Nov. 12, 2010
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech Head Coach Paul Hewitt
Hewitt’s Opening Statement
“I was very pleased with our defensive effort. We certainly could have done a better job with our rebounds and there were a lot of times on the defensive boards that we would block out but we just kind of stood and watched the ball bounce off the rim and they were quicker than us. They had 17 offensive rebounds and something has to improve. Offensively, after the first 12 or 15 minutes we settled down and started taking some good shots, they just didn’t go down for us.”
“The one area that I am concerned about is that I thought we showed our youth. When we went up by 16 or 18 points you could see guys start smiling, trotting back on defense, not finding the ball and the next thing you know it is a 10 point game. We can’t afford to do that. I told them that we shut down the guys that we needed to shut down but we definitely showed our immaturity. There in the second half at about the 12 minute mark we started to let go of the ropes so to speak.”
On finding the open man
“We started throwing up those silly lob passes. We run those lob plays, not necessarily for the lob, but to get the ball underneath to a guy that is open. We were going for the homerun instead of slipping the ball in the lane to an open man, something easier. They stopped and I thought they got good shots. Brian Oliver had 12 shots and I thought about nine of them were really good, he is too good of a shooter not to make more than three.”
On the team’s performance
“I thought that we got careless. We jumped out 10 nothing and then we started scripting some plays coming out and we didn’t execute them perfectly but we had the intention of where we wanted to go. We got the easiest bucket of the game going inside to Iman [Shumpert]. He had a small guy on him and went over him, and then we go away from that throwing lob passes every time. It was just being careless. It wasn’t about energy or anything, they just weren’t smart decisions.”
On three point shooting
“I thought we took some good three point shots and this team is going to have to make threes, we don’t have the size inside although I think Daniel [Miller] is going to be good down low. We called his number a couple of times and he got the ball and just seemed tentative. With his 258 pounds he will eventually be able to power the ball into the basket. Kammeon [Holsey] looked a little stunned tonight. He didn’t play with his normal bounce and energy. There was a look on his face like he didn’t know where he was and he has to get out of that. I don’t know if that means coming off the bench, but something has to change. Those guys are going to provide some good scoring inside. But, as long as we take good threes, I don’t mind taking 22 of them.”
On this year’s three starting freshman compared to last year’s
“I don’t want to say that they will do more but I have a good feeling about all three of the freshmen starters and I think that [Nate] Hicks will help the team out a lot too. I would have gotten him in tonight but I was playing paranoid coach. When we got up by 20 they asked me if I wanted to sub, but I wanted to make sure that we got this one in the books and move on to the next one. I think those three kids have a chance of doing a lot, especially Daniel [Miller]. He just has a feel. Everyone has been asking me all preseason how does the team look and I said I don’t know yet because a guy that I think can be a main cog has been out for two weeks. This week was the first time he got to practicing full strength. He has gotten better and I think that is going to make our team better.”
On the dribble drive
“Our bigs were just not doing a good enough job of screening the defense. We are not a team where the defenders can settle in front of us and we can break them down. We need to let the defense play catch up. Chip them off, come off the screen and have the guy have to chase you and then start moving the ball. I think you saw late that the guys started driving, coming off the baseline screen, we had the defense in a little bit of a scramble mode.”
Charleston Southern Head Coach Barclay Radebaugh
Opening Statement
“I thought our team competed very hard tonight, and I thought we played with tremendous energy and enthusiasm. I thought defensively we were very good at times and at times a little suspect. I thought our press was very effective. I thought our changing defense was effective, and I thought we competed for most of the game. Offense obviously was a tremendous struggle. We had 20 turnovers in the first half, and I don’t know that I have quite ever seen that before in 22 years of college coaching. That’s certainly something we can work on. A lot of that is credited to Georgia Tech’s pressure, but if we look back at film I think we are going to see a lot of unforced turnovers. Maybe if we had some field goal attempts there we could have stayed a little closer. The 10-0 run to start both of the halves was obviously the big concern for us.”
On if he was pleased with the team’s effort to put together a run in the end
“This team is really resilient and really wants to win. I think tonight we maybe wanted to win a little too much. We had a contingent from Atlanta with a bunch of kids on our team from this area and we had a lot of family members in the stands. They were really excited about this game since we scheduled it last summer. I thought our offensive execution was a struggle. I told the referee out there that it looked like we took four weeks off of practice. But that’s something we can work on to get better at. I thought our energy to fight back was pretty good, and we hit some shots and got to the free throw line a little in the second half.”
On Johathan Brook’s double-double in his first game
“That was his first division one game for us. I thought he was very active. I thought his defense was outstanding and he is active around the rim. He will be really good at our level. At 6-7, his ability to jump and finish around the rim will be a real positive at our level. Execution wise, I know that he and the rest of the guys on our team will have to get a lot better to compete at the level we want to compete at.” On whether he thinks it is a huge benefit to play on an ACC court in the first game of the season
“I think it is if we would have played better. I know coach [Paul] Hewitt is working hard with his team also. If they had played well and we had played well and we lost by 13 points, then playing on an ACC court and competing like that would be something we can build on. It just leaves us a bit disappointed because of our offensive execution. If we could have executed offensively a little better and gotten some more field goal attempts, then I think the score could have been much closer. Defensively, I am pleased with where we are at. Our ability to press and recover from the press, and get matched up against that athleticism bodes well for us at that level when we get to Big South Conference play.”
“I appreciate coach Hewitt for scheduling the game. He didn’t have to schedule it and that was a nice gesture, particularly to Jamarco Warren from Gainesville High School. He has scored over 1,500 points and has a whole year left for us, and is our all-time leading scorer and three-point shooter. I promised him in the recruiting process that we would play Georgia Tech, and it got down to his last year so I appreciate coach Hewitt for letting him and the other kids on our team from Georgia to do that.”
