Clemson vs. Georgia Tech Coaches’ Quotes March 2, 2010

March 2, 2010

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Clemson Head Coach Oliver Purnell

Overall Thoughts: “I’m very pleased with our team right now. (David) Potter finally got to call off mandatory breakfast. That’s how you honor our seniors. We needed to be ready to play and we were. Their two big guys are a menace; the whole team is good one through five. We did well rebounding along with making shots. We also did a great job of attacking the basket. Other than our big guys not shooting free throws, we did well offensively. We locked them down on defense. We came into the game wanting to honor our seniors, and we did that. The importance of this night for this program energized us. We didn’t lose steam after Tanner Smith’s injury, we picked up steam. We need to stay focused going to Wake Forest to get a top seed in the ACC tournament.”

On three-point shooting: “If you don’t shoot those threes, you have to do better at the free throw line! Andre’s three going into half time gave us a jolt; it was definitely a pleasant replay of his shot at Florida State.”

On Trevor Booker: “I don’t have enough time to really go into detail about Booker. The leadership, the scores, the rebounds, it just gets everyone else juiced up. He wins games with big blocks at the end. I’m glad we’ve had him and I think he really is one of the best players in the country.”

On the team: “Two out of the last three years, we have surged at the end like this. Hopefully we can make it to the ACC Championship and change that script. I’m proud of these guys and their energy.”

On David Potter: “He played one of his better games tonight. He had leadership and a steady hand. He played like a senior.”

On strengthening your chances for an NCAA Tournament bid with nine ACC wins: “If we don’t get into the tournament now, I’m seceding from the NCAA!”

Georgia Tech Head Coach Paul Hewitt

Overall Thoughts: “Clemson just had a really great shooting night tonight. I thought we did a good job of defending them in the first half. Our second half defense wasn’t as good but they also just made shots tonight.”

On Andre Young’s Shot at End of First Half: “We had talked about him and his ability to shoot coming into this game. He has really stepped up for them and made some tough shots in the last few games.”

On Making the NCAA Tournament: “We will have to wait and see what happens Saturday. I don’t really have a good feel about where everyone else is in the country so it is hard to say how we relate.”

On Wanting to Make a Statement in Last Road Game: “I don’t think we looked at it like that. This was just an opportunity for us to get a road win against a quality team. Now we just have to worry about Virginia Tech on Saturday.”

On Team Being Affected by the Crowd: “Actually we looked at statistics on that, and we play better when we are playing in front of a big crowd. Statistically everything is better.”

On Up and Down Season: “I think we are capable of better, but we are a young team so that can happen. You also have to look at the teams we have played because there are a lot of quality teams, just like the one we played tonight.”