Clemson vs. Virginia Tech Post-Game Quotes

March 5, 2011

Clemson Head Coach Brad Brownell

Overall Thoughts: “Certainly it was a great win for our guys. I’m happy for our seniors. Those guys are always special, but it’s challenging sometimes to battle your emotions and play well, especially with the added significance of it being for fourth place in the league and a chance to keep our NCAA hopes alive. I thought we played pretty well. Defensively, I thought we were outstanding. Offensively, we had some turnovers that bother you, but we did execute.”

On Demontez Stitt playing with a chip on his shoulder: “That’s why he’s good. He’s competitive. When I got the job, I watched film on him and got to know him. It took me about a week to realize that he’s a foxhole kind of guy. He’s one of those guys that you want in your foxhole.”

On his team’s NCAA Tournament chances: “I certainly think we’ve played pretty doggone well here. I know that all the games in November and December count too, and those are some of the ones that are hurting us. We’re completely different now than we were. All those games where you evaluate yourself against other teams in other leagues, all that has been over for six or eight weeks, so it’s hard for your leagues to move or change. But we’re playing pretty well and we have a pretty competitive group.”

On the energy starting the game: “Some games you knock a ball or two loose and you get an easy play and the floodgates open. Now you’ve made a basket or two, so everybody feels good and the momentum happens. We’ve had a bunch of games where I thought we played well and just couldn’t make a shot. It wasn’t like our guys weren’t ready to play; we just didn’t make a shot. It helped today that we didn’t have to think about what we were playing for.”

Virginia Tech Head Coach Seth Greenberg

Overall Thoughts: “I can’t fault our effort at all. I thought we really played hard and played a full 40 minutes. Obviously, our start was less than stellar, but they made shots and you have to give them credit. Once we settled into the game, I thought we defended very hard, but we didn’t defend at the end of the shot clock very well. Defensive transition in to the zone was awful, and that really hurt us. For us to win, it’s very simple: we need more guys to contribute. We didn’t shoot the ball well and a lot of that has to do with their defense. We had some open looks, we just didn’t finish. They did a good job protecting the front of the rim. In the second half, I thought we ran good offense, but we just weren’t able to get a stop at that point. We had possessions where we would play great defense, but as the shot clock expired, Demontez (Stitt) made a three in the corner. We also had a lot of looks we didn’t finish. You have to give Clemson a lot of credit.

“With everything our team has gone through this year, if someone would have told me in the beginning of the season that we would have won nine games, I’d be proud of that accomplishment. I’m still proud of our accomplishments. It’s hard to have a winning record in this conference. To be tied for fourth, that’s something these kids should be proud of. These kids have persevered pretty well. It’s easy for people to be cynical, but in the big picture, these kids have done some pretty special things.

“Everyone wants to know where we stand with the NCAA Tournament and we just have to win games. We’re no different than any other team. If we don’t win in the first round of the ACC Tournament, we’re in the NIT. If we win in the first round of the ACC Tournament, we’re still in the discussion. No one has really separated themselves in this conference.”