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University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC-Evansville Quotes
December 6, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 6, 2011
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UNC head coach Roy Williams' opening statement
"Well it was a good game for us, but we are more blessed with bigger, quicker players and we should win the game but I thought our kids had great focus. If we had that kind of focus for 40 minutes a couple of other times this year, it would have helped us out a great deal, but I thought we did some good things tonight. They are a hard team to guard with all of the screens that they set but I thought our perimeter players did a nice job of getting around screens, through screens, and being there on the catch.
"We wanted to try to dominate the inside area because we are bigger and I think we did that. We had 62 rebounds, which means there were also a lot of shots that were missed and hopefully our defense had something to do with that. It wasn't perfect by any means but I really thought that our kids were focused on trying to play the game and trying to use this as a game where we could get better and that's what we talked about with the guys."
On team focus:
"We are experienced, but we are also fairly young too. It's a pretty good blend and we talked about how we have a stretch where we play a lot of games at home and we have to try to get better."
On balanced playing time:
"I like it when I look down and Kendall has 25 minutes and no one else has more than 22 minutes, and that's the way it should be. But at the same time, I wanted to get James Michael, and Stilman, and Desmond some more quality time. I would have given PJ a few more minutes if he hadn't gotten hurt but I wanted to get those guys some quality time."
On Kendall's foul at the end of the first half:
"It was dumb. We don't like to foul three point shots, but he did make the one at the other end to even it out, so I didn't say anything. I was trying to be very positive about the good things that we did. But I did say that everyone could think of one or two things that you didn't do very well and that's something that they can improve on. And I know that's one that Kendall better be thinking of."
On Dexter's defense of Colt Ryan:
"I thought Dex was really good defensively. He got a great deal of help from the big guys giving him space to get through [screens] and Kendall helped Dexter too. But I thought that was a focus and we told the guys that he averages 19.7 points per game and I thought Dexter was attentive but I thought the whole team was attentive defensively."
Evansville Head Coach Marty Simmons
On Carolina's Defense
"We wanted to just try to do things that we had worked on. They took us out of everything. We had a hard time just getting ball reversals. They beat us to screens. We didn't screen very well. They played with a lot of intensity ... All the credit goes to them"
On playing North Carolina
"We certainly respect them and know how good they are. We understand the process that we have to follow to be able to compete with a team like that. It takes a lot of effort. It's not easy to do, and we certainly weren't up to the challenge tonight."
On what his team will take away from this game
"We certainly have pride. We care a lot about who we are and what we stand for. I think we have to take a step back and look and take a good look in the mirror. There's no quit in this team. We just have to regroup."
UNC Players
Dexter Strickland, on the team's focus: "We focused on really executing, going over what we went over in practice, keeping that focus, not underestimating the team because they're "low talent." We just played like it was a regular game- like it was Kentucky. We just keep that focus and try to get a win."
Desmond Hubert, on practicing with his teammates: "I get to practice against two of the best big men in the country. Going against them everyday, getting rebounds, and just being aggressive. I get so much better when I go against other people who are 7'1", 6'10" shot-blockers. It's a lot easier to get shots off. It's a lot easier to get to the boards. They teach me so many little things."
Kendall Marshall, on the three-point foul: "I think Coach was more happy with the fact that I was trying to sprint out to contest the shot. It was a tough play. It really wasn't smart on my part, especially picking up a third foul, but it's just something I have to learn from. It's the right defensive play, but I just have to be smart about the way I contest."
Reggie Bullock, on how the team has improved: "Just being consistent on both ends of the court. We had a great game tonight and we have to keep building on that. The little mistakes we made, we just have to come to practice tomorrow and build on it."
Bullock, on the freshmen and walk-ons getting playing time: "They work in practice just as hard as we do, or even harder. Desmond brings great energy, he's always talking on the floor. Stilman always competes with Kendall and all the young players and Blue Steel guard us in practice and make us better players, so I think it's really nice that they got a lot of minutes tonight."
