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Quotes: Duke 70, VT 65
2/25/2012 3:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski:
Opening Statement:
“Well we won a heck of a game today. I am very proud of our team. I don't know if any of you were at the Florida State game on Thursday night. The Florida State game was a very, very physical game. For our kids to get back at two o'clock in the morning, it was hard to have practice because we would just be worn out. To show the grit today and play against this outstanding team, Virginia Tech was terrific. They were fresh and unbelievably well coached. They have been in like eight one-possession games. I think they only won two. They are a first division team in our league. [Erick] Green is as a good of a guard as there is in our league with [Dorenzo] Hudson and [Jarell] Eddie as shooters. [Dorian] Finney-Smith is an emerging star. I think they are really good, and I thought they played. They had a great game plan. They played their hearts out, and our kids played their hearts out too. Whatever reservoir we had there at the end, we were able to get through. Again, I tried to tell you that this team has a really good will to win. You have some shortcomings which all teams do. At the end of the day, they have a will to win. I thought [Miles] Plumlee came up with some huge defensive rebounds for us, 15 for the game. We were a little short on our shots. We showed a little bit tired legs, but Austin [Rivers] was like a battering ram. I thought Tyler [Thornton] just did a great job trying to control Green. Green got 16 [points], but he had 19 [shots]. Tyler really epitomized the grit that we had as a basketball team today. There is no way our team wins without Tyler today. That kid just played too darn hard and got his bell rung right there at the end. Still, are you okay? I am okay. I'm not coming out of this thing. We need to get some rest. We need to get rejuvenated. Again, 25 wins and 12-2 in the conference, what a great jobs these kids are doing. Again, we won a heck of a game today. I don't know any else way to put it.”
On if Tyler Thornton playing 38 minutes today because of Green:
“Yeah, well we also just needed him. The really good teams that we have here, and we have had a lot of them. There are players on those teams that will fight whether they are fresh, medium or completely exhausted, and if you have a few of them or a team of them, then you might win a National Championship. We had five of them in 2010. Tyler is like that as long as Tyler is on the court. He just gives it to you. I really thought out of all of our players. He won't show up stat wise, but just attitude wise, toughness wise, just what he was saying in huddles, on the court understanding game situations and encouraging his teammates. It was like a 'Wojo' type of performance. You don't recognize the true value of player by his stats but by what he has done. I could talk a long time about that kid. Those things are what I think I value the most in coaching when a kid has that type of will and attitude. It is just beautiful.”
On Miles Plumlee:
“Well you know, he is naturally a good rebounder. I think in the last month he has become an exceptional rebounder. These last two games, boy, he has played as well as any big guy in our conference. He gave us so much strength down at Florida State. Now, he is a great athlete. So I don't think he was tired. He is strong. He is really strong. He is thinking strong. He is playing strong. For him to get a couple of rebounds there at the end and then hit those free throws, it was just a nice way to end a terrific performance.”
On the decision to start Miles Plumlee and Ryan Kelly:
“Somewhat, again we started a lot of different lineups. Finney-Smith is a match-up problem. He showed that in the first half really. I don't know what he finished with offensive rebounds. He started as one of the best offensive rebounders in our conference. He made four offensive rebounds in the first half. Our defense was outstanding today. We are playing really good defense, and his four plays gave him about eight points. Otherwise, we hold them under 20 in the first half. That was a key match. Josh [Hairston] got hit in the eye and kind of blurred vision. We didn't feel comfortable about bringing him back in the game, but he would have played more like he did up at Virginia Tech. It put us in a little bit of a bad situation with the two bigs when you have Finney-Smith as like a fourth perimeter player.”
On if the coaching staff has encouraged Seth Curry to create shots:
“Yeah, I think Seth is just really a good basketball player. He is not a shooter. He is a scorer. He is a good basketball player. He made that one drive that was just an unbelievable play. We tried to put him and Austin [Rivers] in position where they can use their abilities and not call plays as much as create situations for them to make reads. I think we have two guys who can do that. But towards the end of the game, the angle with Austin, we felt like he would be a battering ram. He hit one and missed one. Still, it gave us a chance to rest before we went down on defense and stuff like that. But both those kids can create shots for themselves.”
Senior Miles Plumlee:
“Playing here for four years now, you just know what winning plays are and you know when you need to make them. I'm just trying to be aggressive, and we've just got to keep the momentum going.”
“You're fighting human nature in a game like this, coming off a physical, big-time win on the road [Thursday night at Florida State] with about a day to prepare. It's just tough but our team's will to win was great today and we finally came out on top.”
On having only one game in Cameron remaining in his Duke career:
“I've been counting them down for a while now. It's crazy but at this point I just might as well leave everything I've got on the floor.”
Junior Ryan Kelly:
“We played pretty good defense. We missed some open looks that we normally hit, around the basket too, and they hit some really tough shots down the stretch. When you do that, you put yourself in a position to win. We really had a will to win and came through.”
On the effects of fatigue:
“That's part of the game. It's like a tournament – the NCAA Tournament or the ACC Tournament. You have to turn around quick and be ready to play right away. That's human nature a little bit when you get a huge win on Thursday night and then you come early Saturday. But the ability to pull it out in the end was huge for us. You've got to take some time to rest. With this early game, you get a long afternoon and then tomorrow to rest and then get ready to go for Wake Forest.”
On the play of Mason Plumlee and Miles Plumlee
“They were huge rebounding the ball. And then, Miles, those two free throws were huge. For a guy to step up and make those free throws, that's really a big deal.”
On the play of Seth Curry and Austin Rivers in the second half:
“We know they can score the basketball and we expect them to. And our offense is going well when they're scoring the basketball in a variety of ways, whether it be getting to the basket or hitting shots, and they certainly did that in the second half.”
On what Coach K said to the team in the locker room after the game:
“It was just that we continue to show him that we have a true will to win and an ability at the end of a game to make the big plays to win.”
Freshman Austin Rivers:
“Guys are going to get rest tonight. Everybody told each other that tonight everybody needs to lay low, get some rest, and tomorrow get some rest as well, just because we have a big week ahead of us and a lot of guys' legs are short. You could see it on the free throws I missed. They were all short on the front of the rim. They all felt good and I thought they were all going in. But with your legs, you can't do anything about it, so I just kept shooting them. And guys kept shooting their shots.”
“We want to play really well to the point where we don't have to try to close it out [late in the second half or overtime]. It'd be nice to win by 20 and then be able to sit, but Virginia Tech is a great basketball team. That's a team that you're not going to do that with. You're not going to blow out Virginia Tech. They're well-coached and they have a lot of good players. We knew that this game was going to be very tough. This is kind of one of those schedule games where you're worried about that one because you're just coming off a win. I think we did a good job of staying focused throughout the game. They threw a lot of punches at us, and they hit a lot of big shots, but we stayed focused and were able to get the win.”
Virginia Tech head coach Seth Greenberg:
Opening Statement:
“I thought we did a lot of good things. We competed at a very high level but we didn't really do a good job of executing and cutting hard. We just weren't able to finish. Last possession of the game we wanted to go flat for Erick (Green) to try to get him to play but they helped up try to get a chance at an off rebound. They got in the lane; it was not what we wanted. We were down two playing off our staggers, Dorenzo (Hudson) didn't think he had a shot, basket cut and try to get create a big gap and get a kick, get a center penetration with a second ball handler. I thought out guys really competed on the backboards. At the end of the game, we didn't do a good enough job of keeping (Austin) Rivers out of the lane. We just got to keep on working, get back to practice, and try to get better. ”
On Dorenzo Hudson and Erick Green missing shots at the end of overtime:
“We got good shots, we got good shots in the whole overtime. Jerrell Eddie had a good pull up. Dorenzo was making shots, then he came off that thing trying to make a play. He played really hard. Cadarian Raines gave us really good minutes, continues to get better. We had that one stretch where we had a couple active possessions, and he showed character to stay in the game and compete, and he came back in the game. ”
On taking Duke into overtime at Duke with this team:
“I've been telling you guys for three weeks, I think we're getting better. Obviously you want that reward, but that doesn't mean we aren't getting better.”
On Duke's 9-0 run, and difference between how team reacted when playing Duke at home versus today:
“We talked about that, how much we've grown up and how much we have improved. This was going to be a test, how do we respond to this at this moment in time. We got some stops and made some shots.”
Opening Statement:
“Well we won a heck of a game today. I am very proud of our team. I don't know if any of you were at the Florida State game on Thursday night. The Florida State game was a very, very physical game. For our kids to get back at two o'clock in the morning, it was hard to have practice because we would just be worn out. To show the grit today and play against this outstanding team, Virginia Tech was terrific. They were fresh and unbelievably well coached. They have been in like eight one-possession games. I think they only won two. They are a first division team in our league. [Erick] Green is as a good of a guard as there is in our league with [Dorenzo] Hudson and [Jarell] Eddie as shooters. [Dorian] Finney-Smith is an emerging star. I think they are really good, and I thought they played. They had a great game plan. They played their hearts out, and our kids played their hearts out too. Whatever reservoir we had there at the end, we were able to get through. Again, I tried to tell you that this team has a really good will to win. You have some shortcomings which all teams do. At the end of the day, they have a will to win. I thought [Miles] Plumlee came up with some huge defensive rebounds for us, 15 for the game. We were a little short on our shots. We showed a little bit tired legs, but Austin [Rivers] was like a battering ram. I thought Tyler [Thornton] just did a great job trying to control Green. Green got 16 [points], but he had 19 [shots]. Tyler really epitomized the grit that we had as a basketball team today. There is no way our team wins without Tyler today. That kid just played too darn hard and got his bell rung right there at the end. Still, are you okay? I am okay. I'm not coming out of this thing. We need to get some rest. We need to get rejuvenated. Again, 25 wins and 12-2 in the conference, what a great jobs these kids are doing. Again, we won a heck of a game today. I don't know any else way to put it.”
On if Tyler Thornton playing 38 minutes today because of Green:
“Yeah, well we also just needed him. The really good teams that we have here, and we have had a lot of them. There are players on those teams that will fight whether they are fresh, medium or completely exhausted, and if you have a few of them or a team of them, then you might win a National Championship. We had five of them in 2010. Tyler is like that as long as Tyler is on the court. He just gives it to you. I really thought out of all of our players. He won't show up stat wise, but just attitude wise, toughness wise, just what he was saying in huddles, on the court understanding game situations and encouraging his teammates. It was like a 'Wojo' type of performance. You don't recognize the true value of player by his stats but by what he has done. I could talk a long time about that kid. Those things are what I think I value the most in coaching when a kid has that type of will and attitude. It is just beautiful.”
On Miles Plumlee:
“Well you know, he is naturally a good rebounder. I think in the last month he has become an exceptional rebounder. These last two games, boy, he has played as well as any big guy in our conference. He gave us so much strength down at Florida State. Now, he is a great athlete. So I don't think he was tired. He is strong. He is really strong. He is thinking strong. He is playing strong. For him to get a couple of rebounds there at the end and then hit those free throws, it was just a nice way to end a terrific performance.”
On the decision to start Miles Plumlee and Ryan Kelly:
“Somewhat, again we started a lot of different lineups. Finney-Smith is a match-up problem. He showed that in the first half really. I don't know what he finished with offensive rebounds. He started as one of the best offensive rebounders in our conference. He made four offensive rebounds in the first half. Our defense was outstanding today. We are playing really good defense, and his four plays gave him about eight points. Otherwise, we hold them under 20 in the first half. That was a key match. Josh [Hairston] got hit in the eye and kind of blurred vision. We didn't feel comfortable about bringing him back in the game, but he would have played more like he did up at Virginia Tech. It put us in a little bit of a bad situation with the two bigs when you have Finney-Smith as like a fourth perimeter player.”
On if the coaching staff has encouraged Seth Curry to create shots:
“Yeah, I think Seth is just really a good basketball player. He is not a shooter. He is a scorer. He is a good basketball player. He made that one drive that was just an unbelievable play. We tried to put him and Austin [Rivers] in position where they can use their abilities and not call plays as much as create situations for them to make reads. I think we have two guys who can do that. But towards the end of the game, the angle with Austin, we felt like he would be a battering ram. He hit one and missed one. Still, it gave us a chance to rest before we went down on defense and stuff like that. But both those kids can create shots for themselves.”
Senior Miles Plumlee:
“Playing here for four years now, you just know what winning plays are and you know when you need to make them. I'm just trying to be aggressive, and we've just got to keep the momentum going.”
“You're fighting human nature in a game like this, coming off a physical, big-time win on the road [Thursday night at Florida State] with about a day to prepare. It's just tough but our team's will to win was great today and we finally came out on top.”
On having only one game in Cameron remaining in his Duke career:
“I've been counting them down for a while now. It's crazy but at this point I just might as well leave everything I've got on the floor.”
Junior Ryan Kelly:
“We played pretty good defense. We missed some open looks that we normally hit, around the basket too, and they hit some really tough shots down the stretch. When you do that, you put yourself in a position to win. We really had a will to win and came through.”
On the effects of fatigue:
“That's part of the game. It's like a tournament – the NCAA Tournament or the ACC Tournament. You have to turn around quick and be ready to play right away. That's human nature a little bit when you get a huge win on Thursday night and then you come early Saturday. But the ability to pull it out in the end was huge for us. You've got to take some time to rest. With this early game, you get a long afternoon and then tomorrow to rest and then get ready to go for Wake Forest.”
On the play of Mason Plumlee and Miles Plumlee
“They were huge rebounding the ball. And then, Miles, those two free throws were huge. For a guy to step up and make those free throws, that's really a big deal.”
On the play of Seth Curry and Austin Rivers in the second half:
“We know they can score the basketball and we expect them to. And our offense is going well when they're scoring the basketball in a variety of ways, whether it be getting to the basket or hitting shots, and they certainly did that in the second half.”
On what Coach K said to the team in the locker room after the game:
“It was just that we continue to show him that we have a true will to win and an ability at the end of a game to make the big plays to win.”
Freshman Austin Rivers:
“Guys are going to get rest tonight. Everybody told each other that tonight everybody needs to lay low, get some rest, and tomorrow get some rest as well, just because we have a big week ahead of us and a lot of guys' legs are short. You could see it on the free throws I missed. They were all short on the front of the rim. They all felt good and I thought they were all going in. But with your legs, you can't do anything about it, so I just kept shooting them. And guys kept shooting their shots.”
“We want to play really well to the point where we don't have to try to close it out [late in the second half or overtime]. It'd be nice to win by 20 and then be able to sit, but Virginia Tech is a great basketball team. That's a team that you're not going to do that with. You're not going to blow out Virginia Tech. They're well-coached and they have a lot of good players. We knew that this game was going to be very tough. This is kind of one of those schedule games where you're worried about that one because you're just coming off a win. I think we did a good job of staying focused throughout the game. They threw a lot of punches at us, and they hit a lot of big shots, but we stayed focused and were able to get the win.”
Virginia Tech head coach Seth Greenberg:
Opening Statement:
“I thought we did a lot of good things. We competed at a very high level but we didn't really do a good job of executing and cutting hard. We just weren't able to finish. Last possession of the game we wanted to go flat for Erick (Green) to try to get him to play but they helped up try to get a chance at an off rebound. They got in the lane; it was not what we wanted. We were down two playing off our staggers, Dorenzo (Hudson) didn't think he had a shot, basket cut and try to get create a big gap and get a kick, get a center penetration with a second ball handler. I thought out guys really competed on the backboards. At the end of the game, we didn't do a good enough job of keeping (Austin) Rivers out of the lane. We just got to keep on working, get back to practice, and try to get better. ”
On Dorenzo Hudson and Erick Green missing shots at the end of overtime:
“We got good shots, we got good shots in the whole overtime. Jerrell Eddie had a good pull up. Dorenzo was making shots, then he came off that thing trying to make a play. He played really hard. Cadarian Raines gave us really good minutes, continues to get better. We had that one stretch where we had a couple active possessions, and he showed character to stay in the game and compete, and he came back in the game. ”
On taking Duke into overtime at Duke with this team:
“I've been telling you guys for three weeks, I think we're getting better. Obviously you want that reward, but that doesn't mean we aren't getting better.”
On Duke's 9-0 run, and difference between how team reacted when playing Duke at home versus today:
“We talked about that, how much we've grown up and how much we have improved. This was going to be a test, how do we respond to this at this moment in time. We got some stops and made some shots.”
Players Mentioned
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