University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC-Miami Postgame Quotes
February 20, 2016 | Men's Basketball
UNC Head Coach Roy Williams
Opening Statement
“I'll say the same thing I said last Saturday – things look better when the ball goes in the basket. At the start of the second half, the ball went in really well for us and our depth wore them down. We caught them on an afternoon when things were going really well for us and not so well for them. Early in the second half, we made a bunch of shots in a row and I told the guys in the locker room I was happy about that, but I told them I was really pleased because I thought defensively we were more involved – everybody. In the second half we were even more involved than we were in the first half. They're hard to guard, they spread you, set a screen on the ball three to four times every possession, so our big guys had to help and guards had to get there too, but I thought we did a pretty good job with that.”
On whether he challenged the team after Wednesday's loss
“Not really. The kids just did a good job. We did not practice on Thursday, but I went down to the weight room and eleven of our guys were in there on their own. On Friday, we came in and I showed them two plays from the Duke game and then said, 'That's all we're going to talk about it, it's behind us now.' Our focus was on today and we never mentioned the Duke game again. The kids did a really great job of focusing.”
On whether this game feels like a defining moment for the team
“No. It had a feel of our guys bouncing back and playing pretty hard. The fact of the matter is we were 10-3 and tied for first in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and every coach in the country would take that. I wasn't going to lay down on my side and say 'woe is me.' I told them I didn't want to hear any of that junk from them either and they took care of it.”
On how connected the offense was (high number of assists)
“I think we wore them down a little bit because a lot of it was on a break. We ran two set plays and they both worked, but I think my favorite play of the game was when we pitched ahead to Justin Jackson and he caught it and threw it to Brice [Johnson] without dribbling. We moved the ball really well and I think our depth wore them down.”
On Miami's much fewer offensive rebounds in the second half
“I was mad at the starters, and at halftime I said [Miami] better have none in the second half. They had ten and we had eight. We had more points on offensive rebounds, but they had three more possessions than we did in the first half.”
On Isaiah Hicks' performance
“I like what Isaiah's done the whole year. I've talked about him at almost every press conference. He's played very well.”
Miami Head Coach Jim Larranaga
Opening Statement
“Well that's what happens when one team plays really well and the other doesn't play well at all. They had our number from start to finish. We didn't do anything we planned on doing. Took a lot of bad shots, which led to a lot of fast break opportunities. They put the ball in the paint, offensive rebounded, all the things we talked about before the game, but I think for some reason – I don't know exactly what it is and we'll have to talk with the players about it – Carolina was very sharp. We just didn't compete at a high enough level.”
On expectations from UNC coming off of loss to Duke
“No, I just think they're a really good team. I think they play well a lot, and if a team loses and you start coming up with incredible reasons why the team lost – teams lose from time to time, as good as they are and as good as this league is, you're playing against good teams most every night. And that team, they shot the ball great from the perimeter, they rebounded well, they dominated us, and that hasn't happened all year long. That's our, what are we 21-5 now? That was our 26th game and that didn't happen to us in 25 other games. Normally, we've been able to play and compete pretty well, but we didn't have it today.”
On UNC's defense affecting rebounds
“No, I just don't think we were very sharp. I think mentally, we were kind of in individual mode. We didn't look like a team. We didn't function like a team. We did a lot of things that we haven't done in the past. Some of it has to do with effort, and some of it has to do with execution, but a lot of it has to do with the opponent. They put a lot of pressure on our players and we didn't respond well to it.”
On anything unanticipated from UNC's defense
“No, no they just executed what they do very, very well.”
On Miami's offense
“We were very impatient. We thought we could get one ball screen and score, and it's ridiculous. We took way too many shots without either a single pass or one pass, and that's not the way you beat a North Carolina team.”
On health status of Ja'Quan Newton
“Not totally. We'll have to take a close look, but initially it appears it might be a bone bruise to his shin.”
Isaiah Hicks, F
On starting today
“I knew I was starting today. Coach [Williams] told us yesterday in practice who was going to start. I don't think it affected me mentally. I just go in and play the same way, you know just playing aggressive and doing anything I can. When you start, you just have to do it earlier.”
On defensive performance and its influence on the offensive side
“I think it depends on that a lot. You know, when we get stops, it turns into a fast break or a transition. When we get going, you see everybody smiling, everyone is pumped up, and it just has a really good positive effect on us.”
On stretch early in the second half
“I guess it honestly started off on the defensive end. We got stops, and it got us in transition, it got us good shots. We were more active today than usual. All this great energy we had today really turned out great for us.”
On the difference from tonight to three nights ago
“It is great. It feels good to bounce back after a loss like that to solidify our one seed for now and continue to build off of that.”
On what it takes to be at that level consistently
“Just gotta go out there and do it. We have to buckle down every night and be able to play our position like we did tonight. We had a couple breakdowns here and there, but at the end of the day we still had a pretty good game defensively.”
On looking forward to today's game
“We are always looking forward to the next game. Especially after a loss, this game had a little more 'umph' to it since we lost to Duke, we just had to put that behind us and move on.”
On the win today
“Great to bounce back from a loss, but for us we have to take it one game at a time. So it was a great win for us, and now we have to regroup and get ready for the next one.”
On personal performance
“I felt good. I just go out there and play like I know how to play. If the points come, if the assists come, whatever, I just go out there and play as hard as I can and it felt pretty good.”
