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Quotes: Duke 109, Fairfield 59
11/15/2014 11:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski
Opening Statement:
“We did another good job tonight. I thought we played hard. Their offense is different. (Fairfield head coach) Sydney (Johnson) does a great job with his team. They have a tough schedule. They played yesterday afternoon and had to travel down. I thought they probably got worn out. They play that Princeton style, but when people hear that, they think it's slow down. Pro teams use it; he has his own version of it. They do a lot more ball-screening in it and they spread you out. For about eight minutes in the first half, I didn't think we defended the ball-screen well. We didn't talk, and I was worried about that the second game in two nights. You lose a little bit of an edge, and we talked so well yesterday. So at halftime, that was one of our keys. Let's talk, especially on defense. And they did. We really played hard in that second half and well. I want to congratulate Quinn (Cook) on his 1,000th point. Hopefully he has a number a lot more (than that). He's doing a great job of leading. His personality is so good right now with these young guys. They love him and he's given them positive stuff. The other kid, who didn't score a point, Rasheed (Sulaimon) really had a huge impact on the game. His ball-pressure and passing. He had four assists and no turnovers, but a number of his passes, if he was in hockey, he would've gotten about eight or nine assists. In other words, his move and a first pass got to where the next pass was the assist. I'm really pleased with how he's played these two games. He gets it down the court faster than anyone, too. And he gets it down a different way. Obviously Jah (Jahlil Okafor) and Justise (Winslow) lead us in scoring, but everyone is playing hard and we got these two. We've got to get a little bit of rest tomorrow, then this week is going to be a tough week. Michigan State will be terrific. They'll be strong and rebounders, and that setting will be a Final Four setting. That's where the Final Four is going to be with those four teams. All four of them are potential, with about 20 others, of being a Final Four team. So this will be a great setting for this squad to be in this early.”
On Rasheed Sulaimon's impact outside of the box score:
“I think it's just maturity. You'll feel good if you've made a positive impact on the game and you've won. He's making a very big positive impact on the game and doing it in a way that no one on our team can do exactly like him. In other words, he puts the best pressure on the ball. He's 6-4 and when he's doing it, it really takes the point guard's vision away and they have a hard time getting by him. So our defense gets picked up. And when he brings it down on the break, he's got a little bit more of a herky-jerky motion. It's not just straight, he can get by. And when he's getting by to score, a lot of times he'd get knocked on his butt and that wouldn't be the play. Now when he's getting by people, he's making the play, the play that the team needs.”
On Amile Jefferson's game tonight:
“What he's doing rebounding-wise, he's rebounding with two hands and he's being strong. He's learning how to play with Jah. That will give you some openings if you take advantage. Cutting, on the boards, a lot of times his guy isn't looking at him. They're looking to see where Okafor is. Then the shot goes up, he can get some boards for us.”
On how the team responded to Fairfield challenging them:
“I thought the last minute and a half of the first half we executed. We got a two-for-one. We executed in the last couple seconds, then we got the ball and scored. I just thought for about eight minutes we were disjointed. And they had something to do with that because they were running their offense. Number 14, the kid (Marcus) Gilbert, is a really good player. He'll be one of the best players in their league, if not the best player because he can shoot the heck out of the ball. We lost him a number of times and he hit some. Then we were lucky because he missed a couple when he was open. We did a much better job of finding him in the second half. When we're playing these teams, we have to know we can never lose that guy. That streak they had to get it down to eight, he was the primary guy in that.”
On the chemistry between the freshmen and the rest of the team:
“They're just ahead. So much of it has to do with what they've done, not just in their high school programs, but three of them have been so involved with USA Basketball. They've traveled different parts of the world, they've been with other good players, they've been well-coached by the USA Basketball staff. They've been a part of something bigger than an AAU team or a high school. And I'm not knocking that, it's just an advantage.”
Duke Junior Amile Jefferson
“It's very important for our guys not to pace ourselves, and in that first five minutes, it's about establishing what team we're going to be. Are we going to be a team that gives our opponent confidence or are we going to knock them back from the beginning and make every pass an adventure, make their guards feel our pressure, make their bigs know that they're not going to be able to rebound? By doing that in the first five minutes, it makes it much easier for other guys to sub in and do that same thing because they see what we're doing.”
“It's tough [to sustain a high energy level throughout the whole game]. And at times in that first half we didn't do it. We didn't really talk as well as we can, we didn't really have the emotional energy that we needed to, but we did it for the entirety of the game and that's what good Duke teams do. For us, it's about not pacing – that's how we keep our energy. We know that whoever checks in for us is going to do the exact same thing, so we're not trying to let each other down. That's the biggest thing – we trust each other and that's why we're really becoming a team.”
On what Duke can take away from these past two games:
“Maybe talent-wise we're better than the other two teams, but I think we worked harder and I think we wanted it more. We play together, we share the ball and that's what good Duke teams do. On defense, we make every pass an adventure, controlled chaos, make the other team not be able to run their stuff and get into their sets. Offensively, [we] just run our plays and run them hard. That's the biggest takeaway that we can take from these last two games – playing Duke defense and running our offense like we know we can.”
“We're definitely making an effort to not be selfish, but it's a testament to how close guys how, and guys feel comfortable and trust each other. Guys are cutting and moving and everyone's talented, but they know that if there's a better shot, we're giving the ball up. That's really how everybody has that energy. Nobody's upset; everybody's playing hard every possession because they know that if they're open, they're going to get the ball. And that's a good feeling to be playing with such really good players but to know that no one on this team is selfish.”
Duke Freshman Justise Winslow
“We put in a great effort out there, but there are definitely things we can improve upon. It was a definitely a better test [than last night's game], but we've just got to stick to the things we know. They played us tough, and we had to work for everything we got. Nothing was given to us. We had to earn it all, and we really had to compete out there against them. They're a good team in a good conference. I think they'll do well in the year.”
“We're starting to find our identity as a team. We definitely want to play through Jah [Jahlil Okafor] and make open shots and just play together. We're starting to figure out who we are. We're not the same team from last year, and we're going to be a different team next year, but this is who we are this year. So we're trying to figure out that identity. Just the back-to-back [games], getting us ready for next week, getting us ready for Tuesday and in general, we've got to learn a lot of things we can improve on.”
Duke Freshman Jahlil Okafor
“I think I just started off kind of poorly. I was a little too passive, and I tried to force a couple of passes to my teammates. Coach [Jeff] Capel, he's a guy who's always talking to me throughout the game, and he let me know that I could score and that they really weren't sending a double right away. Just make a quick move, and later in the first half that's what I started to do and started being effective.”
“I would say that games are definitely easier than practices, and that's one of our plans is to have practices be harder than games. I play against a 7-footer every day in Marshall Plumlee, and even with Amile Jefferson, Sean Obi. I'm playing against the best of the best at my position.”
On how he's developed his ability to pass from the post:
“I think just with all the games I've played, especially throughout high school, I was so accustomed to getting double- and triple-teamed, so I had to find another way to be effective for my teammates, and passing the ball was the way.”
Opening Statement:
“We did another good job tonight. I thought we played hard. Their offense is different. (Fairfield head coach) Sydney (Johnson) does a great job with his team. They have a tough schedule. They played yesterday afternoon and had to travel down. I thought they probably got worn out. They play that Princeton style, but when people hear that, they think it's slow down. Pro teams use it; he has his own version of it. They do a lot more ball-screening in it and they spread you out. For about eight minutes in the first half, I didn't think we defended the ball-screen well. We didn't talk, and I was worried about that the second game in two nights. You lose a little bit of an edge, and we talked so well yesterday. So at halftime, that was one of our keys. Let's talk, especially on defense. And they did. We really played hard in that second half and well. I want to congratulate Quinn (Cook) on his 1,000th point. Hopefully he has a number a lot more (than that). He's doing a great job of leading. His personality is so good right now with these young guys. They love him and he's given them positive stuff. The other kid, who didn't score a point, Rasheed (Sulaimon) really had a huge impact on the game. His ball-pressure and passing. He had four assists and no turnovers, but a number of his passes, if he was in hockey, he would've gotten about eight or nine assists. In other words, his move and a first pass got to where the next pass was the assist. I'm really pleased with how he's played these two games. He gets it down the court faster than anyone, too. And he gets it down a different way. Obviously Jah (Jahlil Okafor) and Justise (Winslow) lead us in scoring, but everyone is playing hard and we got these two. We've got to get a little bit of rest tomorrow, then this week is going to be a tough week. Michigan State will be terrific. They'll be strong and rebounders, and that setting will be a Final Four setting. That's where the Final Four is going to be with those four teams. All four of them are potential, with about 20 others, of being a Final Four team. So this will be a great setting for this squad to be in this early.”
On Rasheed Sulaimon's impact outside of the box score:
“I think it's just maturity. You'll feel good if you've made a positive impact on the game and you've won. He's making a very big positive impact on the game and doing it in a way that no one on our team can do exactly like him. In other words, he puts the best pressure on the ball. He's 6-4 and when he's doing it, it really takes the point guard's vision away and they have a hard time getting by him. So our defense gets picked up. And when he brings it down on the break, he's got a little bit more of a herky-jerky motion. It's not just straight, he can get by. And when he's getting by to score, a lot of times he'd get knocked on his butt and that wouldn't be the play. Now when he's getting by people, he's making the play, the play that the team needs.”
On Amile Jefferson's game tonight:
“What he's doing rebounding-wise, he's rebounding with two hands and he's being strong. He's learning how to play with Jah. That will give you some openings if you take advantage. Cutting, on the boards, a lot of times his guy isn't looking at him. They're looking to see where Okafor is. Then the shot goes up, he can get some boards for us.”
On how the team responded to Fairfield challenging them:
“I thought the last minute and a half of the first half we executed. We got a two-for-one. We executed in the last couple seconds, then we got the ball and scored. I just thought for about eight minutes we were disjointed. And they had something to do with that because they were running their offense. Number 14, the kid (Marcus) Gilbert, is a really good player. He'll be one of the best players in their league, if not the best player because he can shoot the heck out of the ball. We lost him a number of times and he hit some. Then we were lucky because he missed a couple when he was open. We did a much better job of finding him in the second half. When we're playing these teams, we have to know we can never lose that guy. That streak they had to get it down to eight, he was the primary guy in that.”
On the chemistry between the freshmen and the rest of the team:
“They're just ahead. So much of it has to do with what they've done, not just in their high school programs, but three of them have been so involved with USA Basketball. They've traveled different parts of the world, they've been with other good players, they've been well-coached by the USA Basketball staff. They've been a part of something bigger than an AAU team or a high school. And I'm not knocking that, it's just an advantage.”
Duke Junior Amile Jefferson
“It's very important for our guys not to pace ourselves, and in that first five minutes, it's about establishing what team we're going to be. Are we going to be a team that gives our opponent confidence or are we going to knock them back from the beginning and make every pass an adventure, make their guards feel our pressure, make their bigs know that they're not going to be able to rebound? By doing that in the first five minutes, it makes it much easier for other guys to sub in and do that same thing because they see what we're doing.”
“It's tough [to sustain a high energy level throughout the whole game]. And at times in that first half we didn't do it. We didn't really talk as well as we can, we didn't really have the emotional energy that we needed to, but we did it for the entirety of the game and that's what good Duke teams do. For us, it's about not pacing – that's how we keep our energy. We know that whoever checks in for us is going to do the exact same thing, so we're not trying to let each other down. That's the biggest thing – we trust each other and that's why we're really becoming a team.”
On what Duke can take away from these past two games:
“Maybe talent-wise we're better than the other two teams, but I think we worked harder and I think we wanted it more. We play together, we share the ball and that's what good Duke teams do. On defense, we make every pass an adventure, controlled chaos, make the other team not be able to run their stuff and get into their sets. Offensively, [we] just run our plays and run them hard. That's the biggest takeaway that we can take from these last two games – playing Duke defense and running our offense like we know we can.”
“We're definitely making an effort to not be selfish, but it's a testament to how close guys how, and guys feel comfortable and trust each other. Guys are cutting and moving and everyone's talented, but they know that if there's a better shot, we're giving the ball up. That's really how everybody has that energy. Nobody's upset; everybody's playing hard every possession because they know that if they're open, they're going to get the ball. And that's a good feeling to be playing with such really good players but to know that no one on this team is selfish.”
Duke Freshman Justise Winslow
“We put in a great effort out there, but there are definitely things we can improve upon. It was a definitely a better test [than last night's game], but we've just got to stick to the things we know. They played us tough, and we had to work for everything we got. Nothing was given to us. We had to earn it all, and we really had to compete out there against them. They're a good team in a good conference. I think they'll do well in the year.”
“We're starting to find our identity as a team. We definitely want to play through Jah [Jahlil Okafor] and make open shots and just play together. We're starting to figure out who we are. We're not the same team from last year, and we're going to be a different team next year, but this is who we are this year. So we're trying to figure out that identity. Just the back-to-back [games], getting us ready for next week, getting us ready for Tuesday and in general, we've got to learn a lot of things we can improve on.”
Duke Freshman Jahlil Okafor
“I think I just started off kind of poorly. I was a little too passive, and I tried to force a couple of passes to my teammates. Coach [Jeff] Capel, he's a guy who's always talking to me throughout the game, and he let me know that I could score and that they really weren't sending a double right away. Just make a quick move, and later in the first half that's what I started to do and started being effective.”
“I would say that games are definitely easier than practices, and that's one of our plans is to have practices be harder than games. I play against a 7-footer every day in Marshall Plumlee, and even with Amile Jefferson, Sean Obi. I'm playing against the best of the best at my position.”
On how he's developed his ability to pass from the post:
“I think just with all the games I've played, especially throughout high school, I was so accustomed to getting double- and triple-teamed, so I had to find another way to be effective for my teammates, and passing the ball was the way.”
Players Mentioned
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