Postgame Quotes
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Feb. 14, 2015
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Virginia Head Coach Tony Bennett
On the game’s final possession and Malcolm Brogdon’s defense:
“He really spread out and road-blocked [Miller-McIntyre]. That was the very good individual defensive possession that we needed. We were just fortunate to make one stop at the end to come away with a tough win against a team that has really improved.”
On Virginia’s offense:
“I really liked how we came out after halftime. We attacked more and were more aggressive in our offense. We ran it to score. We got the ball inside and Evan [Nolte] hit some nice shots. We got into a nice flow off the dribble. After we went up by 13, I thought we made some poor shot selections, and we looked a little inexperienced. In the end, we made enough plays.”
On defending Wake Forest:
“We weren’t quick on our rotations. I thought we were just half a step too slow and not alert. If [Dinos Mitoglou] gets the ball and you’re not there on the catch and he gets his rhythm going, you’re in big trouble.”
On Anthony Gill:
“We’re getting him the ball in good spots. He’s turning, facing, driving hard and finishing. They have a forward who can stretch and shoot, and we have one who can step outside the lane and really attack you off the dribble. That puts pressure on the defense. He’s been able to get to the spots he needs to and drop those shots in. We needed all of that, without a doubt.”
Virginia Guard Malcolm Brogdon
On the final defensive position:
“I was just trying to pressure [Codi Miller-McIntyre] and make him uncomfortable. He was trying to get in the lane all game and it worked some of the time. I figured I’d give him some space once he put it on the ground and started coming at me. He was trying to get to the left side of me with his right hand. I tried to cut him off and he spun back, and lost control of the ball.”
On Virginia’s 3-point defense:
“We’ve prepared for that all week. We prepared for [Dinos Mitoglou]. They just ran offense around him and tried to get him shots, and he knocked them down. A lot of them were tough shots with a hand in his face, but he is a terrific shooter.”
On the timeout before the last play of the game:
“We just told ourselves we need this stop. This is what we do and this is what we pride ourselves on, so lets get it done.”
On the inside-out play:
“I think that is what the best teams in the country do, playing through their bigs. The best teams in the country have really good big men. I think we have really good big men, who can dominate the game, so we try to take advantage of them.”
Virginia Guard London Perrantes
On his shooting woes:
“I don’t know. I’m just going to keep shooting. I feel like I do a lot of shooting, a lot of extra stuff and it is a little frustrating for me, but we are winning, so I can’t be too frustrated. I’m just going to keep working on my shot, keep practicing, and keep shooting it.”
On Dinos Mitoglou’s big night:
“It is because he plays basically the 5, and a 5-man shooting the ball is tough to guard for anybody, unless you have a guard who can play the 5. I feel like Darion [Atkins] did pretty well with that because he is so quick and was able to get back fast. We knew coming in it was going to be tough because he shot the ball extremely well and has such a quick release. He knocked down some crucial ones toward the end.”
Virginia Junior Evan Nolte:
On his finger injury:
“It’s not broken or anything. I just came down and landed on it, and it was almost 90 degrees at the middle knuckle, but I popped it back into place.”
On how big his two shots were to boost the offense in the second half:
“It was good. I thought on offense we weren’t flowing really well, and I got two open looks and I just shot with confidence. I think it helped the offense, but I think it also got the crowd going which helped.”
On his comfort on offense:
“I’m feeling really comfortable out there. It definitely helps when you’re getting in the flow of things, you’re touching the ball, and you’re bringing it up and passing it around. When Anthony [Gill] passed me the ball I was just caught off guard, but I think I’m in a position where I’m comfortable taking shots, I’m still trying to feel my way through the offense as a guard. I think the toughest part is defensively and ball handling.”
On the game coming down to a final stop:
“That was my fault because I didn’t block out the shooter, but yeah, we were up by 10 and I think we, myself included, took a lot of quick shots and I think we should have worked them more. We’re usually a very mature team, especially coming down to the last couple minutes, but we had the lead and were just taking quick shots and those guys were shooting it.”
Virginia Redshirt Junior Anthony Gill
Opening statement:
“We had a tough game today. I think we should have put them away a lot earlier than we did, but we let them come back. I think the way we finished, though, was great, that defensive stop that we had.”
On his recent success and if he has done anything differently:
“Not really, I’ve just been staying focused. I understand there are going to be the games when you’re on and when you’re off, so you just cannot hold your head down. You continue for your team, and you can have no letdowns because your team needs you. We need everybody on this squad and we all know that, so we’re going to go out there and give it our all every night.”
On the team’s offensive strategy:
“I think we just go with the flow of what our system is. If we have shots that are falling, why go away from it? `Never take the hot hand away,’ that’s what people in basketball always say, so we really are just trying to find who can help us out at what time in the game and that’s what we do. Everybody’s going to have their game, you never know who it’s going to be for us, so I think everybody has to be ready.”
On his free throw shooting being up and down:
“I’m not worried about it at all. I just have to keep pretending like I’m making every shot that I’m shooting, and make adjustments and keep practicing.”
On being picked to shoot Evan Nolte’s free throws:
“I have no idea who picked me, I was really surprised when I got called up there. I was like, `Who picked me?’ I got some more points out of it, so I wasn’t upset.”
Wake Forest Head Coach Danny Manning
Opening statement:
“This afternoon was a hard-fought ballgame. I thought in the first half we came out and moved the ball well. We had some guys knock down some shots. They went in during halftime and Tony [Bennett] made some adjustments. He’s been doing a great job, they’re having a wonderful year. They won the second half. At the end of the ballgame, those guys just sat down and made a great defensive play. That’s great team defense and that’s why they are where they are. For us, we have to a better job in that situation.”
On Virginia’s defensive adjustments in the second half:
“They were a little bit more active. I thought they were switching ball screens some, which they didn’t do much of early on. When you don’t make shots you have to give the defense credit. I thought we missed a couple shots that we’d like to have over again.”
On the last play of the game:
“We got what we were looking for. But before that, I looked at the stat sheet and they scored 34 points in the paint and 20 points off of our turnovers. We didn’t make our free throws. There will be a lot of people who look to the last minute or so of the ballgame, but for me I saw those omissions that if we corrected them it wouldn’t have been that close down the stretch. But, that’s the game of basketball. We have to value each possession, whether its in the first half or in the last minute of the ballgame.”
On taking the game as a learning experience:
“We’ve had a lot of games this year by that definition, and I’m tired of it.”
On Devin Thomas’ impact on the game:
“They doubled teamed Devin and I thought that for the most part he did a good job of finding teammates. I thought he did a good job of having a presence in the post and that’s one of the reasons why Dinos [Mitoglou] was able to get loose and make six 3’s tonight.”
Wake Forest Forward Dinos Mitoglou
On his 3-point shooting:
“Coach [Danny Manning] gave me the green light to shoot the ball and I shoot it every time with confidence. My teammates, whenever I touch the ball, they say to shoot it. They believe in me. Whenever I take a shot and miss it, I say to myself, `let’s go to the next one.’ I try to shoot it with confidence.”
Wake Forest Guard Codi Miller-McIntyre
On the last play of the game:
“They did a good job of hedging the ball screen. It made me focus on the man in front of me and it resulted in a turnover. I lost the ball a little bit before [Malcolm Brogdon] got to it and then he knocked it away. If the hedge wasn’t there I would’ve either had a layup or Dinos [Mitoglou] right there with me. It was a tough hedge. I probably should’ve told my big to take the slip a little bit to open up the driving lane. That’s something I need to work on as a guard.”