University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC-Boston College Quotes
January 4, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 4, 2009
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North Carolina Head Coach Roy Williams
Opening Statement:
"I grabbed Al [Skinner] after the game and told him it was a great win for them. It was very disappointing for us to say the least. I really believe they are the type of team who sets the tempo in the first half by outworking us. They were tougher and outrebounded us. They had 13 offensive rebounds in the first half. In the second half we could never really get over the hump. All of a sudden it is a 13 or 14-point game. We had a nice comeback because our kids are always going to continue trying, but we could not get over the hump again. Needless to say it hurts and it is frustrating. It's hard to see we shot 29% in the second half and it is hard to beat anybody like that. I thought Sanders and Rice were both sensational for them in the first half. We just could never get over the hump. We did not get them to turn the ball over very much. Then we had some guys, including myself, who did not have as good as a day as we thought we would."
On preventing the transition offense:
"They made shots in the first half. That was the biggest thing. They shot 44% and I thought they made 80% percent of their shots. They made seven threes in the first half. The other thing is we did not do a very good job of attacking. Again I think we have to be more physical. We have to be tougher, mentally and physically, but we had some opportunities. Even the last play of the first half, I thought we did what we were supposed to do. We even had two fouls to give and we were trying to get a double-team, their guy comes off a screen and the guy that should be there is not there. We could foul and they would not even get a shot off or if we get a turnover we could get a shot ourselves. We missed a layup, a follow dunk, and another wide-open layup because they sprint back and do what their supposed to do. It is not characteristic for our team to play the way we did today. Hopefully, it will not be characteristic for us to play like that again."
On missed free throws:
"15-27 is not good and especially when a lot of those on the front end of those are one-and-one. During exam break we have extra shooting periods. We thought we shot more free throws in the last two weeks than we have the entire season. It is part of the game we have to make shots from the free throw line and make shots away from the basket to get over the hump. I think it was 56-54 and we had three straight possessions. During one of those three possessions when we missed a layup, Will [Graves] made a causal pass to Tywon [Lawson] and he misses a layup and Will missed the follow. Again when you shoot 29% it is hard to come back on people."
Boston College Head Coach Al Skinner
On the Eagles' game plan towards Carolina's transition play
"I'm not sure if we really kept them out of transition, we just really wanted to play the way we wanted to play. Let's come in and execute our stuff and adhere to the things that we do. We're not a team that's going to win a track meet by any means, and let's not get caught up in that. [Carolina] is going to make some plays in transition. It's not like we have to come back and respond right away. I thought it helped to have a senior point guard that understands that and kept the pace the way we wanted to."
On keeping the pace:
"There's no question that we kind of kept it at our pace, at least, as far as I'm concerned, on the offensive end what we wanted to do. Our offense dictates the way we want to play and the guys were really patient. I can't say this often enough: I just wanted to make sure that we go out and play the way we wanted to play. The other thing is that I think we were prepared, especially in the first half. I thought we were very prepared for whatever pressure they brought. We only had two turnovers in the first half, and I thought that was key in the sense that the guys understood what it is and what we needed to do."
On BC's overall performance:
"First of all, we have overall better ball handlers this year. That and then obviously another year, I think our guys were very embarrassed by their performance down here last year. The guys that did play, they were disappointed in themselves - not saying that they should have beaten North Carolina, but that they should have represented themselves a little bit better."
On what it means for BC beating #1
"For the program, it's one league win right now, that's all it is. I think our program has done okay, so it's not like we haven't had any success in the past. This is a league win, this is league play; we've got 15 more games to go and it may be no more significant than that. Maybe at the end of the season, maybe it has some significance, but right now...I hope we don't do this, but if we lose in the next 14, what good is this win? I mean it's a win. It's a win in the league, it's a great win for us and anytime you can win on the road you have got to be extremely happy, and we are about that."
UNC Player Quotes - vs. Boston College
On what the team will do next:
"We move on. We go to practice tomorrow, we lift weights, we practice, and we got to bounce back; it's part of life. Nobody is incapable of losing. What are you going to do, we're allowed to lose and do things of that nature. So, you just come back tomorrow, practice, and bounce back; become a better team."
On expectations about tomorrow's practice:
"I know it's going to be a lot of competition, a lot of physical defensive stuff. They outmanned us. They were very physical in the beginning of the game, they jumped on us, and they had all guns firing. They were dominating the boards, they were hitting shots, they played the game they wanted to play. They did a very good job on doing what they wanted to do. We just didn't execute the way we wanted to."
On very little going right for the team:
"I think that sums it up. We didn't do the things that we wanted to, shots weren't falling, and defensively I think we had some lapses. But, we'll work on them."
On whether not having any previous close games this season hurt the team:
"No, I think we've played competition. In Maui we saw some great competition and I think one thing is we know that we had to play when we come into the ACC. We didn't do it tonight, and we got beat. We know that there's going to be competition when we come into league play. Every team plays as good and they are a quality opponent. If you look at it, I don't think it's because we didn't play anybody toe-to-toe before tonight. I think we should expect to come out there and play the way we want to, which is to show up and play."
On how practice will be tomorrow:
"It will be very intense, everybody will be on their A-game, and we'll be sharp. You got to bounce back."
On some things they could have done better:
"We definitely need to do a better job rebounding the ball, not just big guys; guards have to get down there too. We've just got to get tougher I think. There were tough loose balls, and I think they came out with a majority of them tonight that we didn't get and that also played a part."
