Clemson vs. Miami (FL) Post-Game Quotes

Jan. 8, 2011

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Clemson Head Coach Brad Brownell

Overall Thoughts: “I was really proud of how spirited they were. We played with more confidence, which is certainly not only necessary, but a major positive step for us to feel comfortable. We needed to be able to battle through a lot of adversity at times. I talked to our guys about that before the game because we haven’t had a lot of that over the past few games.”

On the toughness of the win: “We had to continue to make shots and execute offensively and score. We couldn’t get enough stops to get the game put away with our defense. So it put more pressure on us offensively. It was good for our team to have to win a game like that. I prefer to win on defense, but this was good for us to win it a different way.”

On Zavier Anderson’s game: “He’s just a tough kid, and he plays with pretty good poise. He’s farther along with poise than Cory (Stanton), and he should be because he’s four years older. Even though he hasn’t played a lot, he’s practiced against these guys and he’s sat on the bench and watched these kinds of games. I said early on in the preseason that we would see Zay in ACC games. I thought people would think I was crazy, and that was when we had a full roster of 11, and now we’re down to nine (scholarship players) and he’s started some and is playing in the second half of an ACC game.”

On his first ACC win: “I haven’t really thought about it. But certainly, I guess it’s a significant moment in terms of getting to this level and getting to coach at a school like Clemson. You win this game, and then put it behind you because you realize that if you want to stay around here, you’d better win a lot more.”

Miami Head Coach Frank Haith

Overall Thoughts: “Clemson was just more aggressive than we were; on rebounding and on transition buckets. (Jerai) Grant just kicked our big guys’ butts. He was outstanding and our guys just didn’t have a chance. He just dominated our bigs to the point that we didn’t get much production out of them, and that was disappointing. We can build on this game but we just have to get better production out of our posts.”

On Clemson’s ability to maintain the lead: “They made some tough shots deep into the shot clock throughout the whole game. We played in spurts; we needed consistency. When you play good teams on the road in this league, you have to play consistent basketball, and we didn’t.”

On playing close games at Clemson and Duke: “We just want to win. Building off games like that, those days are over. We just want to win.”

On Clemson’s Jerai Grant: “He’s terrific. He was terrific tonight and watching him on tape, he looks like he’s really improved. I really think he’s one of the better post players in this league, just because of how hard he plays. That’s something our guys need to learn. When you play as hard as he plays, good things are going to happen. He shoots a high percentage and doesn’t take a bad shot. I have a saying, `Do you.’ and he really does him, and doesn’t get out of character. I really respect him as a player.”