Jan. 30, 2010
– GEORGIA TECH HEAD COACH Paul Hewitt
Opening Statement
“I really appreciate our fans coming out and giving a great reception to Clarence Moore. I really appreciated seeing that. Obviously, this young guy is going to be a very good coach and I don’t think he has any bigger fans than here at Georgia Tech for what he did for us in the time he was here.”
On how proud it must be to coach against an ex-player like Clarence Moore :
“I have a lot of pride. As we talked earlier in the week, I know his journey and the things he kind of went through and overcame to get into a position to coach. He’s in an interim coaching position right now, but if they hired him, they would be very happy. I know the players would be very happy, as well as their administration.”
On the positives to take out of the victory:
“I thought in the second half we did a really good job of moving the ball around and taking care of the ball. I thought in the first half they were a little passive defensively and they took advantage and made 6-out of-13 from three. They scored 29 points in the first half, which is the same number that Wake Forest got. I just said to them to start pressuring more, because if you let a team come in and start hitting some threes, you give yourself a chance to put yourself in a position for someone to get you. I think in the second half we did a nice job.”
On how well coached Kentucky State was:
“They compete. A lot of times people don’t understand, especially as you go through a long season and watching them on tape that, the one constant is that they’re in good shape. There’s always competing. Today, physically they just didn’t have the guys to matchup with us. But, they’re young. I think someone mentioned they have five guys who didn’t play last year, so they’re a young basketball team.”
On Gani Lawal recording his 1,000th point today:
“Look at our record, that’s all I have to say. It makes all the difference in the world. Off the court, as well, he has become a big-time leader in our locker room.”
On Brian Oliver:
“He’s a very talented player. Once he physically gets stronger, he’s going to be a big-time, big-time player. He can do a lot of things. He’s a great passer, a great defender and he has an excellent feel for the game. It just a matter of him getting stronger now; time’s going to allow that to happen.”
On Clarence Moore’s comments that the current Georgia Tech team lacks the leadership that the 2004 Final Four team had:
“Absolutely. That 2004 team collectively understood. You had Jarrett [Jack] who understood what it meant to play every possession like it was an important possession. This team doesn’t understand that yet, and it’s something we’ve talked about.
“We’re getting ready to play Duke on Thursday and the one thing I’ll always respect about the Duke kids is that they understand that every possession is important and they play like that. I told our guys, can you imagine the pressure they must be under, in which every single game they lose on the road, they storm the court. I told them, can you imagine being able to concentrate like those guys do every single night. I said some of you guys can’t do that. I think he’s absolutely right.”
KENTUCKY STATE HEAD COACH Clarence Moore
Opening Statement
“What can you say when you’re playing a top 25 team. This is to be expected I guess. The only thing I told my guys after the game is I was a little disappointed in the defensive effort. I think we could have made them take tougher shots. It seemed like they got wherever they wanted to on the floor and shot the ball un-contested a lot of times. It’s one of those things where you want your guys to come out and play well. You don’t control how they play, but you can motivate them. Ultimately, it’s up to them to go out and play the game hard. In spurts, we did but defensively we were not consistent.”
How the 2010 Georgia Tech team compares to his Final Four team at Tech
“I would say they’re more athletic, but not smarter than we were. We had a bunch of guys that had played for a couple years. We gelled and had a family atmosphere when I was going here. They have more high-flyers.”
On what it was like coming back here as a visitor
“It was different. I’m used to dressing out and sitting on the opposite side. I almost got lost and had to have a security guard show me where the visitor locker room was. I never knew where it was. It was a great experience coming back here. I hadn’t touched the floor in a while so that was good.”
On what his team can get out of a game like this
“In the first five or six minutes of the game we were definitely playing with them. My guys really felt like they belonged. I told them before the game that Georgia Tech puts the pants and shoes on just like we do. I told them that they’re a basketball team just like we’re a basketball team. I just wanted to get them out of the mind-set of Division I vs. Division II and that type of deal. I think the guys understand that every single night we need to come out and play hard. It doesn’t matter if we’re playing a Tuskeegee or a Georgia Tech. They’re a basketball team and we need to go out and execute the plays and defensively. If we don’t do so, then every game is a toss-up. And if you don’t do it more often than you do, you’re going to lose.”
On whether Georgia Tech is a Final Four caliber team having been there as a player
“I’ve seen a few games this season and I don’t see a leader out there. To me, it looks like guys are trying to find themselves. You have to have a vocal leader and someone who is willing to get on guys and know that he’s going to catch it at some point down the line as well. I would love to say that I was that guy and maybe some people would have said. I think we just did it as a team effort. Guys would be picking other guys up at certain times and also getting on each other and pushing one another. Even if they start holding each other accountable as a team they’ll definitely be on their way. They have talent out there. You can clearly see it.”
