University of North Carolina Athletics
Postgame Quotes
March 6, 2005 | Men's Basketball
March 6, 2005
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HEAD COACH Roy Williams
Opening Statement:
"Well it was a heck of a finish to say the least. We have played four games against Duke since our staff came back and all four of them have gone down to the last minute. It's been a little wild the last two. They were able to get us three times in a row, so maybe the moon was just right. It was our chance.
"I love the competitiveness of our team when we were down nine inside three minutes. I told them that if they were to make a total commitment to every possession on the defensive end and every possession on the offensive end that we would have a chance still at the end. I think that's what they did.
"Needless to say we are also very fortunate. We were going to try to foul when there was about 37-38 seconds left. Yet we ended up forcing a loose ball and we ended up getting that and a timeout. We tried to make a play; we were not going to hold for the last shot. We were going to try to make something happen then have a chance to tip it in or extend the game if we did not score. Raymond [Felton] made a nice move and got fouled, made the free throw and then in probably one of the most impressive things of the whole game was how aggressively Raymond went after the offensive rebound on his own missed free throw. Marvin came up with it and that's talent, that's not coaching. He put the ball back to the basket, made the free throw. We are fortunate they missed. We didn't do a great job, I wanted to hold them to one shot. We talked about that all year long in practice. We worked on a 'must-stop'. We had to get two 'must-stops' in a row. So at the timeout that's what we talked about. We had to stop them and finish it by getting the rebound. We gave them a second opportunity but Sean [May] was able to get that last rebound.
"Twenty-six points and 24 rebounds is a big-time effort. We had some players that had some unbelievable efforts and that was one of them. I can't enough positive things about Duke. They have had some problems this year with injuries, but those guys that stayed on the court for them are 100% heart. I have total respect for them and the job that Mike does. I feel very lucky, and very fortunate to have won."
On his energy:
"I felt that there was a couple times where I really just wanted to see if I could help them. But that means that coaching is taking credit and that's not what I'm trying to do. There's no question I was into the game. I think that was pretty evident. I did ask them for a total commitment. Somebody told me one time that every game somebody gives in. But I don't think either of these teams gave in today. I asked my team to not bring anything back to the locker room and those last three minutes I promised them we would have a chance."
On the postgame celebration:
"I'm big on letting kids celebrate. We will be criticized for it like every thing you do in coaching you're going to be criticized for. Somebody's not going like it and that's just part of it. I'm big on kids enjoying themselves. I'm big on kids thanking the fans. The idea of them talking to the fans after the game is something I stole from Coach [Bobby] Knight at Indiana. He did that with their players. We were fortunate enough to win nine conference championships in my 15 years at Kansas and most of the time when we were at home we cut down the nets. I think it's okay in college athletics to let kids celebrate. It's not an insult to anybody else but if some people don't like it, it's okay. The other part of it is, those three seniors, 8-20, I think they deserved to have some fun. Coach Smith told me, I have asked him several questions, and he said "you are the boss". So I said we are going to cut down the nets.
DUKE HEAD COACH MIKE KRZYZEWSKI
Opening Statement:
"Well it's a great game, just a very intense basketball game just like the one
in Cameron. Just like the one in Cameron, it came down to the last possession
and they were better than we were in the last possession. We're going to make
some mistakes. We made a couple of them at the end, but overall, we didn't
make a lot of mistakes to put us in a position where we're winning. I thought
our guys did well. [Sean] May was fantastic. If you get 24 rebounds in this
day and age, it's remarkable. That's just a magnificent individual
performance. I thought both teams played hard and well. Our defense in the
second half was terrific and some of our offensive execution, but they made
some big plays down the stretch and we didn't and they won and they deserved
it because they did that. Well, I'm proud of our guys. We have to close the
chapter to this book, the regular season, and our guys were at every ball
game. I'm proud of them, and hopefully we can get even a little bit healthier
and do well in the next two tournaments."
On what the Heels did against Redick in the 2nd half:
"They just kept constant pressure. I thought J.J. missed some open-he's human.
He had open looks, but you also know that they're going to keep fighting. So
you're just going to get it for that fraction. He just missed some shots and
then they played really good defense. It's that combination."
On the play of Shelden Williams:
"Well, you have maybe two of the best big guys in the country playing great
basketball. In this day and age where everyone focuses on guards and outside
shooting and things like that, they were both terrific in their own way.
Shelden's defense, when he's playing like that, makes us an outstanding
defensive team."
On the number of deflections he thinks his team got in the second
half:
"I just wish we had one that went to a turnover in the last three minutes.
oth teams played really hard. It was an effort between these two programs
and this game and obviously, we're disappointed, but we lost to a great
program and classy group of kids and classy coach. We had two great games
this year, the two of us. Two of the best in college basketball with Duke and
North Carolina."
On what he had set up in his final possession:
"Well we had (J.J.) off of a couple of screens and we got a good look. It was
in and out. So, that was a good thing, and then we got another one. We were
going to win the game, and went with our best player to win it. We'll do
that again if we ever have a chance to be in a situation like that."
UNC PLAYERS
On Carolina's drive to win:
"We wanted to win it outright. Duke is a really good team. They're about as good as it gets as far as a team and players that know how to play well together. This team just had too much fight tonight. We just wanted to win and do whatever it took to win. Down nine with three minutes to go, I think everybody thought it was over. But, we didn't at all."
On the wild finish:
"I've never experienced anything like that and it's something I'll never forget for the rest of my life. Being down nine with three minutes to go I could just look at me teammates and know we had a chance. We capitalized on some opportunities when they turned the ball over. That play where Daniel Ewing turned the ball over and Raymond jumped on it was probably the play of the game."
On the Duke rivalry:
"For me it feels really good because I've never beaten them. We beat them my freshman year, but I didn't play. Finally to get an opportunity feels good. We had an opportunity over there and didn't finish. We had an opportunity last year and turned the ball over three times with three minutes to go when we were up seven. Tonight was the same type of situation except that they were on top. We just had too much fight tonight. We wanted to send our seniors off on a good note and we were able to do that."
On Duke's foul trouble:
"It was real key. They went through a little stretch where they had to play Marcus at the four and Melchionni at the four. So, that kind of gave Jawad and Marvin more of an inside presence. It was real key that we got them in foul trouble early."
On going from the lowest of the lows to the highest of the highs:
"You really appreciate the highs when you've been at the bottom and seen the worst. So you really appreciate once you get to the top and you really enjoy it."
On Shelden Williams as a shot blocker:
"He's a big time shot blocker. We knew that coming into the game we just had to take it at him. He's a great shot blocker. He blocks everything. I knew he was going to block some of my shots but I just had to keep going and keep fighting through it."
On his foot:
"It hurts a little bit. But, I'm doing okay. It's getting better. It only really hurts when someone steps on it and it got stepped on a few times today. But, I'm okay."
On Sean May's 24 rebounds:
"He just takes everybody's rebounds. I just try to do what I can. If he doesn't get it then I try and get it. But, he's going to get 'em. He's a great rebounder."
On the emotions after the game:
"They wouldn't let me talk at first. So, I almost ended up crying looking at Sean. Sean was crying. Coach Williams was crying. But, it almost got me."
On the pile after the win:
"It was rough down there. I'm holding on the Jackie. Melvin was on my back. Other people were stepping on our hands and stuff. But, it was all worth it."
On where this ranks emotionally with other games in his life:
"I guess this is number one. This is pretty close to my first state championship game my junior year in high school. That was emotional. But, I think this probably tops it."
On what this game reveals about this Carolina team:
"This just shows that we can win games. That was a big time game against a big time team, a great team. We were able to fight back after a nine point lead under three minutes. This just shows that we can win games. We have a great team, a great coaching staff, and we play hard. We play hard, we play smart, and we do the things we have to do. We can beat anybody."
DUKE PLAYERS
Shelden Williams
On Sean May:
"He did a real good job shooting ball and following his shots and also following other people's shots. Also, he knew that when guys were coming to the lane he had to help out and try and block a shot. He was one of the key factor's in the game and it worked well for them."
On the nine-point lead late in the second half:
"We played hard and pushed hard for the majority of the second half. All of a sudden we got a little cushion and laid off some and had a few turnovers. Carolina was able to convert on those and got the momentum to turn things around and come back and win the game."
On Duke's defense:
"That's one of the things we're known for, our defense. We know that if we play good on defense then we have a good chance of staying in a game. One of the things we like to do is stress defense especially with a team like Carolina that likes to run up and down. We held them to 70-something points and a lot of times they score over a hundred. Unfortunately we let up a little bit in the last four minutes and they came back and won."
Lee Melchionni
On Daniel Ewing's last shot:
"I think it was a pressured shot. He got ran into and turned around and looked and put up the shot. Unfortunately it didn't go down."
On his improved second half performance:
"I think in the first half I was a little upset at myself. I was really fighting. I got angry at myself and just decided to come out in the second half and just have fun and go out there and really compete and I was able to do that."
On J.J. Redick's assists:
"I think he draws a lot of attention and I can play off him. We can definitely make teams pay when he draws attention and then kicks it out to me."
On losing after a nine-point lead late in the game:
"You've got to have the mentality to bear down. We shot one free throw in the last three minutes with a nine-point lead and that's unacceptable. You can't do that and win a game. We've got to take care of the ball and force them to foul us and we didn't do that."
On Sean May's performance:
"He's an unbelievably quick jumper for such a big guy. We didn't keep him off the boards. He grabbed 24 boards. He's a heck of a player. That's all you can say."
Shavlik Randolph
On his fifth foul:
"I was trying to play help-side defense and I had my arms spread. I guess I was grabbing Jawad Williams or touching him too hard trying to keep him and the ball in my peripheral vision."
On the last three minutes:
"The thought with us was, 'let's try and extend this and get it into double digits.' We thought that's what we were going to do and they put a lot of pressure on us. We had a little bit of trouble. You've got to give them credit because they really came out hard the last three minutes and were able to whittle down that nine-point deficit. They came back and Marvin Williams had a huge play at the end to put them up and I feel like we got a good look from J.J. at the end but it just didn't go in."
On the lingering thought of this loss:
"I think it'll linger a little bit. Obviously we would have like to come out here and win. But, with the exception of the last few minutes we were happy with the way we played. We just can't have let-ups like that in the final moments of the game."
