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Dec. 30, 2009

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UNC v. Albany (12/30/09) UNC Head Coach: Roy Williams

Opening Statement:
"What we have to do is we have to get to a point where we can play the way we did in the first 10 or 12 minutes of the second half and try to create that all the time. We did some really nice things [during that stretch]. The very first possession of the second half, we called a defensive play and our guys didn't run it. So that shows that my talks in the huddle really do a lot of good. But after that we really got some good things going and got people involved, and got the basketball inside a little better. In the first half we were 10 for 20 inside the lane. We have got to have a better percentage than that when we have the size advantage that we have. But again, that first 10 or 12 minutes, I really thought we did some good things.

"Other than that stretch in the second half, I thought of that movie Ghost, starring Patrick Swayze. He could never say `I love you', he could only say ditto. I felt like walking in here and saying, `remember my press conference Monday night?' `Ditto', and walk my butt back out of here.

"But it does hurt. We've really been scrambling around. What we said in the preseason was that we were worried about our depth and lack of experience on the perimeter. And tonight we didn't have Marcus [Ginyard] or Justin [Watts] playing. And when David [Wear] was in there tonight, I did have him playing the 2 position.

"But we've got to get better guys. It is frustrating. The kids are frustrated. I told them it is probably the most negative I have ever been with any team. We teach so many things and say the same things over and over again. But they are great kids and we're going to be alright. We have all just got to do a better job. We're going to have a meeting tomorrow after our children's holiday clinic, and we have no restrictions. So we're going to meet from 2pm til midnight. And then we're going to hold hands, say a prayer, and bring in the New Year. I couldn't care less about the New Year. We've got to get this team going a little bit better than we are right now. "

Albany Head Coach Will Brown
Opening Statement
"When I heard that [Coach Williams] had scheduled a practice for after our practice yesterday, I was scratching my head thinking `great.' But I thought we did a nice job in the first half. [Will] Graves got on a roll and hit three three's in a row, which I think hurt us. And then we got down in the second half. Their length and pressure bothered us and I can't tell you how proud I am of our guys. The last eight minutes of the game I thought we were terrific and I thought we played really well. Coach Williams was very complimentary of our team and our kids. I'll be honest with you, I sat up last night and I was watching Kentucky versus Hartford and when it got 90-40, I was cringing because I hoped that wasn't what we were going to experience tonight.

"They're huge and I think that was a problem for us. Their length was tough. Every time we had the ball out of bounds, they put [John] Henson on the ball and he's 6'11'' but when he pulled his hands up, his fingers touched the top of the backboard. We don't see anything like that. We've never ever played a team with size like that and the combination of quickness as well. They're a top-10 team for a reason and like I said, I thought we got closer to becoming a team tonight because of the way we fought. Some of the little things we did that we haven't been doing consistently, like being physical and diving on the floor every time there was a loose ball. Our freshmen did a nice job tonight overall."

On Choosing To Play The Defending National Champions:
"We were better this year than we were last year. There might be some people scratching their head thinking `Why wouldn't you just go play somebody at the bottom of the ACC or the bottom of the Big East, collect the check and have a chance to compete?' My thing is, our kids grow up wanting to play at programs like Carolina, UCLA, I won't say the D-school - but schools like that, they grow up wanting to play at. They watch them on TV, those are their favorite teams, they see their players move on to the NBA. They want to play the best and if you ask every kid in my program `Would you want to play the defending champions next year?' they would all say yes."