Al has always had a burning desire to be a good player. He spends more time in the gym by himself than anyone we've had. For him, it was just a matter of adjusting to our style and feeling comfortable. He's now reacting and not thinking. |
And now at the end of the season it appears that we're stronger than we were because we have been able to develop quality depth. Hopefully, that will make a difference here in the tournament. |
Andrew probably has been through as much adversity as any youngster I've known in my coaching career, just having the number of injuries he's had to endure. He's always maintained a positive attitude, and he's earned respect of his teammates. They're extremely happy for him. |
Any comments that I make in relation to the technical foul, and the impact that it did or did not have on the game, I think would be seen as (taking) away from how outstanding I think Duke's players played. They made tough shots. They made the plays they had to make to win the game. We had equal opportunities, and we didn't come away with the points. We didn't get the stops that were necessary during the critical parts of the game, and we had maybe even some better looks than what they had; they knocked theirs down and we didn't. |
Any time you take over a program and you're building a program, ... you want to try and find a young man with athleticism and skills that you feel can come in and have an impact or at least be able to contribute early in his development. |
As big a jump as he's made this year, we expect him to make a bigger jump next year. |
As I was coming in (the interview room), I was thinking about how much energy he brought to the game tonight. His comments and his enthusiasm on the bench and his communication with the players was extremely animated, unlike A.J. Sometimes he is very quiet, but he had a lot to say. |
At the end of day, the record won't reflect guys weren't available, someone was sick. At the end of the year, we need to have a few more Ws. |
At this particular point, I don't have absolutely any say in the criteria. That's already been determined, and me making any speculation right now would be just that - speculation. |
At this point, I don't have any say. Me making speculation right now would only be just that — speculation. All we have to do is maintain hope that we've done enough during the season to give us an opportunity to go to the NCAA Tournament. Past that, there is not a whole lot more we can say. |
Diaz and Hite were too much for us. When the game was on the line, I think they made a few more plays than we did. You have to give Diaz and Hite credit. They were defended about as well as you could defend them. |
For him to find the energy to go out and give it all when we really needed this game says a lot about his character, how much he's grown up and how much this team is making sacrifices for one another. |
For him to go out and find the energy to go out and give it all ... I think says a lot about his character. |
Getting beat on the boards seemed to be a very significant part of this game. You have to give them a lot of credit for pounding the glass. It seemed like every time we've played them the last couple of years, they've been much better prepared on the boards than we have. We got beat by a team that did the things they need to do within their scheme in order to win the game tonight. |
He did an outstanding job - as good a job as anybody in the league over the last five years. He was very difficult to prepare for - for any team in our league, not only Florida State. |