Clemson vs. Virginia Postgame Coaches’ Quotes

Feb. 21, 2010

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Clemson Head Coach Oliver Purnell

Overall Thoughts: “Obviously I was pleased with the way we played and the way we approached this week getting ready. We did a good job with our focus and preparation for this opponent, and I thought it showed. We wanted to get the ball inside. (Mike) Scott is a good post player, but we thought they had a lack of depth down there. This time of year is when a good team takes a game when the other team is struggling by the throat. Now we can take the next step toward being a great team by going on the road and winning.”

On Jerai Grant’s improved play: “Jerai has been good all year. He was our most improved player last year, and this year he has elevated his game even more. He has developed into a pretty good ACC player.”

On the health of Demontez Stitt: “I think he’s been back for a while, but that’s just me. This week he realized he wasn’t dead and came back strong. Once again, having a full week off between games helped him. I think he can do many of the same things he used to do.”

On how good the team is right now: “We’re a pretty good basketball team, no question about it. To be a great team, now we have to win on the road. It will be a good test for us. There’s nothing wrong with being a really good team, I just want to be a great one.”

On defending Sylven Landesberg: “(David Potter) has been good as an on-ball defender all year. Landesberg was a point of emphasis for us. We talked about what he liked to do and did a good job taking those things away.”

Virginia Head Coach Tony Bennett

On Zone in the second half: “We had worked on it a little bit before. They scored so much in the paint that we wanted to give them a different look. It wasn’t a great zone and eventually they broke it down.”

On the play of Assane Sene: “We wanted to take a look at him and give him some more playing time to see where he is at.”

On balance between offense and defense: “We went to four guards because we couldn’t score. It is hard when you have four or five games where you are shooting in the mid-30s. Our defense has been the only thing that has been sort of solid.”

On Clemson: “They are very athletic. They played with a lot of heart and abused us inside. They were able to get dunks and made shots early. We made it too easy for them inside the paint. I think they are a different team with Stitt. They are solid and there are a lot of solid teams in this league.”

On message to the team: “We just have to figure out a way to get better in both areas but right now we are playing tough teams.”

On needing more guys to step up: “We definitely need to have guys hitting shots. We shot this percentage against Wake and Georgia Tech but we were able to hang in there with them. Our defense just broke down today and the way we are shooting, we need to play better defense.”