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Quotes: Duke 87, North Carolina 83
2/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski
Opening Statement:
"It's a great game. Carolina has done wonders with their team. Their fans have been so supportive. They supported them again tonight- first-class fashion. It was an honor to play here tonight. Thought we beat a really good basketball team. You know it's going to be, when we started that second half like that, you know first of all we weren't going to keep that up and they weren't going to fold the tent especially at home. They wouldn't do it anywhere. They came back and when we lost the lead, I think we showed the spirit that I've sensed in this team throughout the year. We just have a good spirit that we're going to win. We kept our poise and hit some big shots. JJ [Redick] hit a couple big threes- that step-back three was not bad. I thought [Greg] Paulus really had a great floor game. He was a little bit ahead of himself early- got two or three early turnovers, but then after that, in this environment, with that pressure, he had a great great floor game. [Josh] McRoberts was great and Sean [Dockery] stepped forward. He had to shoot open shots, which we've been trying to get him to do. I don't think there's one play...we play five more minutes they may beat us, or two minutes. That's the kind of game it was, and we're very proud and happy with the victory."
On Paulus and McRoberts playing in this rivalry for the first time:
"It looked like at sometimes that Josh was our coolest guy out there- especially inbounding the ball. I shouldn't say anything about his free throw shooting, but in the last three weeks, he's hit almost every free throw. He just looked like he enjoyed playing tonight. We needed Greg to be that court leader. It's not easy. I've had [Bobby] Hurley in here turning the ball over ten times. I'm not saying he's better than Hurley, but a lot of people don't play well here because of the quality of team your playing against. We're really pleased with that."
On how good Carolina is:
"Carolina's really good. We played tonight like there a team that would challenge for the league. They're 5-3. I'm really impressed with their veterans. [Reyshawn] Terry is a superb player. He doesn't rush anything. His two threes really were huge for them. [David] Noel is just a pro. He's going to be a pro. He can play multiple positions and he's a match up problem for us when he plays up top. "
J.J. Redick
On Lee Melchinoni's comment that no other team could have come back when UNC took the lead besides Duke
"Well first off, Lee is the king of overstatements. So I'm not sure if no one else in the country could have won, but very few teams playing on the road against a team like this--because it's a big momentum swing--not many teams could have come back. But I think we are one of those teams that is capable of doing that. There's been a few games where we have proven that when our back are up against the walls, we can win. In all three games, we've made enough plays towards the end to win."
On if he's ever played in a game with so many different runs
"Yes, I have--I can think of some Duke/Carolina games. It seems like it's been typical of games between us, and especially in the Dean Dome. Last year we got a big lead, and then they came back. It seems like every time we play each other we get a double-digit lead or they get a lead. And both teams just show a lot of fight, a lot of heart."
On how it felt to end his last game like that in the Smith Center
"It's very satisfying to win the ballgame. I guess I'm leaving here 2-2 at the Dean Dome. It's not bad, but to come out of here with a win as a senior it feels good."
Josh McRoberts
On the close nature of the game
"Well the same thing kind of happened to us against Boston College; we struggled to keep the lead, but we've got good seniority, and I think we're pretty mentally tough to come back in those situations."
On what he thought when UNC made its run
"They played well and give a lot of credit to them. We knew they were going to come back. They're a good team, and they're well coached. So we knew they were going to make a comeback. I don't think we let up very much. I think it was just them coming back and us not playing as well as we had previously."
On J.J. Redick
"He carries us; he definitely carried us in the end of the game today. That's one of the great things about having the best college player on your team; you can count on him."
Sean Dockery
On J.J. Redick's play
"He's great. He didn't want to lose the game, and he stepped up today. I'm proud of him."
On how Coach Mike Krzyzewski said he wants him to shoot more three pointers
"Whatever Coach says, I'm going to do. He tells me to shoot the ball, and I'm going to shoot the ball. I'm shooting the ball well, and I'm going to keep shooting."
On what it is like to play with Redick
"You know J.J. is going to have a lot of guys coming to him, and sometimes they just forget about me. It's great playing off of him, and it's great playing with him."
On if we just surprised that North Carolina didn't shoot a three pointer at the end
"We just played good defense at the end. They wanted to get the two-pointer and we tried not to let them get the three pointer instead."
On if he doubted the team once Duke lost the lead
"No, we've played tough games all year, and we've shown maturity. Not taking anything away from North Carolina because they played great, but you know, we have J.J. Redick. So he makes big shots in the end."
Lee Melchionni
On the impact of Redick's three pointer at the end of the game
"For him to make those shots at the end, it's a little like daggers, nails in the coffin. And that really sealed the deal for us tonight."
UNC Coach Roy Williams
Opening Statement
"It's very disappointing there's no question about that. If you didn't care about who won the game, you had to enjoy the ebb and flow of a great college basketball game. But I do care who wins, and so it wasn't that much fun for me. I love how hard our kids tried but the first three minutes of the second half I was just dumbfounded how we didn't have the fire and didn't have the poise. We turned it over four straight possessions. We can't come out and play like that and be a good basketball team. That was the most disappointing thing that we've had happen this year.
"After that I loved how our team competed. I loved those next five guys that got in there and how they competed. When the starters got back in I thought they really did a nice job. It would've been nice to have made another bucket or two.
"You've got to give J.J. [Redick], he made two big time shots - one of them from the corner across from their bench where I thought we had him guarded very well and he jumped up and made a big time shot. We had a five point lead and the called Reyshawn Terry for a charge on the possession before and J.J. [Redick] goes down and makes that big one from the corner again that I thought we had guarded pretty well to put it back to two. Then we missed and after that it was give and take.
"It would've been fun to come up with that ball when we had the double on the sideline. Marcus [Ginyard] couldn't stay inbounds and threw it back in and it got to them. Greg [Paulus] made the free throws at that point. I loved how our kids competed except for the first three or four minutes of the second half. You have to congratulate Duke and J.J. [Redick]--he made the big jump shots. Josh McRoberts and Greg Paulus making the free throws and Josh's big three. Sean Dockery was really good for them too.
"It's pretty disappointing."
On Quentin Thomas's play and why he was on the bench late:
"Over the course of twenty games Bobby [Frasor] has earned the right to be in there. But `Q' did give us a lift. Bobby played well down the stretch. He hit the jumpshot to cut it to one. I was disappointing or anything like that. `Q' has struggled a great deal this year, but he did give us a lift. But again I think Byron [Sanders] made a basket at the end. I think Danny [Green] took it to the basket. Danny helped us with offensive rebounding in the first half. He just has to be a little better on the defensive end of the floor."
On the team's resilience:
"If I ever have one of my team's quit, I will walk out of here and stop coaching. None of our guys are ever going to quit."
On the finish to the game:
It was fun, no question. But you have to finish the job. I've never been one to be big on moral victories. You have to finish the game. We had a five point lead and we had a drive and we wanted the call block and they wanted the call charge. After that they made plays and we didn't. One time we missed two free throws and fouled them and they go down and make two free throws.
On the five-man substitution early in the second half:
"I didn't care [how well it worked]. I was so mad at [the starters] I just wanted to something so I wasn't charged with assault. We could've lost by 5,000 and it wouldn't have made any difference I was keeping them in there for a while. If you are going to play for us, you are going to compete. "Cool" stuff- I despise "cool"- I've never seen one person in my life that was cool that I liked."
North Carolina Player Quotes
David Noel
On Tyler Hansbrough guarding Shelden Williams
"We let Tyler guard him for the most part. We know Tyler is the type of player that can hold his own against a caliber player like Sheldon Williams. We let him do what he did and he was able to frustrate him a little bit."
On J.J. Redick's role in the end of the game
"Big players may show up in big time games and that was a tough shot that he hit to win that game and that's the type of player he's been all year."
Reyshawn Terry
On the performance in the start of the second half
"We had to get our heads right. The second five came in and gave us a little spurt and we seemed to take it from there but we never really stopped their offense which really hurt us."
On what King Rice said to the team
"We have to compete and that's not the way we compete here. We have to work harder and if we want to sit on the bench for the rest of the game then keep acting like that. We had to make up in our mind that we were ready to play. But unfortunately it wasn't enough to win today."
Danny Green
On his last shot of the game
"I was just running the play that Coach called. I wasn't expecting to get the ball. The play was for David to spin around and shoot a jump shot. I thought I set a good screen on him but Bobby was stuck and he threw it to Dave. I thought David was going to shoot it but he pump faked and dribbled. I wasn't expecting to get the ball. When he threw it to me I kind of froze up. My natural instinct was to just go. I wasn't even thinking about shooting a three. I will learn from my mistakes next time."
Players Mentioned
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