University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC-Iowa Postgame Quotes
December 4, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Iowa Head Coach Fran McCaffery
On Mike Gesell
“I thought he was tremendous. He got us off to a great start, which is critical when you come into a place like this. He was aggressive. We were concerned about their pressure, about their trapping, so you need your point guard to play that aggressively and with that much control. It settles everybody else down.”
On getting a quality win
“I think every team needs to be able to go on the road and beat somebody of this caliber. I came into the season feeling like we have a good team. I think we have played well. We haven't shot the ball well but I'm really proud of how we have defended, particularly today on the glass in the second half.”
On change in offensive rebounding
“Well we missed a lot of shots, that helped. I think a little bit more of a concerted effort. We really went after them. I mean it was the only way we were going to survive. We weren't shooting the ball well and you have to go back and get it. You have to drive it. You have to get into the bonus. You have to try to get some easy baskets in transition, which were few and far between in this game. The only way we survived was to go back and get it so I'm really proud of my guys.”
On how we played on defense
“That was what we learned [in New York], particularly against Texas. We went nine straight possessions where we didn't score and the lead went to 15 quickly. Today we didn't let that happen. Today we got after them. They run so much stuff that's really hard to guard, whether it is back screen stuff, they pass it well, and they get it inside. You have to be locked in. You have to stay engaged, five guys for the entire possession or they are going to score. So that was the game plan and they executed.”
On game planning for Marcus Paige
“Our plan with him was, knowing him as well as we do, he is such an incredible late game player, he will take a game over all by himself late, so we didn't want him to be the guy. He hit the one big three and Coach [Roy Williams] will run some stuff for him, and he will go looking. We switched when we had to, tried to keep him in front, tried to contest his three and not let him get to the rim, and not put him on the free throw line.”
On Mike Gesell and Marcus Paige
“[Mike Gesell] has been a big game player his whole life. He was player of the year in the state and [his team was] state champions. They played together. They love each other. They were a phenomenal backcourt; you can only imagine those guys together. I have so much respect for Marcus [Paige] and his family. I told him I wish him the best the rest of the way. He is going to be great. He is going to be great in the pros.”
North Carolina Head Coach Roy Williams
Opening Statement
“I told [Iowa head coach] Fran [McCaffery] congratulations. It was a very good for them I would think. Maybe it's not that good of a win the way we played. They made plays. We've got a four-point lead, I think, 47-43. Then Adam Woodbury makes three baskets in a row. We get it to 51-51, and Marcus misses a shot and then we miss twice in a row from six inches. Then we go down and foul them. They make the first and miss the second, and we have two guys over there supposed to be boxing out. We let them get the rebound, we foul them and they make two free throws. So they got up three, and then we get it back at 55 and miss a layup at that time. They were just so much more aggressive going after the ball on the offensive boards. It's very frustrating. They got one offensive rebound in the first half and had 16 in the second half. But again, they made plays. Adam [Woodbury] made a couple big shots, and they made their free throws. [They were] 21 out of 24 from the line. That's one of the things we talked about, playing defense without fouling. I just have to congratulate them. I'm not very pleased right now to say the least.
On if he liked the shots his team was getting
“No, not at all. We can't just be a jump-shooting team…guys standing around and not moving inside. [We] run a set play one time and a guy goes the wrong direction, so I said, 'Why should I play you?' We've got to get guys who are supposed to be good basketball players to play on game night.”
On if he's questioning his team's toughness as a result of the loss
“Yeah. They [Iowa] wanted it more than we did and that's a sorry thing to say. It's a sad thing to say. We gave up 12 points on offensive rebounds…[Iowa had] 16 offensive rebounds in the second half. And, again, we still had opportunities, and we missed some opportunities. Even at the end, we were trying to get two guys to go screen for Marcus, and both of them start and stop, start and stop. It was almost comedic, but it wasn't funny to me.”
On how difficult it was to coach in light of Ted Seagroves' passing
“That's a tough question. It was tough, there's no question. It's been a hard time, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't play…I have to do a better job coaching. The guy was one of my best friends my entire life. It shows that basketball is not really that important a lot of times. It's important to me and the guys in the locker room right now, but Ted Seagroves was one of those wonderful, wonderful human beings. I would say that more people knew Ted Seagroves than they did Roy Williams and Larry Fedora. He didn't get quite the publicity that we get. But I've got to do a better job coaching my team. Life hands you a lot of things that you've got to be able to handle, and this is something that Roy Williams has to handle. I appreciate you asking.”
UNC Player Quotes
Kennedy Meeks, Sophomore, Forward
On leading the team: “That was really anybody though. Marcus is a leader on our team. We need to start calling people out on what we're doing wrong. He's the main guy on the team that we've got to look to on all those possessions. Me, Brice, J.P., Justin [have] got to step up.”
On not overlooking Iowa: “No. No chance. We knew they were a good team. We watched the tape, and we saw their ability to get offensive rebounds… ability to get rebounds, all that stuff. That's the reason for Coach to be upset.”
On playing in a tough game: “Keep trying. For me, I don't know, just for me it's keep trying. I think all of us try. Some positions we're in the right spots. That happens. Long rebounds, stuff like that. Everybody has to crash the boards – got to be relentless.”
On where they go from here: “Practice and getting better.”
Brice Johnson, Junior, Forward
On getting ready for ECU: “Whatever Coach gives us, we've got to get ready for. We get what we deserve. Just got to be able to do what he asks us to do and things are going to be like this. Just got to be ready for whatever. We have to be able to bounce back like we did [after] Butler, and come back on Sunday against ECU and just be ready to play.”
On being a tougher team: “They keep saying we need to play tougher. We need to play harder than our opponents. It was one of the emphasis for today on the scouting report just saying we need to play tougher than Iowa and be able to win all of the 50-50 balls and things like that. So we just have to pay attention to detail when things like that are on the paper. We just have to put it in our minds that we are a tougher team, and we just need to go out there and play like that.”
On being in foul trouble: “I try to stay aggressive as possible. But at the end of the day I still have to remember that they're looking at me. I try to stay within myself and just play the game I know how to play, but ultimately you have to alter that a little just bit because you are in foul trouble. You can't do some things.”
Justin Jackson, Freshman, Forward
On being a better team: “A harder working team. Right now it's not really offense. It's just our mindset going into the game. We've got to come out to outwork everybody. Our talent, it's just not going to do anything for us if we don't come out and work hard. Right now it's just a gut check. We've all got to look inside ourselves and figure out if we want to be a good team or not, and I think we'll be able to turn it around.”
On three point attempts: “I think so. But if they're open, they're open. Obviously this year, our team is a better shooting team than last year, so it's going to be a little different whenever you look at the stat sheet. But 23 threes...We definitely could have attacked the goal a little bit more, but our biggest thing was once we attacked the goal was finishing. There were a lot of easy ones. I had, I know, a couple that I've got to finish. But right now it's nothing to do with the offense, it's just inside of us, the heart that we need show.”
