Feb. 14, 2010
– Georgia Tech Head Coach Paul Hewitt
Opening statement…
“I thought our guys played really hard tonight. At 62-60, we had a couple opportunities to make it a two-possession game. We didn’t, and they responded and made plays at the end. It was one of those miss-or-make games and we missed and they made, and they got the win.”
On the way tonight’s game was played…
“I find it’s been typical from the ACC December on. That’s the way it is in this league. It’s pretty intense; it’s pretty hard-fought. Some people say it’s physical — I don’t think it’s physical, I think it’s just good competitive basketball.”
On Wake Forest’s Ishmael Smith…
“He’s very quick, very fast; he gets them in very quickly. It was a big bucket where I didn’t think we ran back particularly hard. He does a good job of using big men running down the court when they don’t see him as a screen, he uses your big men as a screen. That was a big possession there. Again, it was one of those games. At 62-60, we had two really good looks, and I can’t second-guess Zach Peacock, I can’t second-guess Brian Oliver. At 62-60, Brian had that one that was three-fourths of the way down. If that one goes down it gets to be a five-point game and I think it certainly shifts the pressure back on to them. But he is the fastest guy in the league going into [the game], and we knew that. We’ve had some success in the past guarding him but at the end of the game tonight, we didn’t make shots and he created some shots for his team.”
Wake Forest Head Coach Dino Gaudio
Opening statement…
“It was a typical February ACC game, and I thought our kids played really hard, as did Georgia Tech. At one point in the second half they were up 62-60, and I think we stopped them 14 out of 15 possessions. That’s a credit to our defense and a credit to our kids. We were able to wrapup those possessions with rebounds, and I really think that was the difference in the game. We got some big free throws from L.D. Williams; we got two very big free throws out of Tony Woods. I thought Tony came in and gave us great lift, as did Ari Stewart. I’m really happy for the kids, because I have a tremendous amount of respect for Coach Hewitt and Georgia Tech. They’re a very strong physical basketball team, and it’s a really good win for Wake Forest.”
On Wake’s defense…
“When the ball went into the post we tried to double the post. It was good for us early, I think that’s how we got an early lead. We really tried to do a better job of our ball screen defense than we did down in Atlanta. I think we bounced our guards pretty well and we didn’t let them turn the corner. The one thing I was disappointed in was our three-point defense. We just weren’t closing out with two high hands like we’re supposed to. I give them tremendous credit; they really shot the ball well early from behind the line.”
“When we were down 62-60, we talked about how we needed more ball pressure. Sometimes the post defender is the guy on the passer, and we wanted to put a little bit more pressure on the basketball. I think Ish really stepped up; I think he bothered Miller that one time. He ended up fouling him, but I think it set the tone for us. C.J. Harris made a big hustle play at mid-court, got on the floor, gave up his body for his teammates and I think that was big too.”
On meeting Georgia Tech’s physicality…
“These guys here, when you challenge them, they step up. We talked a lot about the physical challenge and we also talked about the psychological challenge. They punched us in the mouth down there. We can lay on the canvas, that was round one, or we could get up and get after them. I thought our kids responded well. It’s a really mature group in terms of basketball maturation. I just think it’s a confident group.”
On looking ahead to Virginia Tech…
“I told those guys enjoy the win. You just have to go game by game in this league. Tomorrow when we practice, we’ll show good and bad clips from tonight, turn the page on Georgia Tech, and go. At this level, you have to absorb the scouting report, understand how you’re playing certain guys, practice hard for two days and then move on to the next one. The teams that can do that are the teams that can win on a consistent basis.”
