University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC-NC State Quotes
February 13, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 13, 2010
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UNC Head Coach Roy Williams
Opening Statement:
"Needless to say, this [win] feels a heck of a lot better than it has been feeling. I think in the second half, for us to win after only shooting 37.5 percent, speaks to two things: at halftime we had seven turnovers, and we only had three in the second half; at halftime [NC State] had seven offensive rebounds to our six, but at the end of the game we had 17 and they still had seven. Also if you look at the stats, they shot 26 shots in the second half and we shot 32; and it always seems to help when you get more shots up [than your opponent].
"I think Will [Graves] and David Wear really did some nice things for us defensively when we had to go a little smaller and put both of them on Tracy [Smith]. He was a load for everybody. Javier [Gonzalez], it was hard to keep him out of the lane.
"But I still think that the lack of turnovers and the rebounding we the keys for us. Larry [Drew] having no turnovers for us in the second half was big, to say the least. I think the guys that came in off the bench, who played in different spots and at different times of the game, for the most part, gave us something. When you look down [at the box score], no one had a great game statistically, but North Carolina has the most points."
NC State Coach Sidney Lowe
Opening Statement
"I thought we played pretty decent basketball in the first half. But it's that part of the ballgame that we talk about, the first five minutes of the second half, when a lot of good teams really come out with intensity and try to make a run. That's the part of the ballgame when good teams try to get you. We didn't come out and do that. They got to the foul line early and they were able to get a run on us."
On the frustration regarding the Wolfpack's struggles against the Tar Heels
"Yeah, I understand it (the rivalry). It's a great rivalry. I don't want to say `kick them when they're down.' I'm not sure when this program is ever really down. They might be struggling a little bit as Coach (Roy Williams) said to me. But there's a lot of pride here and a lot of tradition here. I'm more disappointed that we didn't come out in that second half ready to play. No, I can't say ready to play, but we weren't smart. We talked about it at halftime. We talked about our position at that point, and we once again reminded them of times of the ballgame when you can make a run. And good teams make that run in the first five minutes (of the second half.) We came out and made some really bad decision. That's one of the things that has been killing us lately is really understanding how to win game. I just explained to our guys again that we're really not that far off. It's getting an offensive rebound and taking it back out as opposed to dribbling around and trying to create something and then turning it over, which we did today. And then they go down and they score. And then we come down and take a quick shot, and they go down and score. Those types of things are really what we're lacking: that experience, that understanding and that poise. Every time we look at the film, we see certain areas where we just break down and a lot of it is understanding really how to win and how important it is each and every play."
