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Nov. 20, 2000
Virginia Coach Pete Gillen
I thought Roger Mason had a great game. He attacked the basket, made somegood passes and did a pretty good job at the point. It is a work in progress.He is learning on the run, which is tough to do.
On the Va. Tech game:
It is a great rivalry. They will be really excited forVirginia to come down to Blacksburg. We will have to play a lot better thanwe did tonight to win down there. We have to defend better for 40 minutes. Wehave to execute better. Even though tonight’s score was lopsided, we willhave to play better. It is going to be a real war. We are looking forward tothe challenge. We have to educate [the players]. I don’t think theyunderstand how big of a game it is for Tech and their fans.
We got out of the gate pretty good, but we are still a young team, trying tofind an identity. We had a good lead and then we let up, and they believedthey could win at halftime. You have to knock a team out and unfortunately,we are not capable of doing that right now. You have to have mental focus.
Coastal Carolina Coach Pete Strickland
“It never fails. You recruit a guy and he comes back to haunt you – RogerMason.”
“They’re good, guys. It’s hard to tell because they’re playing us and LongIsland, but they’re definitely top 25. Pete’s got them listening to him andthey’re all on the same page.”
On the “blitz” with which Virginia started the second half
“It’s hard to tell the difference between his blitzes, his hurricanes, and his typhoons.They’re all a little different, but they’ve got a lot of wind to them.They’re all pretty powerful.”
On Roger Mason as a point guard
“He’s a heady player. He’s got the respect of his teammates and he’s poised.”
“We should have gotten out of the press a little bit sooner because they mademincemeat of it. But because of our lack of size, we’ve got to press in ourleague so we stayed with it.”