and be a little stronger with the ball taking care of it."
RE: On how his broken foot feels
"This morning, I'll be honest, I didn't think I'd be here because I was dying and some good medicine makes a difference. I got a couple shots and we'll see how it feels tomorrow. I'd rather have me have a broken bone than one of our players."
UNC Player Quotes
David Noel
On the key stretch of the second half:
"We went on a little drought. But I think it was mainly that they made shots. They knocked down the three-ball consistently tonight. That was something they were going to have to do. We really didn't want to let them get it inside because we knew that was where they had an advantage. But they were knocking down trey balls with our hands in their face. There really isn't too much you can do about that."
On the chemistry of the team:
"We really went out on the court tonight together. Sometimes it takes a loss to bring a team together. We really fought hard to get back into that game and we had a chance to win it. Like I said they knocked down some hard shots all night and that helped them prevail."
The main lesson learned from tonight:
"How tough we are. That's always a positive. We can go out every night and play the type of game we played tonight, it's going to be tough for a lot of teams to beat us. They are going to have to shoot as well as Illinois shot tonight."
On the second half comeback:
"I'm real proud of this team. This team showed a lot of heart out there, a lot of character. That's all you can ask from a bunch of freshman and a couple of seniors. It's something that we are going to draw off of. We are going to take a lot from this game when we go back to practice. As long as we keep going out and playing like we did tonight, this team is going to go a long way."
Bobby Frasor
On Coach Williams' influence in the second half:
"Coach Williams, he really got intense. When we were coming out of huddles, he got into a stance, growling. He was in our face making us believe that we could win this game if we just play hard every possession. Not worry about the score, just play one possession at a time and that's how we got back into the game."
Going up against All-America Dee Brown:
"That was great. I looked forward to the challenge. I think we did a great job today. I know it's a great challenge to play against any All-America."
The effects of not having Quentin Thomas:
"I was definitely tired at times. I think I may have showed it. A couple of times I had to take myself out of the game. I would put my fist up, catch my breath and then get back in there. A game like this, there is so much energy, you can kind of just play through it and that's what I did."
Marcus Ginyard
On taking a couple big shots down the stretch:
"It was crazy honestly. I had never experienced anything before like that. Hitting that three and just hearing the crowd go crazy. It's tough and the game continues. It was a great shot but they came right back at us. That's one thing you have to get ready for, they come right back at you."
On the team's fight throughout the second half:
"Everyone says we are a young team, but we are a capable team. That's no excuse for the way we executed late in the game. We have to get ready for the game on Saturday."
On the effort shown by captain David Noel:
"It was a tough play and he just went after the ball and got it from him. That is why he's David Noel. That's why he is our leader."
