Feb. 6, 2010
– Georgia Tech Coach Paul Hewitt
On the last six minutes of the game and Tech’s ineffectiveness against NC State’s press:
“We didn’t execute the press offense. We panicked, just panicked.”
On what he was telling the team during timeouts down the stretch:
“We have a saying around our program that a lob pass is a loose ball. I’ve said it since the first day I walked into the door. It’s been ten years. So, we talked about the lob passes we were throwing. We talked about letting the ball bounce so we could let the clock run and get our press offense set up instead of grabbing it and panicking. But, before I sound like I’m blaming the guys, obviously I’m not doing a good job, because those messages that are supposed to get through are not getting through. I told them, I’m frustrated because obviously I’m not getting my points across. I know what I’m talking about, but it doesn’t matter unless there is a complete commitment to doing the things you have to do.
“After [the Duke game on Thursday] I told them that was the most embarrassed I’ve been since I’ve been here; in the second half against Duke. That was absolutely, completely an embarrassment. Well, I topped that today. One of my former players after the Duke game called me and asked what is going on with your team coach? He told me that doesn’t look like one of your teams. I said you’re right. Obviously I’m not doing what I’m supposed to be doing with these guys.”
On how to fix some of the problems Tech has had in recent weeks:
“I have a suggestion box.”
On poor free throw shooting on the night :
“It’s ok, that’s going to happen. We had a 16-point lead. We’re supposed to finish the game out.”
On Mfon Udofia’s minutes going down in recent games:
“I think Glen Rice [Jr.] and Brian Oliver have been playing really well. It’s not what Mfon is doing, but Brian Oliver and Glen Rice, in my opinion, have been playing really good basketball for us. Glen is really starting to develop. He didn’t really score much today, but believe me, he did some good things out there for us. That’s why Mfon’s minutes have gone down.”
On impressive shooting performances from Zachery Peacock and Derrick Favors:
“We got to one of the timeouts in the first half and the ball had gone inside one time. I said to the guys ‘fellas, what are we doing here? Throw the ball inside.’ Next time we threw it in, Gani [Lawal] got a dunk and what happens is your big guys get anxious and catch the ball in bad position and force stuff. That’s why Gani had some of the turnovers he had. Now, you want to blame them, but at the other side of it, he knows he has a tremendous mismatch, so when he gets his hands on it, he’s not going to be as quick to throw it out. We started doing things we had to do. We started throwing inside, got great post position and got some good looks. Again, you’re going to miss shots and we had some easy shots roll out for us. But, you have to keep pounding away, keeping doing the things you’re doing to get good shots. Don’t make this game difficult for yourself. Well, we found a way to make this game difficult for ourselves at the end. “
On how much of the problems Tech had late in the game was due of NC State’s play, despite having a 2-6 conference record coming in:
“Look, this is the ACC. You’re going to play against tough players. You better make tough plays in this league, There is no margin of error in this league. Last year, we were 2 and [14] in the league and I can’t tell you how many times we took teams that went deep in the tournament deep into games because it’s the ACC and you have to make tough plays. Good teams make the plays. I pointed out to the guys last night, that [Duke guard Kyle] Singler played with a bad wrist and scored 30 points with a bad wrist. That takes a lot of toughness that, quite honestly, we haven’t seen around here in a little while. We see a lot of calls for I need more touches and I need more minutes. That kid played with a bad wrist and I coached him, so I know that if he is shaking his wrist, he is hurt. I coached him in USA basketball when he was a junior in high school and he dropped 30 on us. No complaints, no excuses, he dropped 30. That took a level of toughness and after we get through tomorrow’s off-day I told them, I don’t want to talk about this game anymore. This game is over, let’s get ready for Miami. But, they better take a long look in the mirror, including me. I have to take a long look in the mirror and figure out what do we have to do to play 40 minutes like the way we’re supposed to play ball.”
NC State Head Coach Sidney Lowe
Opening Statement
“That was a tough ballgame, obviously. They made a run on us, and then I thought our guys did a great job of just continuing to fight and battle back and really get back into the ballgame. We had a chance to tie it or win it there. I am just real proud of our guys, just real proud of the way we fought back and hung in there on the road, and in a very difficult situation. I apologized to Coach Hewitt for walking off the floor; I just went to his locker room and talked to him and he certainly understands. The heat of the moment got me right there. I was a little disappointed, a little upset at some things.”
On the officiating
“I don’t want to talk about it, I don’t want to talk about the officials, but you all saw it. I guess I can say that I thought he got fouled. They didn’t call it, I was a little upset at that, and now we move on.”
On the effective second half press
“We put up a trap that we use every now and then. It was pretty effective for us. It was effective because our guys I thought were very active and aggressive at getting to the ball and getting their hands on the balls. We needed to do something because they had the lead and were coming down and executing their stuff. We needed to get our guys going a little bit and try to speed it up a little bit. It was good for us today.”
On the play of Javier Gonzalez
“He became a lot more aggressive and put a lot of pressure on the defense. He got a couple of other guys some shots, he got a shot himself. He came on and played well. We needed it at that time. I am really, really proud of our guys. We started three freshmen today, and we are a pretty young team. Those guys were hanging in there, fighting in there, and got back against a pretty good team here on the road.”
On NC State players feeding off of Georgia Tech’s panicking with the ball
“I think players do that. When you get a couple of turnovers and scores on some stops and some travels and things, the guys get energized with that. I think with each time, our guys kept going, and they started to talk to each other a little more about what was going on out there. I think they can feel it too. They talk about it, one more stop, do it again.”
On slow start to the game
“You try to get it to somebody, we tried to go inside with it. Guys were missing the perimeter shots, you have to try to go inside with it, run something to get it inside. We tried to get something early on the break, get a layup. You have to try to get a chippy of some sort instead of just jacking up threes. You start hoping that guys are going to make shots.”
