North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State-Clemson coaches quotes
2/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Clemson Coach Oliver Purnell
“I certainly wouldn’t characterize this this as a pretty win. It was just a tough, ACC Saturday afternoon.
“Both teams struggled in the first half and our defense abandoned us for a while in the second half when they kept going inside to [JJ] Hickson.
“It was a three-minute game. Our defense came back to life in the last six minutes of the game and Sam Perry had the defensive play of the year as far as our team is concerned.
“We went to a smaller lineup out of necessity, but it’s been effective for us all year long. With Costner in, we like a smaller lineup because he’s such a threat on the perimeter.
“This is a tough team. They’ve been through a lot of things. WE’ve been in this situation before. But our mantra has been, whatever goes wrong, block more. That’s what happened down the stretch. Demontez [Stitt] made that steal and Perry had that block.
“I told them before the game that if we came here and won, it would be a huge step towards doing some special things.
“This is the best team I’ve had since I’ve been at Clemson. Character is a big part of it, but experience is also a huge factor. Our seniors have won a lot of tough games.”
NC State Coach Sidney Lowe
“We really played hard today. There isn’t much I can’t say about our effort. We lost mentally down the stretch. We fell defensively and gave them open looks.
“For 40 minutes we stayed in it. They were aggressive with the ball. They would push and fight you to get the offensive rebound. We battled in there, but it was tough.
“We couldn’t run some of our defenses. We didn’t take advantage of our size early enough.
“JJ was incredible. I told the guys at the half that if JJ doesn’t get the rebound, Clemson will. He played a great game with the other team pressing him.
“Not much I can say, because our effort was there. We just have to finish the game down the stretch. We need to be strong enough physically and mentally.”
