Jan. 29, 2003
GEORGIA TECH’S PAUL HEWITT
“We emphasized a couple of things coming into this game, rebounding being one of them. And certainly individual matchups-Rashad McCants in particular-and I thought our guys responded very well to those challenges. It’s great to see Ed Nelson out there rebounding the ball the way he did. He made some big plays, got some big offensive rebounds and made some smart decisions after he got those rebounds. We felt like we have what it takes to close out games better than we have. That’s going to be the challenge for this team from here out, to consistently close out games. I believe in my heart and soul that we’ve played some very good basketball most of the season, but a couple of times we haven’t closed games out. We feel like we’re going to keep playing well, and the big thing for us now is to close the deal every night.
[Most complete game you’ve played?] “I felt that way. Watching the game unfold, I thought we did a pretty good job. Our free throw percentage was 70 percent, that’s acceptable; our rebounding was terrific, and our ball movement was pretty good.
[Effort to get Bosh the ball?] “Just make sure he didn’t get two fouls early in the first half and two early in the second half – that’s all I did.
[Home vs. road?] “Obviously the results are not got, but we’ve been right there in some pretty tough places. We’ve played pretty well at times on the road, but the last four, eight minutes we haven’t closed it out. We’ve been out executed in two or three games that I thought we had a chance to win. Our defense has been solid, our rebounding has been solid, but the big thing for us on the road is that we’ve got to play good offensive basketball in the last four to eight minutes.
[Defense on McCants] “He’s a great player. I don’t think there’s a set plan on him. You’ve just got to make things very difficult for him and keep fresh bodies on him. We got a break that he didn’t get off to a good start. Sometimes that can slow down a good scorer. But believe me, this kid is for real. He’s a great player.
[Defense on Williams in second half] “We made an adjustment on how we played the pick-and-roll to cut down some of his middle penetration that was hurting us. I think that helped to keep him in check a little bit.”
NOTING GEORGIA TECH: Tech has won 11 straight games at Alexander Memorial Coliseum and 13 of its 14 home games, including 9-0 this season . . . Ed Nelson finished with a season-high 13 rebounds, one off his career high . . . Tech’s 3-3 conference record is its best six-game mark since the 1995-96 season . . . Chris Bosh recorded his third 20-point game in the last four and his fifth 20-point effort of the season . . . Bosh had a season-high four blocked shots . . .
NORTH CAROLINA’S MATT DOHERTY
“Georgia Tech is a tough team to play. They are a very talented team. Congratulations to Paul and his team. I think they’ve got a really talented young group that the only thing they are lacking is experience and once they get that they are going to be as good as anybody.”
“I felt bad I didn’t help Jawad more in the second half – I should have done some more things for him. He had a sensational first half and I wish I could have helped him more in the second half.”
“We cut it to 6 and then Georgia Tech went on a heck of a run and we’ve just got to do a better job defensively. We gave up 51 points in the first half and that’s too many. Georgia Tech shot 49% from the field against us and we to make sure we go back to the drawing board defensively and make sure we are guarding people. We scored enough points to win a basketball game, but we’ve got to guard a little bit better that what we did tonight.”
On the play of Rashad McCants: “I think he missed a lot of shots that he normally hits and I think it was just one of those nights and that happens. The ball didn’t go in for him, for whatever reason. I think he had plenty of good looks – he was 1 of 9 in the first half and just had balls go in and out.”
On Chris Bosh: “He’s such a gifted player and is a great kid. But, he’s not the only guy on the team. They show a lot of balance with Elder and Lewis and I thought that Jarrett Jack had a really good game with 8 assists and only 2 turnovers.”
