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Postgame Quotes - Virginia vs. Virginia Tech
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Feb. 10, 2007
Virginia head coach Dave Leitao
On the game
“Let me just say, it’s a really bad combination when one team is as energized as a team can possibly be and the other team has no energy and their play is flat. When you put those two teams together, what you get is what you saw this afternoon. They beat us in everything. They were terrific in their energy, led by (Deron) Washington who is their [Virginia Tech] energy player. As they started the game, we offered no resistance and that just gave them more confidence.”
On Virginia Tech and the affect of the rivalry
“I knew it was a tough week. You guys [the media] call it a rivalry (with Tech). But, who is Virginia’s rival? It was Maryland the other day. It’s Virginia Tech today, it was Duke two weeks ago. I don’t really know who our rival is. All I know is teams play hard. This team [Virginia Tech] – not because it was a rivalry – lost two games in a row, they’re a very good team and they had a week to prepare.”
On Zabian Dowdell and Jamon Gordon
“(Jamon Gordon) and (Zabian) Dowdell are certainly the two best as a combination of defenders in this league, and probably in the country. We’ve played against them before and done pretty well. We were three, four steps behind in our thought process for everything.”
Virginia Tech head coach Seth Greenberg
On the game
“I’m really proud of our guys. We had a great week of practice defensively and I thought that carried to the court. We had great focus and purpose defensively all week. We struggled offensively at times, but like I tell our guys when we defend, we’ll find ways to score enough points. I can’t say enough about the job that Deron Washington did, especially in the first half. I thought he was everywhere and anywhere, flying around. We got these guys [Virginia] on their third game in seven or eight days. It’s hard. They want to play at a high level, but the schedule makes it different.”
On the significance of the game
“For our seniors this was really important. After everything we went through last year, to find a way (tonight). We played them three times last year and two minutes to go we had a chance to win all three games. That’s a pretty hollow feeling. This game took on a little greater significance, for sure. We played with a lot more purpose and we had a pretty good plan. Today was a game for the seniors.”
On starting well
“I think getting off to a good start was important to us. Let’s face it, those (last) two games, you’re going to have some self-doubt. And I told the guys all week, we’re the same team that beat North Carolina and Duke, we just didn’t play well. Getting off to a good start was important.