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Post Game Notes
3/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 12, 2005
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery
Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski
It was a great game. A lot of people keep asking, does it mean a lot to you to play in this tournament? I hear that question all the time. The old expression 'actions speak louder than words' was so apparent this afternoon in this basketball game. Both teams played great basketball. We could not stop them in the first half for about 14 or 15 minutes. They executed their offense to precision and out-rebounded us. We were fortunate to only be down by four. They got off to a great start in the second half. A couple of kids came off the came off the bench for us, (David) McClure and (Reggie) Love, and gave us a lot of energy defensively and put us in a position, because we are smaller, to switch a lot of things. We were able to put a little bit more pressure on their offense. Then our two big guys came in they were so good on the boards, along with DeMarcus Nelson. My two most veteran players Daniel (Ewing) and J.J. (Redick) were fantastic. J.J.'s performance was one of the best ever. Daniel's was right there. He had to guard Julius (Hodge) the entire game. He is playing the best basketball of his senior year. It took great performances to beat great performances today. Hopefully we will have a little bit left for tomorrow.
(On rebounding effort in the second half)
They missed some shots in the second half so you get more defensive rebounds than offensive rebounds. The sets we were running in motion during the second half put our big guys by the boards and gave the third perimeter guy a run. We had three guys on the boards. It gave some open looks to J.J. (Redick) and Daniel (Ewing). Yesterday we out-rebounded our opponent by 24 and today we were being out-rebounded by 10 at the half. That is a little bit of a difference there.
(On the play of DeMarcus Nelson)
DeMarcus has played well. He has really gotten better and better. He had nine rebounds today, six offensive rebounds. That is the thing he does best. The next thing he is learning to do well is to play defense. He has been and will be very valuable to us when he does those two things.
Duke junior guard J.J. Redick
For me it was a great basketball game to play in. NC State really ran their offense great in the first half. We didn't have best intensity on defense. The turning point in the game was when Reggie (Love) and David (McLure) came in. Other guys fed off their energy. When Daniel and I started hitting big shot everybody stepped up.
(On how he overcame Friday's shooting woes)
You just don't dwell on it. You've got to have the confidence to take the next shot and step up and play with courage in the next game. I didn't dwell on it last night. I put it behind me, and went out there today and played with confidence.
(On Georgia Tech)
When we played them in Atlanta they had just gotten (BJ) Elder back and he hadn't really found a rhythm. I think he's playing better now and Bynum has been playing really well.
(On physically getting through three games in three days)
We're in great shape. I think we're in better shape than any team in the conference. We're not the deepest team, but we have guys that are playing a lot of minutes, because we are in great shape.
Duke senior guard Daniel Ewing
(On going to another championship game)
We expect to be here. We expect to win championships. That is what this program is about. Whether it is the ACC Tournament Championship, regular season championship, or NCAA Championship, it's our expectation and we try to meet that every year.
(On Redick)
He's a shooter and you go through those stretches where you don't hit as many as you want in one game, and in the next game you don't miss. He's a shooter and he is mature enough to understand that each shot is a new shot for him. That is the way he shoots the ball and it showed today.
NC State head coach Herb Sendek
I certainly continue to be very proud of our men. Even in defeat today I thought their effort was tremendous, playing our third game in three days. I just couldn't be prouder of a group of guys than I am of our team right now. Certainly you have to give Duke credit for an outstanding game. Obviously two factors stand out. One, a sensational performance by J.J. Redick and two, our inability to come up with key rebounds, which put us in the position where after we had a stop we had to try to stop them again and sometimes again. These guys have given their heart, they've given everything they've had and that's what this whole thing is about. They've had a great home stretch to the regular season and I'm just proud to be coaching them.
(On defending Redick)
We were working really hard. None of those shots came with us having our legs crossed and our arms behind our head. We were giving great effort and to his credit he always gives great effort as well. He's always moving and they set a lot of screens for him. He needs almost no time or space to get a shot off. The one thing that can be a little deceiving when talking about him is how big he is. He's a big guard and he's able to get his shot off with little time or space. He has a lightning quick release and that is really aided by his size.
(On being nervous during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show)
I think our play will speak for itself. We've had a very strong finish and an excellent season. We feel very good about where we stand going into tomorrow.
(On Duke's offensive rebounds)
I don't think it had anything to do with running out of gas, our guys have tremendous fortitude. I know they were giving everything they had. DeMarcus Nelson just did a great job. He came down with six of those. To our mens' credit we had 14 offensive rebounds. It just seemed like when Duke got a second shot they made us pay dearly with a couple of big threes.
(On the availability of injured Jordan Collins and Tony Bethel next week)
Jordan will definitely be back. We are very optimistic about his recovery. We tried him a couple minutes last night and we think he is right around the corner. Tony is day-to-day. We'll see what a couple days of rest do for him and hopefully we'll go into the NCAA Tournament in better health than we did coming into the ACC Tournament.
NC State junior forward Ilian Evtimov
I was very frustrating to lose, especially when you're up eight to start the second half. They kicked our butts on the rebounds and we couldn't find a way to stop J.J. Redick and consequently we lost. It's very frustrating, but we've got a quick turnaround and we're looking forward to next week.
NC State senior guard Julius Hodge
It was definitely a hard fought game and for the seniors on the team it was a missed opportunity to win an ACC Championship on the last go around, but our guys have no reason to hang their heads. Coming into this season there was a lot said about this and that. No matter what anyone said, we made sure we came out on the court and played. When we were 3-7 in the league we could have folded like any teams in the past have, but we continued playing and continued working. We're definitely not going to hold our heads down because we're winners. I'm not talking about moral victories. We're winners. We're going to see who were playing tomorrow and we'll go from there.
(On guarding Redick)
Guarding a player with J.J.'s talent, you have to just have to do it with one player, it has to be a team effort because they set great screens. You then have to really box out because there are a lot of long rebounds when he does miss and if they get offensive rebounds then it just opens him up for an open look which he never misses.
NC State freshman forward Andrew Brackman
(On the absence of forward Jordan Collins and guard Tony Bethel)
They're obviously a big part of our team. Jordan is a big body who could have helped us rebound. Tony runs our team and we'll have him back for the NCAA Tournament and we'll go from there.
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