North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State-Wake Forest Coaches Quotes
2/3/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NC State head coach Sidney Lowe
“We make games exciting. It was a great game. We came out sharp and made plays when we had to. Trevor [
“It’s about the character of our team. When we want it and we concentrate, we play well. We’ve been working on our mental game, not breaking down and making mistakes, to help us win.”
“[Chas McFarland] is the most improved player in the league. He’s long, active, and has good timing. He was a good match-up against JJ [Hickson].”
“Playing zone slowed [
On the final basket: “It was perfect. We got it to the guy we wanted to, and [Gavin Grant] wasn’t able to get the shot. I didn’t even see Ben [McCauley] coming until he was at the rim. It’s a game winning play and if that lane is open you have to go in on it and make the play. That’s exactly what he did.”
Wake Forest
“On the last play, I thought we did a good job defending it. Obviously we didn’t do a good job of boxing out. Their bigs deserve credit for staying with the play. When the shot went up I didn’t think there would be time for a follow shot, but there was.”
“We played very, very hard, with a lot of heart. We played very well defensively, held them to 38 percent shooting. Jeff [Teague]’s situation hurt us. He was shooting the ball really well when he got his fourth foul with about 10 minutes to play and we had to sit him down. Having him on the bench hurt us.”
“I thought [Gavin Grant] would drive to the basket on the last play and try to put foul pressure on us. Instead, he pulled up and he was a good ways behind the line. Given how far back he was, I did not have a problem with letting him take that shot. Obviously, it didn’t work out like we wanted.”
“We talked before the game that in order to win on the road, you have to have good shot selection. We’ve taken good care of the basketball, and we only had nine turnovers again today. But our shot selection was poor at times. When we learn to recognize what’s a good shot and what’s not, our shooting percentage will go up.”
