Jan. 28, 2010
– Georgia Tech Coach Paul Hewitt
Opening Statement:
“I’m not really sure if we can play much better than that. Obviously in the last six minutes we did some things that we need to improve on, but overall, I thought we did a really solid job tonight. I’m real proud of our guys and I’m happy to get the win.”
On the offensive performance for the Jackets:
“I think Iman [Shumpert] started getting really comfortable playing the point guard position. The other guys did a good job taking care of the basketball until the end where we just had some turnovers.”
On holding Wake Forest to 16.7 percent shooting from the three-point line on the night:
“Well, we’ve been doing a good job with that all year and so have they for that matter. I think coming into the game we were both in the top ten in terms of three point field goal percentage defense. It’s just hard work and contesting shots. There’s no secret to it. You just get out there and find shooters and make sure to put a hand in their face.”
On D’Andre Bell’s Performance:
“Big-time, big-time game. When he plays like that we have a chance to be really good. Obviously, missing all of last year, he’s still fighting off the rustiness of all that. But, he’s picked as good of a time as any to get it rolling.”
On having five players score in double-digits on the night:
“I’ve always been a fan of balanced scoring. I think when you have threats on the floor, its spreads it out and makes it easier to get the ball inside. I think tonight you saw us get the ball inside pretty easily to Derrick [Favors] and Gani [Lawal] because again, of the spacing of the floor. We actually got into the shot clock before we attempted a shot, which is something I can say we haven’t been doing all year. It’s cost us some games. Again, it’s a young team, but this is the time to start getting it rolling. We’re getting into February, which is probably the most important month in college basketball in terms of making your season.”
On Tech’s defensive effort against Wake Forest’s Ishmael Smith:
“It was a team effort. You can’t do it with one guy. Tonight, especially in the first half, I thought Zach [Peacock] and Derrick [Favors] did their jobs of trying to stop him. He got loose in the second half a little bit, but it was a team effort.”
On Brian Oliver:
“He’s got the mind of a shooter. I guarantee if you ask him, he doesn’t remember any missed shots. Every time he tees it up he thinks it’s going in and if he doesn’t, he completely forgets about it. He does what he is supposed to do. He steps up and makes shots.”
Wake Forest Head Coach Dino Gaudio
Opening Statement
“I want to congratulate Paul [Hewitt] and his kids. I thought they played very, very well. I think we are a pretty good defensive team, and I don’t think anybody in a long time shot 54% against us. We cut it to 40-35, and then they went on a big run, but in that run we missed some free throws that could have helped stop the bleeding or get us back close again. We just didn’t do it. All the credit goes to them. I thought they played well, they took us out of a lot of stuff that we wanted to try to do, and they really shot the ball well tonight.”
On Poor 3-Point and Free Throw Field Goal Percentage
“I think they deserve the credit. I think they made us miss shots, some of those 18 shots were down the stretch when we were trying to come back and try to get some shots and we usually don’t shoot that many threes. Our young guys who are pretty good shooters, [C.J.] Harris and [Ari] Stewart just didn’t shoot the ball well for us tonight. They had some looks. The other thing that is disturbing to me is our free throws. We pulled into the arena tonight at 4:45 and went into the practice gym and shot 50 free throws from 4:45 to 5:10 and then we go to the line and shot like we did. If you want to win on the road you have to make those free throws.”
On Georgia Tech’s Inside Players
They did a great job. I think Derrick [Favors], some of his blocks came from the help side. He was coming from the help side and blocking. He was the second guy over. They altered and changed a lot of our shots inside. Their big guys, Gani [Lawal] and Derrick, are really good players. Chas [McFarland] played really well down here a couple of years ago, and he just didn’t score the ball well tonight for us.”
On Six Straight Losses at Georgia Tech
“They are new kids. I’m not sure some of the guys know where we are sometimes. I just think it was a really physical game and they were a little more physical than we were.”
On the Effect of L.D. Williams Foul Troubles
“I think they were able to get stops. We weren’t able to score the ball. Conversely, we weren’t able to stop them. Like I said, in that little run we missed some free throws that could have stopped the bleeding a little bit and we didn’t do it. His fourth foul was a big foul because we had broken the press, he had crossed the timeline, picked it up, and they had tracked him there. He is usually very strong with the ball but we sort of lost it, it got away from us right there. That was a tough fourth foul on him.”
On Tempo at the End of the Game
“We couldn’t score. We just told those guys at that point, 10 minutes and under, just to attack the basket. We were just trying to be aggressive as opposed to slowing it down and running it.”
