North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State-Clemson coaches quotes
1/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NC STATE HEAD COACH JIM VALVANO
“I am pleased with the results. I have advocated the shot clock and the 3-point play for a long time.
“If this game was not a commercial for the shot clock and the 3-point play, I don’t know what is. It was just a great college game. It was not in the 100s, and it was not a pro game. We had changing defenses, and they changed their defense after every timeout.
“We gave them six points, and they got excited. I knew the avalanche was coming. I can’t say enough about their run in the second half. With the clock, you are going to have periods where one team plays bad and the other plays good, and you are going to have times where both teams play well.
But with the clock, you have to play to win and that’s what we’ve got to learn to do right now.”
CLEMSON HEAD COACH BILL FOSTER
“Because of the new ACC rules, we were never out of the game. I was disappointed in our play in the first half, but not the second half. I know the players and our fans like the new rules. We were 17 points down, but State couldn’t sit on the ball.
“I think it would have been a damned dull game without it. They would have started passing the ball around and milking the ball to slow down the pace when we started making our run if it hadn’t been for the new rules.
“You can talk about the other team so much sometimes that you get your team a little awed. So at halftime, we didn’t give them any Xs and Os. We just discussed their enthusiasm and we played better in the second half. But I don’t want a year full of moral victories.”
