Post-Game Quotes
December 19, 2004 | Men's Basketball
(#18) Washington 68, (#12) North Carolina State 64
Sunday, December 19, 2004
Bank of America Arena/Seattle, Wash.
Post-Game Quotes
WASHINGTON HEAD COACH Lorenzo Romar
General Comments:
"This game was obviously a huge game for us going in. It was an even bigger game the way that we won it because we didn't shoot the ball well from the perimeter and we didn't make foul shots, but we still found a way to win. With the exception of about a five-minute period there, it was pretty much a deliberate slowed-down pace. We won the Alaska Shootout and that was a big game, but given the circumstances I think that this is the biggest win of our season so far."
On Brandon Roy's Early Return:
"Brandon Roy played in practice a couple days prior and we couldn't believe how well he was moving. All week he had participated in a couple of drills and he did some shooting. Pat Jenkins, our trainer, did a marvelous job of getting him back. He was actually playing (the role of) Julius Hodge on the scout team at practices, and trust me, he was a good Julius Hodge. He was cleared to try and play and he felt confident in trying it out, and he played well. He mentioned that he didn't know if he could go before the game started. We didn't know if we wanted to put him in there, but we tried it out and it worked out"
On N.C. State's defense on Nate Robinson:
"They had Hodge on him as they tried to put a bigger defender on him and Nate wasn't able to get loose like he normally does. They went back and forth to play a large amount of zone in the first half and a little in the second half. He didn't get to have his normal say tonight, but Nate will definitely bounce back and it makes this win even more special when we can still find a way to win."
On out-rebounding N.C. State:
"The rebounding is distributed amongst many different players. Sometimes we rely on just a few guys to rebound for us, but tonight everyone was rebounding."
On N.C. State:
"That team was a good basketball team. They are not going to beat themselves and I think the fact that we pressured them the entire game to cause turnovers was what helped us. They have a Hodge, who is a tremendous player, and he kind of sets the tempo for them. They run a great system and they are a tough team."
NORTH CAROLINA STATE COACH HERB SENDEK
On things the Wolfpack could have done better:
"Second chance points. We were pretty good in the first half, even though they shot about the same in each half, they really hurt us on the boards in the second half. Secondly, there were some possessions down the home stretch where they did a good job of defending our first option, but we didn't stay with it, like we are capable of, and give it to our second and our third option. We didn't convert on those possessions."
On positives from this game:
"There were a lot of positives to take away from this game for our guys. To come in here, under that kind of pressure, and only have 11 turnovers. To see our guys battle the way they did, there were a lot of positives to take away from tonight. I think our guys, for the most part, were really physical with the ball. Washington was really physical in the backcourt, with a lot of bumping and grinding on our guys, and our guys handled that as well as anyone could tonight."
On that no-call on the last play:
"When I watch the film I will be able to tell you. I asked Julius (Hodge) and he said he got hit with the body, and I believe him. From my angle it looked like it was. If we would have done some other things well, then it may not have come down to that. There is certainly no excuse, you have to give Washington a lot of credit."
On giving Julius Hodge the ball on the last play:
"We were out of timeouts, and to be honest with you, he is as good as anybody on the open floor. In that situation, with 10.9 seconds left, I don't think we could get a better opportunity than him striking, and taking it to the rim with his strong hand. He may have got fouled, but that is how the game goes sometimes."
On his team's defense:
"Our mission was to guard Washington, not (Nate) Robinson, he is anything but a one-man team. They are really, really good at running a man offense, I think they are as good on offense as anyone in the country. If you look at the numbers they have on their stat sheet it's almost like Lorenzo (Romar) was able to fill out the numbers as he wanted them. They are a good offensive team, so we tried to change defenses on them, to keep them off balance. I think, for the most part, to come in and keep them under 70 points, was a pretty good defensive effort for our team. It was just a good college basketball game."
