Postgame Quotes
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Feb. 16, 2015
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Virginia Head Coach Tony Bennett
On the defense:
“I thought our defense was really good. Our guys were charged up. We were bothering shots, and we just made them earn everything. We certainly respected their ability and how hot they have been, so our guys responded to the challenge. They knew they would have to scramble, fight, and bring a little more. We got torched a little bit against Wake forest’s ability to shoot that three and I thought we were better on our rotations, and being there on the catch tonight.”
On Marial Shayok and Isaiah Wilkins:
“I really challenged the bench and told them now is the time. Just get out there and fight, battle, and be all about that and nothing else. It was time to grow up in a sense. I thought Marial really played and battled. He had a big three, and made some good stops. I thought Isaiah Wilkins gave us a nice lift along with Marial, and I thought they were really energetic.”
On Malcolm Brogdon’s 1,000th point:
“I was teasing him saying that in the NFL the quarterbacks buy their linemen Rolexes, so he should go buy his big guys a TAG Heuer. They set so many good screens to get him open. I told him how proud I was of him, because he is just a complete player. He is steady, he is tough, and he is often guarding the best perimeter player. In all ways he is an ambassador for this university and this program.”
On London Perrantes’ passing:
“That was a big one he made to Anthony Gill when he got fouled. Pitt jams the lane and are physical, and London was very clever. He took the right shots and had a good feel for the game in terms of what shots to take, when to attack, and when to make the passes. He got us some easy buckets. That is what this is about. We get some easy shots off of his playmaking ability.”
On Evan Nolte:
“He defended well. His shot was off today and his balance wasn’t great, but he really defended well. He is such a heady player and he is smart. His size helps as well. My message was to trust your system, trust your team, and trust your shot, and he did that tonight. He shot with confidence even if he wasn’t making them. His smarts and defensive positioning and length were very helpful.”
On the crowd:
“I wanted to thank the crowd. I know the weather is a big deal for Charlottesville people. Those who came out were loud and active. They had fight just like I challenged the team to, and I hope everyone is getting home safe. I really appreciate it, because I know it is uncomfortable for the southern drivers to be out in this.”
Virginia Freshman Guard Marial Shayok
On teammates telling him to be aggressive:
“They want me to be aggressive. They know when I play with confidence and am positive I play well. Today I tried to play hard, play aggressive and play in the moment.”
On scoring for the first time in seven games:
“It felt good. I could have done a better job staying positive before that, but all of the guys and coaches believed in me and it paid off today.”
On regaining control after Pitt went on a scoring run:
“Every team will have their runs, but we just wanted to keep playing our basketball. We wanted to keep our defense stable and trust in each other.”
Virginia Junior Malcolm Brogdon
On second half dunk:
“I just saw the baseline open up. I was thinking if the big doesn’t step over then I am going to try to dunk it, they might block it, but I’m going to go to the rim hard.”
On reaching 1,000 career points:
“It means a lot. I remember Joe [Harris] and Mike Scott getting their 1000th point and it’s a moment I have to say thank you to all of the people along the way. It is not just me. It’s my family, my mom, my brothers, my coaches and my teammates who have all helped me along the way. This is a moment of gratitude for me.”
On trouble shooting:
“It’s frustrating when your shots aren’t falling and you can’t get things going offensively. But at the same time, as long as we were getting stops, we couldn’t be too frustrated with ourselves. As long as we get stops, we have something to lean on.”
On matching them physically:
“That was big. That was the biggest component for us going into the game. They are a team a lot like us. They set hard screens, their guards come off hard and they are always cutting hard. They have really good players and are a mirror image of us, so we knew we had to come out physically.”
Virginia Guard London Perrantes
On interior passing:
“It was what the defense gave us. We were able to get to the elbow and their bigs were just sitting down in the dump spot waiting for the ball, so it all just works out if the bigs get open and give us enough space we are going to give it to them. It wasn’t just all me it was a team effort with that.”
On halting Pitt’s momentum:
“We were shooting good shots. We had some great open looks and some rimmed in and out. We made the good ones when they really counted. We are just going to keep shooting because it gives us confidence. When we need a bucket is when we get the best shot and we knock them down.”
Virginia Senior Darion Atkins
On the team’s defense performance:
“The last two games we did not perform defensively, and I think we came out right away and put our foot down on the defensive end tonight.”
On his individual defensive performance and role:
“Whenever I see someone driving, I come over and wait until they try to release their shot and then I go up for it [the block].”
On playing without Justin Anderson:
“Our defense has not let up. Because he is out, we need to translate our defensive momentum to the offensive end. We have people taking more shots, like London did tonight.”
On Evan Nolte’s performance:
“He is playing really well. He has filled Justin’s void well. He is experienced and has been patient to wait for his shot to play, and I think he is going to continue to give us more.”
On Marial Shayok’s performance:
“As soon as he hit the 3-pointer tonight he looked over at Justin, and Justin said, `Are you back?’ Marial said. `Yeah I’m back.’ I’m glad he hit that shot and hopefully he can keep staying aggressive on the offensive end.”
Pittsburgh Head Coach Jamie Dixon
On the game:
“We didn’t handle being down for a stretch there in the second half. We got good looks to start, the first couple possessions, ran a couple plays out of the box that we put in, and then we got wide open looks. We made a couple, then missed an open one. They keep coming, and they keep making you make the right play time and time again. Their size at all positions is a real attribute for them. Their size and their strength, and their experience at all spots I think is a big reason why they are successful.”
On Virginia’s double team in the post:
“We double team all the time, so we see it in practice all the time and [Virginia] did it to a degree. It seemed to hurt us, and we have to do a better job against it. We didn’t have a lot of time to practice, but we did practice a little against it yesterday. We see it every day in practice, so it is something we should be prepared for and can handle. I just don’t think we moved the ball well enough in those situations, so that’s why we came up with the result we had.”
On their 12 turnovers:
“It’s too many forced passes, and over-penetration or over-dribbling. I thought we were dribbling more than we needed to when we had passes to make.”