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University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC-Penn Quotes
November 15, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 15, 2008
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North Carolina Head Coach Roy Williams
Opening Statement:
"It was a nice win for the first day. I think what you lose from the idea of playing exhibition games, is that guys are trying to get used to playing in front of a crowd. We were tight a little early. Early in the game I thought every shot we took was a good shot we just did not miss make many of those shots. I think you have to give credit to Penn and their defense of play. We had to work very had against the zone, because we do not play zone so it is hard to prepare. Our Blue Team does not have the size or expertise for us to practice against a true zone. I thought we just did not shoot the ball very well. Wayne Ellington, for example, in our dummy offense he was shooting the ball incredibly lately. So he is not going to go 5-15 every game. Their style is tough to play against. I thought Ed, Tyler [Zeller], and Deon did a good job and they are not used to playing zone out there. Tyler Hansbrough moves his feet better than any of our big games, but he was not playing. I like to see Ed have 14 rebounds and that is really good. It is also good for him to not have four turnovers and zero assists. Tyler Zeller to score 18 points on 5-8 shooting is really good. At the same time, I do not expect him to have zero defense of rebounds. I thought Bernardini played really well against us. He is a really good player, but he would be all world against us. He has scored 26 both times we have played him. We got a little frustrated at times. Again I thought all-in-all for the second time out in front of a big crowd, the first time for some guys, got to be please with the correct column."
On Thompson's performance:
"I thought he played well. At the end I got mad at him a little bit because he took a bad shot and was fouled. He has really had a good preseason as have Tyler Zeller and Ed Davis. I think when his shot goes in, it makes him feel really good, as for our team."
Pennsylvania Head Coach Glen Miller
Opening Statement:
"It was a good game for us. We were excited about being able to come play the number one team in the country. Our guys really put a premium on our preseason preparation and I thought our team got a lot out of it. Unfortunately, we had our opportunities tonight and did not cash in on them. It was a good experience for our team and I think we will be able to grow from this experience."
On playing North Carolina with injuries:
"I believe they are still a very good basketball team. I do not want to downplay the importance of Hansbrough. For us to come in here and try to compete against them is a tall order, but I think we will grow a great deal from this experience. Obviously, Hansbrough is a terrific player and player of the year candidate. We are never pleased with a loss, but I was pleased with our resiliency tonight. This is a good group of guys, who are passionate and want to get better. The seven minute mark in the first half to the three minute mark into the second half, that was our demise."
Danny Green
"Offense is natural, it's easy to play offense. Defense is the tougher part of the game. You have to learn our system to be able to play it."
Ed Davis
"That's what Coach loves. You can miss a shot and he won't get mad -- but if you don't hustle, that's what makes him mad."
"You can see it in the way he (Coach Williams) acts. If someone hits a three he won't get that excited but if you take a charge he gets excited. He likes the little stuff like hustling for loose balls."
Deon Thompson
"We got sloppy on the offensive end. We got sloppy with our passing and let them stick around."
"Coach is telling us not to make excuses for ourselves right now and use a woe is me attitude. We've got people down and hurt and we've just got to find a way to get the job done. It will only makes us better for it when March comes around."
Wayne Ellington
"As perimeter players we've got to move a little bit more. Our post players have to move inside also and we've got to get the ball to them.
"I didn't get frustrated, my shot was not falling. As you know, I would have liked it to. I tried to work on different aspects of the game, like get some blocks defensively, some steals."
[on Penn]: "They've gotten a lot better. We've played them all three years that I've been here and they have a new coach and a new system."
