University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC-Maryland Quotes
February 4, 2012 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 4, 2012
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North Carolina Coach Roy Williams
Opening statement:
"We really felt good in the locker room, that was a good win and we hit some tough shots down the stretch. The other night we couldn't hit anything but we won the game because of our defense and rebounding. Tonight we made some shots down the stretch and at the same time I thought it was our best defensive game in the second half. Terrell [Stoglin] had 20 but I thought he had 50. He is really hard to guard; Reggie Bullock was really good. Reggie still couldn't stop him [Stoglin] because he is that good. It hurts to have Tyler [Zeller] and Kendall [Marshall] in foul trouble for that long. I took a chance with Kendall with eight minutes to play; I told him he had to be smart because we needed him in the game. When I put him after the TV timeout with 8 minutes left I didn't want the crowd to get back into it. I knew that Kendall could play intelligently enough to stay away from his fifth foul.
"Zeller was big inside for us scoring. In the first half our guys didn't get very low. Zeller was our only guy scoring. Down the stretch Harrison [Barnes] made some big shots for us. We got a couple of follow shots from some people, I think Reggie got one and P.J. [Hairston] did as well. It was good that we got some offense down the stretch. I think the biggest thing was that we really did a good job defensively. Looking at the stats they shot 38% in the second half, they did miss some open shots but I thought our defense did some good things. I am stunned that John [Henson] only had one blocked shot, I thought it was more than that."
On halftime adjustments:
"We just had to play better. We went small and that helped us. We went with Hairston as a four man and made it more difficult to guard him. At the same time it would have been really pretty if P.J. and Reggie hit some of their jump shots. When Zeller got his fourth foul it gave us an experienced guy in Hairston who could play defense. Don't give the coaching too much credit because the players still have to make shots."
On the offensive rebounds:
"In the first half I thought that [Maryland] were much more aggressive than we were. We looked tentative around the basket. We got several offensive rebounds in the first half but we didn't make any shots. Everyone was afraid that someone was going to block their shot. I thought the offensive rebounding was good for us. The second chance points were 18-12 for us and it always helps when you make free throws down the stretch."
On playing in a close game:
"Throughout the course of the season it always helps. We work on it in practice every other day doing last second situations. But nothing helps like seeing it in a game. Hairston sprained his ankle again in the game. I took him out and it looked like he was limping around out there on the defensive ends for a couple of possessions. I didn't tell him but I said to myself if I saw him limping around again on the defensive end I was going to take him out for good. Maybe he picked up my vibe because he stopped limping so I kept him in the game. I didn't want to take him out and let it stiffen up some more for him."
Sophomore Guard Kendall Marshall
On defending Terrell Stoglin:
"We knew Reggie [Bullock] would do a great job on him, but we couldn't get in Reggie's way. Stoglin, he's going to use a lot of ball screens so one thing we wanted to focus on as a team was making sure Reggie had a path to get through that. Reggie did a great job on him tonight; 8-21, I think we'll take that for their best player."
On playing in the second half with four fouls:
"It's a part of the game. There are always some calls that can go either way. That's all a part of the game; you have to be able to play through any circumstance. I have to pick and choose when to be aggressive. Obviously I still want to be aggressive rebounding the ball and getting by teammates involved. As far as defensively, I know I'm not going to be able to get up on guys if I want to finish the game."
On what the comeback means:
"It's big for us; I think it showed character. At Florida State, it was a small lead and we let it get away from us early in the second half. This time they got it up to eight or nine, but we were able to regroup and find a way to get it done."
Senior Forward Tyler Zeller
On how playing in a close game helps the team:
"I think it will help us a lot. Last year we had a lot of games like this but it shows that we can be tough enough in the end to make the plays and get the stops we need. There are a few things we want to fix down the stretch but it's nice to fix that now instead of in the NCAA Tournament when its life or death."
On Alex Len:
"I think he has the potential to be very good. He's a little raw right now, he goaltended a few shots being too aggressive, going for blocked shots, but I think he has the potential to be very good and I think in time as he gets older he will be."
North Carolina Junior Forward John Henson
On the game:
"It was a tough game. Maryland has always been tough on us. At home they feed off the crowd and Stoglin is a great scorer, and they held on down low. It was a tough game tonight coming to their house."
On his second half play:
"It was a mentality. I got one shot to go in the hole and I just fed off that. I'm glad to help the team out."
Maryland Coach Mark Turgeon
Opening statement:
"We played well again. [We] played with great hustle and great effort. We did a lot of things really well. [We] had a stretch in the second half where we couldn't get into anything. Pe'Shon [Howard] was on the bench. [We] just didn't look like we could get into anything, and when [Tyler] Zeller was out I thought we could've made a run. And then we made some mistakes defensively and couldn't rebound. I know I'm going to watch the tape and probably be disappointed in our effort on the glass [which] is something I'm on these guys about. It was the number one key of the game for us and second was transition. We did a great job in transition, but we didn't do a great job boxing out and rebounding and a lot of it is just [North Carolina's] length and size. There's a reason they were preseason number one in the country. They have really good players and I thought their best players stepped up. [John] Henson, [Harrison] Barnes and Zeller stepped up when the game was on the line and made all the plays."
