Clemson vs. Georgia Tech Post-Game Quotes

Jan. 12, 2011

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Clemson Head Coach Brad Brownell

On his team’s performance: “It was a great win for our guys. Our staff was fighting over who was the shooting coach tonight. In the second half, we just played really well. Things look even better when you shoot the ball in. But I thought we had good defensive intensity. We knocked a few balls loose and got some easy ones. Obviously, we made threes, which makes the game a lot easier.”

On his second half adjustments: “We told them that defense starts from inside out. Sometimes when you’re a pressing team or when we’re pressing the ball full-court, you can lose sight of that and get so worried about guys making jump shots that you forget to protect your basket. We didn’t talk too much more about anything offensively.”

On shooting 85% from the floor in the second half: “I think momentum is a big key in any game or any sport. I think kids watch other guys making a shot or two and the basket looks bigger. When you make one, all of a sudden, the basket looks bigger to you. Then your buddy makes one and it looks like you can make one. The same thing is true when it’s not going in. That’s when you need big-time players to step up and make shots. Tonight, we just had it rolling really good.”

On the recent play of Demontez Stitt and Andre Young: “I think both kids are playing well. When Demontez is shooting like that, it makes him a more versatile player. He’s always been very good at attacking the basket. He’s starting to shoot the ball in pretty good rhythm. We’ve switched those guys, with Andre handling the ball a little bit more. We’re mixing them up to try and give teams different looks and work on different things with both kids. I think both are improving and playing with pretty good confidence right now.”

Georgia Tech Head Coach Paul Hewitt

Overall Thoughts: “In the second half, they started making shots and we just couldn’t stop them. There were a couple of times early in the second half where we got turnovers and we had numbers and just didn’t convert. They played really well and just shot the ball really well. We had a couple of opportunities in the second half to get up on them but didn’t take advantage of them.”

On Clemson’s shooting percentage in the second half: “I’ve never seen a team shoot like that in the second half. I saw a team shoot like that in the first half a couple of weeks ago when Northwestern went 10-for-12 from three. It’s disappointing because we should have learned our lesson from that game.”

On Brad Brownell’s coaching style: “I’ve watched Brad’s teams before and he’s a very good coach. They do a good job of taking care of the ball, usually. Today he probably wasn’t very happy with their turnovers, but he’s a good coach.”

On 0-2 ACC start: “We really have to play better defense, especially defending the three point line. In the first half, we played really good defense. We just couldn’t keep it up. The fouls really hurt us in the first half. We have to keep our heads up and we can’t quit.”

On Clemson’s record: “There’s not going to be a surprise team in this league. With new coaches in the league and all the guys lost from last year, there’s not a surprise team. Clemson is really playing some good basketball right now. Jerai Grant is playing really, really well. Right now, he’s one of the best big guys in this league. I’ve always liked (Demontez) Stitt, but Grant is playing exceptionally well. He’s playing the best out of any guys I’ve seen this year.”