To be able to compete and win means a lot for our guys. It means a lot, obviously, for our program. We're at the beginning stages of needing these wins like this to be able to, for me personally, to legitimize what I yell and scream about in practice every day. ... Games like this help to get a better understanding of what our team is about and what it needs to do.
He's so aggressive. He's so good at getting up and down the floor, posting up, taking the ball to the rim and getting fouled. I don't even look at him so much as a freshman as I would one of the elite players in the league.
That's been our problem. We stopped executing. We didn't really get too many good looks the last part of the second half. And we didn't defend. And things they weren't doing, they started to do.
It has been a very good rivalry, but it seems to be a pretty special rivalry right now because both teams are ranked in the top 20.
I think they've done a really good job of getting their name out there. Not just locally, but nationally, I hear their name a lot.
This was a very good win for the guys and the growth of our team. We hung tough through a lot of different things.
When the game was on the line, we had Sean Singletary and he was the best player on the floor. When J.R. got hurt, a light went off inside of him and he just put the team on his shoulders. The rest is history.
When the game was on the line we had Sean Singletary, and he was the best player on the floor. He put the game on his shoulders and the rest is history. His 29 points were very, very loud for us.
We've got to improve our talent level, we've got to improve our work ethic, we've got to improve a lot of things about the program. ... You have to do it step by step.
His hard work, dedication and leadership gave him and our team many great nights this season.
I'm very pleased that J.R. Reynolds has been recognized as a third-team All-ACC performer. His hard work, dedication and leadership gave him and our team many great nights this season.
For the third game in a row I thought we played with some mental focus and toughness. There were certain spots in the game when the ebb and flow could have gone one way or another, and we responded well. For example, in the second half we rebounded much better than we did earlier on.
But these guys have worked their tails off ever since then and that's when I thought we could get better. They've continued to get better, especially the two guys we named captain Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds. They've given to the point where it hurts them. Sean is as banged up as anybody, but he never wants to admit it.
I thought Diane had as good a game as he'd had in a month - not just his scoring, but his energy.
I thought both teams, from an energy standpoint, battled each other pretty hard. We found ourselves trying to put Band-Aids on our offense.
I thought it was huge. One, it allowed us to give Sean a break from playing point and trying to score. Two, he got us some fast break points. And he stepped up and got fouled and made some big free throws.
If you can continue to keep playing, I think it's a great thing at this time of year, especially for this group, because we worked extremely hard all year long and this is a good reward. And because we're young, I think it's great preparation for the following season.
Those who are competitors look at it as another challenge. We've had enough time between games to get the proper physical and especially mental rest that's needed so that you can look at the second season the right way.
He's banged up and a result he's mentally banged up too. We rely on him for a whole lot. Everything kind of falls on his shoulders and he takes more pride in that than most people. That leads to a little more fatigue. I'm not a big fan - no coach is - of missed practice time, but we got to hope that if we sneak some days off in he'll be more energized.
We won't know until practice time Friday or later what his status will be. I haven't had an assessment.
I'm sure over the next few days, like any coach whose season comes to an end, you get reflective. We were able to do some things, but at the same point in time you never want your season to come to an end. I'm disappointed that it is, but obviously I think we grew and we learned a lot.
I think what makes this particular team so good is . . . they've got two of the top four or five players in America, and everybody else - including those two - executes their mission more than anybody I've seen in a long time.
A large part of our success has been obviously on the perimeter, and specifically with Sean, with a guy that has at times carried us on his shoulders. He's a tremendous, not only physical, talent but as I keep saying, he's got a tremendous desire that keeps showing itself.
They were a thousand times better. The stats prove it. Obviously their play proves it, as well.
I've said it a hundred times -there's nothing pleasing about losing. We could have been up by 50, down by a hundred. You lose a game, you don't do the things that you need to do to win.
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