Clemson vs. Wake Forest Postgame Coaches’ Quotes

Jan. 17, 2009

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Clemson Head Coach Oliver Purnell Quotes

On Game “I saw two big things in this game, first of all, Wake is a very good basketball team. Secondly, we are a good team that did not play well. We did not have a good shooting percentage and should have made more second chance shots. We had a lot of rebounds, but did not capitalize on them and we needed to. I thought we played best when the pace was frantic, and they played better when the tempo was slower and they were able to penetrate. Their size definitely bothered us, and Teague is a great player who made some big plays down the stretch. We just didn’t play well in the last six minutes.”

On Team’s Performance “I think we are a good team, but we just didn’t play great against a good team. If you don’t play well, then you are going to have a tough time winning in this conference.”

On Misses Inside “The size definitely bothers you and then you have to capitalize in other areas such as making free throws and not turning the ball over. We went to the offensive glass with quickness, but then couldn’t get those shots to go.”

On Point Guard Play “I look at two things, first did we win and then how they handle the ball down the stretch. They just didn’t handle the game well.”

On McFarland on Booker “Booker wasn’t posting up in the first half, he was just floating. Not to say McFarland didn’t do a good job, but we weren’t going inside like we should.”

On What to Take from the Game “We are a good team that didn’t play well and didn’t stick to the plan. We haven’t had a loss to learn from yet this season, and sometimes they listen better after a loss then wins.”

On Transition Defense “It was not great, there were times it was good, but it wasn’t great.”

On Game Against UNC “We will get together and talk this week, watch some tape and let them talk about the game and just get ready to play.”

On Last Six Minutes of First Half “We missed easy shots and didn’t react well on defense. They weren’t necessarily explosive today and we should have taken advantage of that. A game can be won going into and coming out of the half and we didn’t play well in either of those situations.”

Wake Forest Head Coach Dino Gaudio Quotes

On Game “I thought that we showed a lot of heart today. When Clemson cut the lead to one, it was pretty loud in here. But our team showed resiliency. It was a terrific win today.

“Clemson made us play more chaotic than we would have liked, but we are athletic and quick enough to win. It was a tough game, but out staple was our defense. Overall, it was a good win for these young guys.

“Our key to the game was not turning the ball over and not letting them have run outs.”

On McFarland “Chas does a terrific job when he is challenged. He did a good job against Trevor (Booker). He is coming into his own as a defense stopper.”

On Booker “We tried to limit his touches. One of three things can happen; they score, we foul or we get the ball. Only one of those things is good, so we tried to play them before they could catch the ball.”

On Clemson’s Run “They did it with pressure. Clemson plays hard for 40 minutes. They tip balls and go after everything. To win, our plan was to make layups and dunks, not quick 3s or tough 2s. We knew they would make runs, but our plan was to play through it. I told them not to panic, just play through it. We talked a lot about the “4th quarter” (last 8 minutes) being critical. We needed to find a way to get it done.”

On Teague “All year he’s been there for us. We’ve got a lion leading us. He puts tremendous pressure on the defense because he can get to the rim and he can shoot the three. He can also get to the line and that’s good for us.”