Clemson vs. Winthrop postgame quotes

Clemson vs. Winthrop

November 17, 2014 * Littlejohn Coliseum

Postgame Coaches’ Quotes

Clemson Head Coach Brad Brownell

Overall thoughts:

“First of all, give Winthrop a lot of credit. I thought their kids played really well. They made some big shots and big plays late in the game and made all their free throws down the stretch. They came into our place and only turned the ball over six times. I told our team leading into the game that this would be a tough defensive game for us. This is a good offensive team. They spread you out and have great guard play. They have speed; they can dribble; they can pass; they can make threes. So they stretch you and it’s a tough matchup. It becomes a question of can your big guys do enough to offset that. We struggled a little bit with some things offensively in terms of making free throws and careless turnovers. I thought our offensive game was decent. We shot a really good percentage in the first half. We just turned the ball over and wasted possessions. I thought we looked nervous. We were looking for a guy and he wasn’t out there; he was in Philadelphia (K.J. McDaniels). We better find a guy who’s willing to make more plays down the stretch when we really need him. We had a couple guys trying and it’s a learning process. We looked like a team early in the year trying to figure things out.”

On the turnover problem:

“Landry (Nnoko) had seven turnovers. Some were three-second violations, some were illegal screens. Jaron (Blossomgame) and Landry had 10 combined, and those are your big guys. Rod (Hall), our starting point guard, had four and two of those were probably just dribbling off his foot to the other team. I think there were some nervous guys out there at times but also some weird plays that led to all that. Clearly, in a possession game like this, they had 12 more shots than us. Then, all the missed free throws—that’s a problem. You drive the ball to the basket and guys miss 1 of 2 or miss the front end. What happens is it takes the air out of the building. You have this comeback and you’re trying and instead of being able to rally, it takes the air out of the building when you miss those shots.”

Winthrop Head Coach Pat Kelsey

Opening Statement:

“It’s a big win.  I’m proud of our guys.  It’s the second game of the season so the challenge is to turn the page and get ready for another road game on Thursday.  As I told them, my mentor Skip Prosser, told me to enjoy the wins and we work really hard in this business o obviously it will be a fun ride up I-85 tonight, but we have to turn the page quickly.”

On guard play:

“We return three starting guards and all three of those guys are very good scorers–elite three-point shooters.  Two of which are 5-9 or smaller, so the challenge sometimes is manufacturing open looks for them because it’s harder when you’re not 6-4 or 6-5 to get open looks.  Those kids gave their heart and soul so I was proud of them.”

On postseason:

“We coaches all talk all the time and when you’re embarking on this journey is it’s a marathon.  The season is a monster and the challenge is to not get too high with the highs or too low with the lows.  Again, we have to get back on a bus and get back on the road on Thursday.  We will worry about what this win does in March.  Tonight, we just have to enjoy the fact we got a good win on the road and worry about another road game on Thursday.”