Clemson vs. Boston College: Postgame Quotes

Clemson Head Coach Brad Brownell

Opening statement:

“It was a hard fought game. Give Boston College a lot of credit, I thought they fought hard especially after being down nine, we struggled and they made shots. We gambled some early, committed some turnovers, went for some steals and it backfired. They would find the open man and were able to make some threes.”

“I thought we just had better defensive discipline in the second half, especially Avry (Holmes) was by far the man of the match, he really defended at a high level. He has done that a lot this year, he really guarded hard and set the tone against Eli (Carter). I thought our five men really played well defending against ball screens and we were just good enough offensively. We made just enough threes at the end and probably took a few too many at the beginning. They changed their defense a bunch and that probably threw our rhythm off just a little. We adjusted better the longer the game went and we found a way to win with our defense again, which is encouraging.”

On Clemson’s defense against the three in the second half:

“I do like to think that our defense was pretty good. I think Avry (Holmes) was great, I don’t think we gambled as much, we tried to just be solid and keep them in front, and contest shots. That team is getting better, they are improving and obviously they have played better here recently in some games. Dennis (Clifford) was good for them, Sammy (Barnes-Thompkins) is improving and had another good game, he had a good game at Virginia as well. We just had to stay with it and fortunately we did, I thought Avry again was big with some big shots and great defense.”

On Donte (Grantham’s) hustle:

“Yes, he did do some great things in the game. He hit a couple big threes, it was good to see him play with confidence like that and I thought his defense was pretty good. Tonight he guarded Matt (Milon) a bunch early, at 6-8 that is something we are trying to do, get him to be more active, be more involved.  I thought he was aggressive trying to rebound the ball, he had seven rebounds which is good, he was really active early trying to get some offensive rebounds for us. It was a good solid game for Donte.”

Boston College Head Coach Jim Christian

Opening statement:

“I thought our kids gave a good effort. We ran into a little fatigue there. In the second half, I give them credit, I thought they upped the defensive intensity of the game. Brad’s done an amazing job. I don’t think he gets nearly enough credit for the way he prepares his team, for how physical they play and he deserves all the credit his team is getting.”

“If you’re going to beat a team like this on the road, then you have to make timely shots and you’re going to have to keep scoring to beat them.”

On Dennis Clifford’s foul trouble:

“The whole dynamic of our team changes because not only does he do a great job defensively rebounding the ball but we run a lot of offense through Dennis. Idy (Diallo), who comes in after him, is not as proficient at it so it’s tough for us, especially when Eli is not shooting the ball well. So it’s a little difficult for us, it’s why we have those stretches.”

“I thought our bench played pretty well tonight though. Points came off the bench, a lot of guys, especially some of our young guys stepped up and had a good game. Our margin for error right now is so small, if we have a lull, it’s hard to get back in.”

Boston College’s defensive gameplan:

“We were changing defenses a lot tonight. We would go from zone to man, we would play a couple different zones, just to keep them off balance. I think they’re so well prepared, if you don’t keep them off balance then they get in a good rhythm, especially when Blossomgame and Roper get it going.”

Boston College’s struggles from three in the second half:

“Same shots right? I thought they were open, they might have been more open than the first. I thought in the first half we hit a couple of tough ones. One-for-eight, you can’t win on the road shooting like that.”

On Bon Secours Wellness Arena:

“They got loud. You guys would know better than me but it looks like the city of Greenville has really come out and supported them. I see the billboards coming in and it’s a nice city. We played the NCAA Tournament here when I was at Kent State.”

“It’s not easy doing what they’re doing. I don’t think people realize, what they’re doing is not an easy travel day mid-week. You come in the middle of the day, miss a class, it’s almost like playing a road game. So again I give Brad unbelievable amounts of credit and like I said, I honestly don’t believe he gets nearly enough credit for the job he’s done here.”