ClosetHurleyFan
02-09-2012, 09:27 AM
Handled the pressor about as well as you could hope
Opening comments:
"There's no question, the first thing that you have to do is to congratulate Duke. Congratulate Austin on a big-time game and a big-time shot that he made at the end. We had some opportunities. In the last three or four minutes, we had two turnovers and two or three missed free throws and they scored twice on second shots when we didn't secure the rebound. This one hurts. The kids really played and competed and did some very good things. Duke is awfully good. And I think we are awfully good. Tonight, I think at the same point, it was two great basketball programs, two big-time teams, and they made more plays the last three minutes than we did.
"We have been on the positive end of some games like this, and I don't remember many where we have been on the negative end. I love my team, I love the way they fought, and I loved the way we made plays. Harrison's ankle was really bothering him in the first half and he got in rhythm in the second half and he forgot about that. I thought ‘Z’ and John were really big. We just made some mistakes at the end. And that's the bottom line. We turned it over – Kendall’s little pass 40 feet out from the basket, Harrison got called for a charge – and we missed some free throws. We had been closing games pretty doggone well, but we didn't tonight. You just have to congratulate Duke, and Mike, and his staff."
On that next to last play, did Tyler tip in the ball?
“Yes.”
Have you ever seen anything like that before?
“No, but it’s North Carolina and Duke. I’ve never seen anything like that.”
Did you get the sense that your guys let their guard down in the final minutes?
“No, I don’t think so. Again, guys, it’s not just about us. North Carolina is not the only team that decided the outcome of the game. We tried to play, we tried to make plays, but we didn’t make them as successfully as we wanted to make. But it’s not just about North Carolina.”
How much good can you take from a game like this?
“The only good you can take from it is to become more determined. You ought to be ticked off. You ought to be flat-out ticked off and that’s the best language I can use. That you’re going to become more determined. If you start wallowing in the sorrow for yourself and feeling frickin’ sorry for yourself, you ought to just go home. My team better by God come back and decide they’re going to be better. We lost a game that we could have won. If we don’t learn something and come back and be more determined, then I’ve got the wrong group. And I don’t think I have the wrong group.”
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TYLER ZELLER
Listen to Audio (9:00)
Can you explain what happened in those final three minutes that turned the tide?
“They hit the two big threes to bring it to four and then they got a little lucky on the one that I tipped in. Then those two free throws I missed just left the door open and Austin Rivers made a great shot.”
Did they change their approach on you in the second half?
“I think they changed a little. They tried to keep the ball out of my hands as much as possible. I’ve got to be more aggressive. I’ve got to try to get the ball more with the way I was playing.”
When you’re matched up with a smaller guy like Rivers, what do you try to do?
“I should have got up further – I didn’t want to foul him and put him on the free throw line. But at the same time, I still should have got up. You can’t give him a three
Opening comments:
"There's no question, the first thing that you have to do is to congratulate Duke. Congratulate Austin on a big-time game and a big-time shot that he made at the end. We had some opportunities. In the last three or four minutes, we had two turnovers and two or three missed free throws and they scored twice on second shots when we didn't secure the rebound. This one hurts. The kids really played and competed and did some very good things. Duke is awfully good. And I think we are awfully good. Tonight, I think at the same point, it was two great basketball programs, two big-time teams, and they made more plays the last three minutes than we did.
"We have been on the positive end of some games like this, and I don't remember many where we have been on the negative end. I love my team, I love the way they fought, and I loved the way we made plays. Harrison's ankle was really bothering him in the first half and he got in rhythm in the second half and he forgot about that. I thought ‘Z’ and John were really big. We just made some mistakes at the end. And that's the bottom line. We turned it over – Kendall’s little pass 40 feet out from the basket, Harrison got called for a charge – and we missed some free throws. We had been closing games pretty doggone well, but we didn't tonight. You just have to congratulate Duke, and Mike, and his staff."
On that next to last play, did Tyler tip in the ball?
“Yes.”
Have you ever seen anything like that before?
“No, but it’s North Carolina and Duke. I’ve never seen anything like that.”
Did you get the sense that your guys let their guard down in the final minutes?
“No, I don’t think so. Again, guys, it’s not just about us. North Carolina is not the only team that decided the outcome of the game. We tried to play, we tried to make plays, but we didn’t make them as successfully as we wanted to make. But it’s not just about North Carolina.”
How much good can you take from a game like this?
“The only good you can take from it is to become more determined. You ought to be ticked off. You ought to be flat-out ticked off and that’s the best language I can use. That you’re going to become more determined. If you start wallowing in the sorrow for yourself and feeling frickin’ sorry for yourself, you ought to just go home. My team better by God come back and decide they’re going to be better. We lost a game that we could have won. If we don’t learn something and come back and be more determined, then I’ve got the wrong group. And I don’t think I have the wrong group.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TYLER ZELLER
Listen to Audio (9:00)
Can you explain what happened in those final three minutes that turned the tide?
“They hit the two big threes to bring it to four and then they got a little lucky on the one that I tipped in. Then those two free throws I missed just left the door open and Austin Rivers made a great shot.”
Did they change their approach on you in the second half?
“I think they changed a little. They tried to keep the ball out of my hands as much as possible. I’ve got to be more aggressive. I’ve got to try to get the ball more with the way I was playing.”
When you’re matched up with a smaller guy like Rivers, what do you try to do?
“I should have got up further – I didn’t want to foul him and put him on the free throw line. But at the same time, I still should have got up. You can’t give him a three