Quotes from the ACC Semifinals

I covered the 55th ACC Tournament this week in Charlotte. Associated Content asked those who watched on television to provide updates on the tournament so I will not rehash that here. I will provide quotes from the semifinals and finals that you might have missed or might add to your enjoyment or understanding of the games.

North Carolina 68, Virginia Tech 66

UNC coach Roy Williams
"I told Seth (Greenberg) after the game - and I really meant it - that I thought they really out-played us. We were very fortunate and made a couple of plays at the end. I wished him good luck in the tournament and I hope that he makes a fantastic and long run in the tournament."

On the technical foul on Wayne Ellington
"Wayne will be in better condition after the running that he gets to do with everyone clapping for him later in the week. I saw it clearly and Wayne did start talking to the player. I have no idea if he was saying anything bad, or congratulating him on his haircut. He was talking and there was a bump, and I have no problem with what the official did. I had no problem with Wayne missing the free throw because he said that he knew Tyler (Hansbrough) was going to get the offensive rebound and put it back in. After that, Wayne made some big jump shots, but I was disappointed in it."

Tyler Hansbrough on the game-winning shot
"I was supposed to set a screen for Wayne (Ellington) and I was supposed to penetrate. One of our options was to look back at Wayne. I remember Ty (Lawson) going in to the lane area, and I knew he was going to put the ball up. I just ran over to where Ty was going to shoot, and luckily the ball had a good roll out to me. I just caught it and let it fly, and I'm pretty glad it went in."

Wayne Ellington on North Carolina's defense in the game's last five minutes
"I think in the last five minutes of the game, we decided that we were going to buckle down and make some stops. We needed them, and we showed our toughness."

Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg
"I couldn't be more proud of our basketball team. The game played out basically the way we wanted it to paly out. We wanted to get the game in the 60s and we got it in the 60s. Obviosuly, you have to give Ellington, Hansbrough and coach Williams credit. We basically controlled the game for 39 minutes and 59 seconds. We had the game exactly in the tempo we wanted it and I just told our guys about where we were when we got together in August and where we are today. I'm just as proud as any group I've ever been associated with. They've just grown and matured and developed in a very special way."

On the last play of the game
"(We wanted to) throw up a prayer and hope it was answered. The game was more than that last 0.8 seconds. It was about our guys competing, defending, executing and then making a big shot down the stretch. That 0.8 seconds had nothing to do with the game."

On his team's improvement throughout the season
"We were freshmen in November. Every team we've played a second time, we beat by double digits. We got drilled at North Carolina and came back and were in a position to win. I thought this team could come together once they started to trust each other and believe in each other. Quite honestly I had to learn how to coach them. They grew but I grew with them. Maybe it took me a little bit longer to figure them out and figure out the best way to reach them. We learned to figure out how to utilize the guys we had at hand."

A.D. Vassallo on Hansbrough's game-winning shot
"All I saw was the ball hitting the rim and we had a good chance of grabbing it. I think somebody on our team had the ball and it got knocked out of his hands, and all I saw was Hansborough running down and he just caught it and shot the ball fading to the baseline and the ball just went in. That's pretty much it."

On playing North Carolina close the whole game
"We had a lot more confidence in each other. Everybody played as hard as they could on the offensive and defensive side of the basket. We thought we had a legitimate chance of winning the game. Although everybody doubted it and I heard a lot of people saying that we're going to get beat by 30, we thought we had a chance to come out here and win the game. We were up there, and we were just one jumper away. We played as hard as we could and we knew we could have won the game."

Clemson 78, Duke 74
Clemson coach Oliver Purnell
"I thought in a lot of ways it was the best game we played all year. You might say the Boston College game last night or the Alabama game earlier in the year where we had all of the cylinders working, but we beat a great basketball team that never quits. They're used to being in those situations. They make big play after big play and we answered that. We never lost our poise so overall I think we are playing as well as we have all year. I really feel like we are peaking at the right time and I really can't think back on all the big plays, but I really think we had that mentality and attitude of fighting. It was a great win for us and we're looking forward to playing for the ACC Championship tomorrow."

On the final six minutes of the game
"At six and three minute situations are things that we focus on all year long. We point to them and obviously work on those situations with six minutes on the clock and three minutes on the clock. But we point to that as winning time; that is our time. We know exactly what to do and if we do those three things, we are going to win. Those three things are to really guard in a solid way, knock down our free throws and don't turn the ball over. Those three things, we re-remind our guys about it and they went out and did it."

Cliff Hammonds on free throw shooting
"We have been talking about it all year. Free throws are going to be big for us in a big-time situation. We've been working on it each and every day and we just knew that if we stepped to the line with confidence, they're going to drop. That's the way I went to the line and (James) Mays went to the line."

James May on getting another shot at playing UNC
"This team has learned so much since those two games (against UNC) and the way we're playing right now, and the energy we've been playing with over the last two days, anything's possible."

On Clemson's pressure defense
"That is what is so great about this team. We really don't have a true center, we've got a bunch of forwards who are able to go out and guard guards. Over the course of the game, it starts to wear them down and I think we executed that today."

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski
"I thought both teams played hard. It was a high level game. It was physical, really well officiated and well fought by both teams. They made a few more plays than us and they hit their free throws. If they hit their free throws, they are as good as anybody. We had some looks that we just missed. There are games that you lose and there are games that the other team wins. I thought today was one of those days where the other guy won because we played winning basketball. That's what makes great games, is when both teams play winning basketball. I'm proud of our guys."

On Clemson's interior play
"We defended the interior pretty well. They scored 78 points and I thought their 3-point shooting and free throws won the game. I thought we did a good job inside."

On Clemson's pressure
"They do a great job of playing the whole court on a press. Sometimes, a team presses and doesn't play the whole court, and you can beat that. They really run back and make plays as they are coming back. A few of our turnovers were turnovers where when we were passing to somebody we didn't see. You expected your teammate to be there, and instead it was one of them. Clemson did such a great job of retreating back while still attacking. They have gotten really good at it."

On new rotation patterns
"We knew that with the draw we had, we were going to play three of the most athletic and physical teams in our league. If you want to win this, you have to figure it out. We are not a real athletic, physical team, but we are athletic, we play our butts off, and we play together. I thought my bench was real responsible for us playing well today. As we go into the NCAA Tournament, we have a much deeper and confident team than we did when we started the week."

DeMarcus Nelson on Clemson's pressure
"The turnovers definitely came at the end of the play, and Clemson did a great job of following the play and back-tapping from behind. That is a team defense that we normally don't play against and it is definitely an adjustment that we had to make."

Greg Paulus on Clemson's defense
"They did a good job the last few minutes on switching the ball screens, using their length to press up and make us put the ball on the floor. If we were to take a three, it was a contested, tough shot. They did a good job of that."

Please check my archives for quotes from the finals.