"I thought North Carolina State played outstanding basketball, and kind of knocked us back in the first half. We came back in the second half and put ourselves in a position to have a chance to win the game, but we needed a better 40 minute effort because State played so well. I was particularly impressed with State's veterans. in the first half.
[Marcus Melvin] hit three three-pointers, and [Julius] Hodge played well. [Scooter] Sherrill played well, and after watching tape of the game, I knew he played well, but I would have mentioned his name even more in the press conference afterwards, but [Ilian] Evtimov played a great basketball game against us.
You know, in this league, you can lose any game and have a chance to win any game. For the most part, we've been winning, but we understand there's not much that separates anybody in this league, and that was evident last night. Teams get better; teams are getting better and teams are hungry. The conference's been great all year, we are going to see some amazingly hungry game this last few weeks."
They've played great defense since Herb [Sendek, N.C. State's head coach] has been there. They play really good man-to-man and move well as the ball moves so that when the ball gets to a certain area, they're not making sudden adjustments. They make quick, gradual adjustments. And they play as a unit. They believe in it.
What is it about when you get in March? What have you found of any formulas for success [in the NCAA tournament] beyond having good teams?
"Well, that's the best thing [having good players.] Part of it is just being fortunate to be in fairly good health because it's a one shot deal. Sometimes it's matchups [and] you get a more favorable matchup than someone else, but for the most part, you just have to do the things you can control. That's not being tight, being aggressive and being in an attack mode. And play the game you are playing--not to envision playing after that game because sometimes you never get to the game you think you are going to be playing in.
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Coach, how much do you think getting knocked back a little bit in the first half last night will help you in the long run with your team to understand a little bit about hunger?
I think our team was hungry last night. Hunger is what motivations do you have in regards to winning games? I want our team to be motivated to get better, so the game last night will help us get better. People have different goals. Sometimes in this time of the year, you have to be careful that you don't push the button that says you are going to give everything. It's a play on words a little bit because if I say not giving everything, it's like why are you holding back? No, we are giving everything but it's not the end-all. When we get in March, it's the end-all.
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