University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina vs. Florida State :: Post-Game Quotes
March 11, 2012 | Men's Basketball
March 11, 2012
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Florida State Seminoles
HEAD COACH LEONARD HAMILTON
Opening remarks
"Obviously I am extremely proud of our players and the fact that we've been through a lot of ups and downs through the course of the year. The thing I'm most proud of is that they've shown a tremendous amount of character. They've tried to do everything we've asked them to do early on in the season when we were not playing as well as we had hoped. They were positive. We maintained patience with them. I wanted to give them the level of confidence that we believe that we continue to keep working hard and staying focused that we're a good basketball team, a team that's capable of winning the ACC Tournament."
On what this title brings to the team
"I'm sure as time goes on, it will start to sink in and maybe there is validation out there that I'm really not thinking about. For me, I wanted to just go out and focus on this particular game and the talent that we had today. As we were going through the game, I just wanted my guys to give their best shot, give all they had in this particular game. And then if there is some type of recognition or some type of status we are suppose to receive, you guys will decide that."
LUKE LOUCKS
On withstanding the UNC run midway through the second half
"We knew North Carolina was going to make a run. We knew they weren't going to just give up. It was like a home crowd environment for them. With every shot they hit, it got louder and louder. Once we got back to time outs, the coaches were saying, 'Calm down; fight through it; this run is going to end soon.' "
"The resiliency of this team is impressive. That's what you hope for a veteran-laden team that has been through a lot. After a few of those runs, we bounced back and went right back at them."
On FSU's outstanding play in clutch situations
"Some of it is experience, but moreso is the character of our team. It's a never-give-up attitude that coach Hamilton and the coaching staff have instilled in us. When we lost a few games earlier in the season, they weren't giving up on us and we sure weren't gonna give up. It transfers to the games, too. When teams go on runs, that almost brings us closer together. I think it speaks to the character of the roster.
On breaking the run of titles by Duke and North Carolina
"I think it's a great accomplishment just because their history is so rich. Not only to beat them, but to have an opportunity to play those teams on this stage and in this game was really important to us. It even goes back a couple of years ago when coach Hamilton brought us in. He said, 'You can really change the culture of Florida State basketball.' We're stepping in the right direction of doing that and making our mark. We're not just some random team from Florida. We're in the thick of things every year. Coach Hamilton has done a great job of rebuilding this program, and he's going to continue to do that."
MICHAEL SNAER
On Deividas Dulkys
"I told him before the game started, 'If they give you an inch, don't even think about it; just let it go.' He shoots his best when he's not thinking about the shots and he's just letting them fly."
On FSU's outstanding play in clutch situations
"We're used to being in those situations where we have to crawl and scratch our way back. Ever since we did it the first time, we have the mindset that we can always come back. Until that ball bounces for the last time, we've got to keep fighting. If we're down 18 or down by two, we're going to fight the same way."
On his defense on the game's final shot
"I really don't remember. I was going through it pretty quick. I just knew I couldn't let him get a bucket. I had to go help, and when they kicked it out, I rushed at him as fast as I could. I forced him to alter the shot. It hit off the backboard a little bit and we were able to get the rebound."
North Carolina Tar Heels
HEAD COACH Roy Williams
Opening Statement:
"We are really disappointed in the outcome of the game, and congratulations to Leonard and his staff and Florida State's team. They have been fantastic here and they showed it this weekend and they showed it again today us. I have no problem with my team the way we competed, particularly the last twelve minutes. It was a big time basketball game and we gave ourselves a chance. We kept trying to pry the door open and they kept closing the door. They made shots down the stretch. Xavier Gibson made that little jumper on the baseline. They made free throws, they made plays, three point plays, they did what they had to do to stop somebody from coming back and stealing a win from them and you got to congratulate them. We have been pretty good defensively, basically the whole season. In ACC play, believe it or not we even have a better defensive field goal percentage than Florida State does. Overall, all games they have much better than we do. But today their offense was much stronger than our defense and they made shots. I have said it a thousand times, the ball always looks better when it is going in the basket. Really like the way my team came back and fought. I liked the toughness that we showed. I liked that we tried to do a better job each and every possession. We didn't get off to a good start. We didn't play well in the first half, we didn't play well the first part of the second half. The last twelve minutes it was the North Carolina team that I have seen recently and it is the North Carolina team that I like and we want to be. But I think the biggest thing you have to do is congratulate Florida State. They played a heck of a game. They shot over sixty percent in the first half, shot over fifty percent in the second half. It is hard to make a comeback on a team that is being that effective on the offensive end. We had a chance and they made plays and that is the reason they are the champions."
On reasons for UNC's shooting percentage:
"I would say their defense. Let's give some credit to the other team. Every North Carolina fan just thinks it is always just about us, and it's not about us. It's fifty-fifty, it is half us and half them. They did a great job defensively. We missed some we would like to make, there is no question, but they played the same number of games here that we did. They even played later than we did last night. We don't have quite the bench that we had that we can rest people. But the bottom line is those are all excuses. We didn't make shots and we didn't make enough shots. They made more than we made."
On how much difficult it was for him to get the ball with John Henson out
"I think they (Florida State) did a great job. Their team defense is extremely strong. When I did catch it, there were two people on me immediately, so I didn't have a lot of time to create or to see what is going to happen. That does make it tough. They did a fantastic job at it, and you have to give them credit."
On the difficulty of defending Florida State in the post
"The big thing with them is that their guards are great. It makes it tough when it's a 1-on-1 situations. They were able to get some deep posts that created a lot of problems for us. James (Michael McAdoo) did a great job, but it's just different dynamics when you play with James. They did a great job of getting deep posts, and it made it easy for them."
On how the final inbounds play was set up
"We had two plays set up, two screens set up for Harrison (Barnes) coming off the top, and they (Florida State) switched it, so he was overplayed. Then we had another screen for him going down to the baseline, and they switched it again. He wasn't open. P.J. (Hairston) did a great job, and he was our third option. He was open. He tried to make the best out of it, and it's tough when you catch the ball nearly at halfcourt."
