Georgia Tech Head Coach Josh Pastner
Opening statement:
“First off, I want to give a lot of credit to Notre Dame. They hit some tough shots. I’ve said this before: I think Coach Brey is one of the best coaches in all of college basketball. The amount of wins he’s had, he’s one of the very best coaches in the entire game. They’re a good team, Notre Dame. The reality is, they’ve lost some games in conference that they probably should have won. They’ve had late leads against Louisville, late leads against Boston College, NC State. So, I knew this was a good team. You couldn’t tell based on their conference record, I knew they were better than that. They hit some tough shots.”
“I thought both teams played well offensively in the second half and it just came down to whoever was going to hit tougher shots towards the end and they hit some tough shots. The one time we went zone they hit a three on us. But look, we shot 68 percent from the field in the second half and they shot 53 [percent] in the second half. The difference was the offensive rebounding. They had five more offensive boards and five less turnovers. That created seven more shots for them and that’s the game right there. Nothing else matters, that’s the basketball game.”
On Georgia Tech’s guard play:
“We can’t have Bubba [Parham] and Jose [Alvarado] combine for six turnovers. Now Jose had nine assists, but he and Bubba Parham, you can’t have six turnovers at this level [as guards] and it’s all about guard play. And if those guys have six turnovers between those two, that makes it really hard. Bubba had those two turnovers [in] the first half, he jumped in the air, the other one he had the post entry pass. Jose had one or two in the first half but he had a crucial one there in the second half, but that happens. [Jose] had a great look at a three, it was at the top of the key, that he usually makes. I thought Michael Devoe played well offensively, but the reason he played well offensively was because he played well defensively the last 30 minutes of the game. He did a good job defensively, he also had nine rebounds, and that translated into him being better offensively.
On Georgia Tech’s physicality in the game tonight:
“We had 48 points in the paint, so we had +16 in the paint. What I didn’t like is we didn’t impose our will on the glass. Jordan Usher [had] no offensive rebounds, Moses Wright [had] one and James [Banks] had two. Out of those three guys, the minutes they played, to have a total of three offensive rebounds, and between those three they only got a total of 11 defensive rebounds. It’s just not enough. Those guys, they’ve got to be all about motor, and motor is all about what you do on the offensive and defensive glass.”
On how he thought they executed on defense:
“You’re playing good teams. We had some chances where we blew the opportunities to get that kill, and the kill is three stops in a row. And I thought [Prentiss Hubb] and [T.J] Gibbs hit some tough shots. Part of playing in the ACC, you’re going to have guys who can make plays and make shots. Our guys’ effort was there, they guarded, it’s just a couple times those guys hit some tough shots and that’s life in the ACC.”
Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey
Opening statement:
“It seems like we’re in these all the time. I’m proud of our group because we made some fearless plays to get out of here with a win tonight. Just a heck of a game. Obviously, [Prentiss] Hubb and [T.J.] Gibbs were fearless for us tonight. Hubb was fabulous but he’s trending this way. [In the] Carrier Dome over a week ago, I think he’s trending [towards] being one of the better guards in the league.”
On winning a close game in McCamish Pavilion (after close defeats):
“It’s amazing to think that’s only the second time [here]. But God we’ve lost at the buzzer, we’ve lost… it’s just been great games. They’re just so physical and they’re really good. We held our own on the backboard, even with our small lineup. We went small and that helped us offensively. It helped our guards get into the lane more, but then you got it deal with it on the other hand. I thought [Rex] Pflueger and Dane Goodwin fought bigger guys enough for us to get out of here.”
On Dane Goodwin’s first half spark off the bench:
“I challenged him because he’s been really good at home, but he’s not been very good on the road. So today at shootaround I said ‘Did you pack your game? Did you pack it? Because you haven’t packed it yet.’ He did today. He’s a fearless guy. When we go down to that smaller lineup… and we’re really able to spread the floor. That’s why Hubbs and Gibbs were able to get in there so much. It’s just ‘can we hold our own defensively?’ And this group seems to be able to do that when we down shift.”
On T.J. Gibbs three-pointer in the final two minutes:
“They went zone. They had been living in that zone for the last two years, but they’re more of a man-to-man team. They went zone on that possession, and I thought we were really poised. We are a very good passing team and at some point your seniors just have to go ‘I’ve got to take this one.’ That’s a big time shot right there. I like how poised we were because they threw the zone at us that time. Gibbs is a fearless guy. He was exhausted. Obviously it’s hot here, but it was hot in that building. I think all of our guys were really winded. He’s had a great year for us.”
On winning a close game after playing many:
“We finished at the Carrier Dome and made great plays. NC State we couldn’t finish. Louisville [on] Saturday – heartbreaking. We come back, we’re up four we couldn’t finish. I thought it was really important as I’m watching the game unfold ‘we really need to finish this one.’ If you lose a third in game situations and you’re 1-5… I think we can grow again with this one.”
