University of North Carolina Athletics
Postgame Quotes
October 25, 2014 | Men's Basketball
North Carolina 111, Fayetteville State 58 (exhibition)
UNC Head Coach Roy Williams quotes • Oct. 24, 2014
Opening Statement about the game
"I'm just excited about the chance to talk about basketball. Needless to say, we shot better in the second half. First half, shooting 37 percent. Second half, 61.5 percent. We got a lot of guys minutes. We really did that, always talked about it. Glorified practice and hopefully they got something out of it. For us, we wanted some game action. And look at J.P. [Tokoto] eight assists, one turnover. Joel Berry four assists. Our goal was to rebound the basketball and try to set a pace we like and share the ball. Twenty-five assists-I like that a lot. For us, it was good to get out and concentrate on basketball for a while and get some things done, and we were happy to do that. I think it was good for us. I think we don't play again until the next exhibition game on Nov. 7, and we'll have some practice until then."
On starting Justin Jackson
"We didn't talk about it very long because I think he's played that well in practice. I talked to the staff and said 'This is who I want to start. Anybody have any difference of opinion?' And everybody thought that. He has an ability to score the ball and make some really good passes, particularly tonight in the first half. He had two assists, but he had them back to back in the first half, and he made some good passes for us as well. If you go with him and J.P. [Tokoto] as the wing players, you've got to be able to get down in the stance and guard the ball because the smaller guys and the front guys are going to try to drive it to the basket, so we have still got to work on that."
On the possibility of a new sixth man
"I hadn't really thought of it. We're a long way from really having to know for sure. I hope we will have more than one guy tat come of the bench into games. Isaiah [Hicks] had some good moments. Theo [Pinson] was Theo. Four turnovers, or whatever he had, and yet he makes a lot of things happen."
Opening Statement about the release of the Wainstein report
"It's a very sad time for me as a guy that works at the University of North Carolina, that went to school there, that was assistant coach here. If you cut me open, it's the color I bleed. We've made some mistakes for a long time, and it's a very, very sad time for us. But we will get through this.
"Our job is to try to do the best that we can right now. We've got to focus on the next day and do a better job. We are very proud of the way that this University is going to bounce back. We are very proud of the way that the discussions that we have had, we are going to try to bounce back.
"When I came here—it's hard to believe it was 12 years ago—I got here, and it was in a little bit of turmoil. Emotionally, it was a very difficult time for me.
"I left a place that I loved. I had been at Kansas for 15 years. I came here and knew I had to win. But also had to get the family back together again. That's what we tried to do. We tried to care about the kids everyday. Told them to do as I told them to do and we'll play in the [NCAA] Tournament. We had t-shirts made up that said 'Play Hard, Play Smart, Play in March.' There was no better team that had ever played in March.
"After that year, I told them that if they had some help, they could win this whole blessed thing. We did. It was a proud, proud time for us. At the end of that year, Coach [Joe] Holladay and I talked because we had so many guys in the same major. And I'm corny as all get-out. Some of you will be old enough to remember from watching football games on TV. When they used to introduce the players and the players would say 'Roy Williams (I don't want to say this to upset anyone in the drama department), but I'd say Roy Williams, Drama. Next I'd say Steve Kirschner, Drama. Next I'd say Steve Robinson, Drama. Next I'd say Bubba Cunningham, Drama. And I thought that must be the easiest thing you could possibly major in because they'd say the same thing.
"In my second year, I went to Coach Holladay and talked about this, [about] not pushing anybody in any direction. Let's make sure we allow kids to choose their own major. I didn't like the fact that there were so many guys in the same major. I didn't think it made sense. People have different things that they like. We'd go into a home even more strongly saying [to a recruit], 'What would you like to major in? And we allowed kids to choose any major. After our second year, I think the rest of that time kids getting recruited and saying I want to major in African-American studies. Because I didn't like the clustering and yes, they got very good grades.
"I wanted our guys to be able to choose what [major] they wanted to choose. While we did a great job and the kids did a great job, as someone said, how could I say something that I said at another press conference...And it's all the same answer. We let the kids choose what they want to choose. If you ask Marcus Paige what did I tell him to major in, he'll say I didn't. And that's the way we tried to do it. We thought we were doing the right thing, felt very comfortable about it. Our kids that were in the AFAM [major], I think our kids tried to do the right thing. Kids did the work that they were assigned.
"I'm dumbfounded by everything that came out in the report this week. I told them I'd rather have my guys in the regular classroom setting instead of independent study. When I was here in the first couple of years, independent study meant independent study. That was not a stigma.
"When [initial reports] came out, it was the first time I'd ever heard the term 'paper classes' was in the last couple of years. It was the first time I'd ever heard that term, and it was the first time I'd ever had to ask somebody if they were talking about independent study. But independent study was not a stigma.
"Things have happened for a long time that were very disappointing, and we are all extremely sad about it. We've made a lot of moves, a lot of procedures have been put in place, and a lot of people have lost their jobs.
"I'll always be sad about the image that we have right now around the country. We've had one of the greatest images we could possibly have, and we're going to work as hard as we could possibly work to have that image and get it back to where it was. I'm very proud to be a part of that ... [that effort] to have the University of North Carolina have that image again."
UNC Player Quotes • Oct. 24, 2014
Brice Johnson • Jr. • F
On his focus while on offense
"That the focus that coach is always talking about, he said that we need to be a great rebounding team to start the year off, so I mean he wants us to be a great team altogether, but I mean I just tip it out every time. I mean it just hit my hand every time. And that is the first thing I always think about, when we like go for a rebound. Tip it out of the free-throw zone. I mean that was just the main thing that I was trying to do tonight. "
On Justin Jackson as a player
"Well I mean he is a walking bucket. He is a great player and he is going to be really big for us this year. He is going to fill in those holes that we had last year with the guard play."
On who else brings energy off the bench
"Isaiah [Hicks]. I think Isaiah would be able to do it, because he is more comfortable this year. As you saw tonight, he is a lot more comfortable with his play and he wasn't beating himself up and stuff. He is really comfortable, so I expect that from him this year."
Marcus Paige • Jr. • G
"He has a lot, you know. He is big for a guard. He rebounds well and obviously he is really efficient. He doesn't take bad shots and he doesn't force anything. And he can knock down open shots. And he plays hard on the defense. You know especially for a freshman, that's a big thing. He gives his best effort on the defensive end; he is going to be a big player for us."
On Jackson, Theo Pinson and shooting three-pointers
"Yeah, and Joel [Berry II] can shoot it too. He got some great looks and missed it, missed a couple good ones today. All three of them bring al lot to the table and can all knock down shots, which is what we needed especially coming into this year. They definitely bring an added element to our team. They have depth in the back court and we are going to need them to make shots."
Isaiah Hicks • So. • G
On being aggressive in the post
"That is something that Coach always talked to me about, just getting out there and being more aggressive. Last year, it was like a deer in headlights, didn't know what to do, just too nervous or something. This year, I just slowed down. Coach says when you got a foot in the post, score. That's what you want a big man to do. Take that and something you look at all of us to do, be aggressive and attack the rim. "
