Postgame Quotes
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Jan. 10, 2015
Recap | Box Score | Notes | USA Today 
Virginia Head Coach Tony Bennett
Opening statement…
“I thought we let down small offensive rebounds, but our offense, we started standing and I said, at halftime, you guys look so finesse. I said, you got to get back to running your offense with purpose, with screens and cuts instead of just standing and looking. And we really got away from making Notre Dame work. And then in the second half, that’s where I like that they adjusted that way and then we got great lifts from individual guys, but we got to hang in there, make some big shots, get some key stops against a team that can go on spurts. It was a good game for us.”
On the player match-up…
“…You got to be a great defensive, but you got to make some plays. Usually games come down to making plays, and we got some nice stuff off the offense, but some plays needed to be made. And we put four guards in late, just to try to mix a few things up, but they have you on edge. You know (Pat) Connaughton was a hard match-up and that’s why I went with Isaiah (Wilkins); I thought he gave us a great lift. He has not played in, when’s the last time he played? [4 games] Yeah, but he’s just so active and even though the guy hit a couple shots, I thought he gave us a great lift. And we needed a little more mobility on him, whether it was Evan (Nolte) or him, so that was down the stretch, you got to make plays at a setting like this.”
On Darion Atkins’ offensive contribution…
“I think he did a real nice job. Again, he started us off in the right way. He just went inside and he was over the shoulder. I think he scored us, what, our first eight or eight of our first ten or ten of our first I don’t know, it felt like for him it seemed like more. But, that was real good and then we went to him again inside and he was real good defensively too. You know it wasn’t just that way showing on the screens, but that was a good game. Again, we needed mobility on the floor to guard their quickness and I thought Mike (Tobey) did a pretty good job in there, but we had two of our more power players, so it was a little harder to adjust with (Pat) Connaughton and that’s what they do, so to have the flexibility to use Darion’s mobility and those other guys was important and when we had maybe Evan (Nolte) or Isaiah (Wilkins) in there, Darion was like okay so I’m going to be the guy scoring the post, and we had to attack that.”
On the power forwards performance on Jerian Grant…
“You know Malcolm (Brogdon), he’s really taken pride in his individual on ball slides, and he’s strong and he’s big with those long arms, strong hands, and I thought he had great support behind him. The guys were in position and were helping, so that was good, but Malcolm just…he just spread out. You know nothing more exciting, I remember playing for my dad and he’d say, just spread out, get in the stands and make people work. And you could see him spreading out with that length, and Grant was going to have to make some tough shots…and Malcolm just didn’t yield, almost all game. And you know again, Grant’s so good and you know he was off a bit. I really believe a lot of it was good defense. You know Malcolm, he makes you work.”
Virginia Player Quotes
Malcolm Brogdon · RS Junior · Guard
On defending Notre Dame’s shooting…
“I think I give that credit to the coaches and then I give it to my teammates. Our bigs were amazing; I thought, Darion (Atkins), Anthony (Gill), Isaiah (Wilkins), Evan (Nolte), they were huge on ball-screen defense and (Jerian) Grant’s very productive off the ball screen. Other than that, I just tried to stay in front and not let them reject screens.”
On defending Jerian Grant and getting into his head…
“He’s such a talented player and one of the best in college basketball. When you can frustrate a guy like that or play good defense against him, you can see it in their face. It’s definitely just a little bit tougher tonight for him and that gives you energy.”
“I’ve watched so many games; Notre Dame plays so many games and I’ve watched them a lot this year. I knew (Grant) was terrific before I played him and I knew what his strengths and weaknesses were going into the game and I tried to shut down his strengths.”
On being down by eight points in the second half…
“I think experience (got us back in the game). We have a young, but every experienced point guard who’s very mature and leads in the right way. I thought me and Justin (Anderson) helped get it under control, too, because I thought we rushed a little bit in the first half. Overall, I thought Darion (Atkins) was the X-factor for us tonight. I thought he was terrific on both ends: super-active, scoring, giving us buckets when we needed them. But I thought it was a great team game for us.”
Marial Shayok · Freshman · Guard
On taking Jerian Grant and Zach Auguste out of the game…
“Grant is a great player, along with Auguste, so we just tried to focus on them and make sure they didn’t beat us. They’re a great shooting team, so we just tried to play as great a defense as we can and it all worked out.”
Justin Anderson · Junior · Guard
On the turning point in the game…
“I think we came out with much better energy, much better effort in the second half. Once again, we end up going up against somebody that can challenge us in different ways, whether it’s an overtime game or whether it’s down eight (points) in the game. It’s always a different challenge and for us to break through and fight through, I think it’s great for our team.”
Darion Atkins · Senior · Forward
On his play tonight…
“I was confident; the pace of the game was steady. Maybe it was the atmosphere, but I was on tonight.”
On being recruited by Notre Dame and his friendship with Pat Connaughton and Jerian Grant…
“Coach (Mike) Brey recruited me personally, came to my house (and) I came here for an official (visit). I was on my official visit, actually, with Pat Connaughton, so him and Jerian Grant are two of my good friends.”
“I almost came here. It was between here and UVA and I hadn’t taken my official (visit) to UVA yet, so once I took my official I fell in love with UVA.”
On the game being special because of his ties to Notre Dame…
“I’m pretty close to the guys on the team, so it was a lot of fun. The atmosphere was great and it was fun playing against those guys.”
On knowing when he was `on’ offensively…
“When I made the first jump shot. My first bucket was the post move, but when that jump shot went in, I was surprised.”
Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey
Opening statement…
“What a great ACC game. I’m really proud of our guys. We’re disappointed. I think you really need to give credit to Virginia. They made big jump shots when they had to and that gave them some space. They played like a team that’s won a championship when they had to down the stretch.”
“I thought when we started the second half that we might be able to get some breathing room, but they’re too good for that. I told our guys no matter what happened today you’ve got to move on pretty quick because — as much as it was hyped up — it was just one league game. We’ve got to get our legs back under us and go on the road to Atlanta (vs. Georgia Tech) on Wednesday.”
On the inability to get some shots to go down right at the basket…
“We missed some stuff around the bucket – all three of our big guys. They’re so disappointed. I told them, `come on fellas, keep your heads up, you’re going to get those.’
“We got some screen-role stuff. I thought Jerian (Grant) did a great job finding those guys and they just missed them. They’re really excited to play and maybe looking around a little bit. I don’t want those three hanging their heads because we need them.”
“It was two teams throwing big punches.”
“The big possession was when we got a little screwed up on a switch. (Martin) Geben was guarding the young kid (Marial Shayok), who I thought made big shots tonight. That hurt. That three across from their bench that (Marial) Shayok made — that really hurt. (Justin) Anderson’s three in the corner was the shot of a big-time, all-conference, NBA-type guy.”
On whether or not Jerian (Grant) needs to be more aggressive at times…
“I don’t want him to take bad shots. I thought he’s done a good job the last two games because people take him away and sit on him. We don’t want him forcing stuff. He’s finding people and he’s moving the ball. We’re still in the games and playing well. I don’t want to over coach him, like `let’s run stuff so you just shoot it.’ His stuff comes a little differently.”
“He’s a marked man every night and they did a good job of physically taking him away.”
You reversed the offensive rebounding stat tonight…
“A lot of good it did us. I’d much rather give up 20 boards and win the game by two or in triple overtime. We’re better there. They had a couple tip-ins in the second half. They had some stuff inside on the post that we didn’t guard well.”
“We emphasize it. I think we’ll get better at it. I think we’ll learn how to calm that stat down a bit.”
What about this team makes you feel good that you can get that bounce back Wednesday night at Georgia Tech…
“They’ve been really focused. The last time we lost a game — we came off the mat pretty good last time I checked. We played really well in our first league game on the road and want to see that same mindset Wednesday. I’ve got the utmost confidence in the leadership of this group. The leadership will not let this linger. We’ll move on quick and be ready to play.”
“I’ll tell you what, it’s going to be hard to win. They’re (Georgia Tech) 0-3, but you saw the battle we had with them last time. We’re in a dogfight Wednesday night as well.”
Perspective of being 3-1 in the league…
“I had the speech ready either way. We can’t get too high and have a parade, and we can’t be jumping off buildings either. We’re either 4-0 or 3-1. Relax, it’s early and we’ve got to go on the road on Wednesday. I talked a lot about that.”
“We’re in a great position. We played our backsides off today. A good team got the better of us down the stretch. They played like a group that’s done it a little bit more than us at crunch time. I’m hoping in a month we’re a little more like them.”
“I believe we’ve shown that some already anyways.”
Do you take away from tonight that you are on Virginia’s level…
“It’s encouraging since we certainly didn’t have an answer for them last year. They may be the best team in the league. I think we’re developing an identity in this league. That was the goal when we joined the ACC. We didn’t really have that last year.”
Notre Dame Player Quotes
Pat Connaughton · Senior · Guard/Forward
On areas of concern moving forward…
“There were a few things here and there we have to clean up in order to pull out those types of wins. I think it is just a matter of making the winning plays down the stretch. I think we had the lead down the stretch a little bit. It is just a matter of getting the shots we need and avoiding the offensive rebounds they got.”
On progress against Virginia since the last meeting between the two teams…
“It shows a lot, but at the same time we are not just trying to hang tough; we are trying to win ballgames. I think there are things we can learn from throughout this game. We will watch the film and we’ll learn from it and try and get one back on Wednesday (at Georgia Tech).”
On the effect the loss has on confidence going into next game…
“I think we have grown more mature than that. I think we have a team in there that knows when we take a loss, it is on to the next one. We need to do that. It is a league game so if that is our only loss this year, then we will be in good shape.”
On the effect of Virginia’s defense that made it difficult down the stretch…
“I think it was just a matter of they’re a great defensive team. I think that overall they got the timely stops that they needed and the timely offensive rebounds that they needed and they hit big shots. At the end of the day I don’t think it was us losing the game as it was them winning the game. I think we can learn from what they did on those winning plays that will help us down the stretch.”
Demetrius Jackson · Sophomore · Guard
On the tough loss to Virginia…
“It is a long season. This game only counts as one loss in the conference. We just want to bounce back, continue to work hard in practice, and go back and fight again.”
On how tough this loss is to swallow…
“It is tough because we had the opportunity to win that game. It’s tough losing a game. It’s tough losing a big game. It’s tough losing a game at home and losing in general, but there are a lot of things to take away from the game.”
On adjustment to slowing Jerian Grant down…
“I have to continue to keep the offense flowing, continue to try to step up and take good looks, and get people the ball when they need it. If there is an open shot, I need to step up and make that shot.”
On Virginia’s high ball screen…
“Their big guys did a great job of hedging. They are great defenders on those ball screens. We just have to adjust and get better at getting around the ball screens. We knew coming in that it would be a tough game. They are a great team obviously, so we just have to learn from it and get better for the next game.”
V.J. Beachem · Sophomore · Forward
On Virginia’s defensive success…
“They are a great defensive team and they hit some big shots, especially some big 3s down the stretch. We knew they were a great team, so we have to learn from this and move on.”
On getting open and shooting well in the first half…
“Guys were finding me and I was sliding into open slots giving me a clean look at the basket.”
On how tough this loss is to swallow…
“It’s tough to swallow, but we have to move on. It was an ACC game, but we still have to move on. We have a big road game on Wednesday (against Georgia Tech). It’s a bounce-back game and coming out with a win will be big for us.”