North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State-Duke Coaches Quotes
2/23/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NC State coach Jim Valvano
“To be honest, I was very concerned coming into the game. I didn’t know if we would win or lose, but I was concerned with how we would play. Could we get up? Could we get emotional again?
“We’re playing about as well as this team can play, considering all that has happened. Since (Dereck) Whittenburg was hurt,
“I feel that Sidney Lowe has deserved special notice ever since Dereck (Whittenburg) has been hurt. He’s been playing as well as I’ve ever seen a point guard play. Not only is his distributing the ball awfully well, but he’s now scoring points.
“When the going got tough, when Duke took the lead, Thurl knocked in some jumpshots. We wanted to get the ball to Thurl. He has such a height advantage.
“We told
“Duke has the finest perimeter shooting team around. So we tried to steer them inside where the matchup favored us.
“I can’t say enough about Gannon. He’s our resident over-acheiver. He just amazes me each time out. He’s such a confident player.”
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski
“I thought our team played better than we have been playing in the past couple of games, but State played very well. Their two veterans, Lowe and Bailey, were terrific. Well into the second half, I thought we were playing well, but during that time we took a couple of bad shots when we had the momentum going for us and that took a little out of us.
“Lowe and Bailey were just terrific. I think it was their maturity, their experience down the stretch, along with State’s height advantage, that made the difference.
“That play, when they saved the ball inbounds and got the three-point play, was the key play of the game. That was what turned it around. We had a little momentum going then, but that play took it away. We took a couple of bad shots after that, we missed them, and that was it.”
