Members of the Duke basketball team met with the media today to discuss North Carolina, injuries, and the upcoming tournament season. Here's some of the important notes and quotes from today's media session.
Head coach Mike Krzyzewski
- "We're in good health. Ryan [Kelly] is fine, Seth [Curry is fine]. It's nice to be able to say that. We're ready to go."—Regarding Duke's overall health heading into the final month of the season.
- "[North Carolina] reminds me of some of the teams we've had here the last 20 years when we went small."—Regarding the Tar Heels' new small-ball lineup.
- "[P.J. Hairston] has been one of the best players in the conference these last few weeks."—Regarding Hairston's emergence since moving into the starting lineup.
- "Defensively we're just a lot better with [Kelly]. He's another guy to protect our basket."—Regarding Kelly's impact on the defensive end, not just the offensive side of the ball.
- "You've got to play [in the ACC] tournament. If you don't play full-out you're going to get a lot of rest. You're going to lose." —Regarding resting Curry and Kelly to protect against re-injury during the tough tournament schedule.
Quinn Cook
- "We turned the ball over too much. I had five turnovers. Against a good team like Carolina we can't have that many turnovers. We let them get too many offensive rebounds. With the athletes that they have, like Hairston, Bullock, and McAdoo, you just can't give those guys second opportunities."—On things that can be improved from the last game against North Carolina
- "[Kelly] can guard smaller players better than any big man I've seen. He's smart, he uses his size, he doesn't crowd the guard, he doesn't get way off the guard."—On Kelly defensively against the North Carolina four-guard lineup.
Ryan Kelly
- "This is a great rivalry. You miss it. There's something special about it and I'm certainly glad I've had the opportunity and will have the opportunity to play in it one more time."—On the importance of this North Carolina game after sitting out the matchup earlier this season.
- "[I'll wear the walking boot] through the season. The goal of that is just so I can take as much pressure off my foot outside of when I'm on the court as possible so that there's no residual soreness or anything like that."—On wearing a walking boot when not playing.
- "They started the style and I thought it was a pretty good look."—On he, Curry, and Marshall Plumlee all wearing walking boots off the court.
Mason Plumlee
- "This game always stands out on the schedule. This late in the season every game is so important. We want to be peaking and we want to be hitting our stride at this point. There's no better place to test that than going on the road over there and playing another really hot team."—On the importance of the game at North Carolina Saturday.
- "I try to demand [the ball] all the time. I'm going to definitely be hungry."—On what his offensive role will be against North Carolina.
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