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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

January 24, 2011

Jeff Bzdelik

Q. Wanted to ask you, having just come off the game with Duke, Ryan Kelly, of course, had a big game. What difference does he make giving them another weapon at that spot? Not that he'll necessarily average 20 a game, but just the threat that he gives them there, how has that changed them in any way?
COACH BZDELIK: Well, the fact that I think Duke does a great job of spacing the court to have so many outstanding shooters, and they do a great job of spacing the court. Of course the way Ryan shot the ball the other night, didn't miss a shot. He just, again, really another weapon for them to make you have to be very aware of another player who can really shoot the basketball.
When he shoots the ball like that, it just really opens up the driving lanes for Smith and some of their other great athletes to attack the rim. They do a great job of driving and kicking, and, of course he made some tough shots, but he made some open shots, he did. But he also made a couple of tough shots. That was huge for them, no question.

Q. He also helped them on the boards, which he has for the last couple of games. That just another part of their game that you have to prepare for?
COACH BZDELIK: Exactly. Ryan had an outstanding game. But you put so much focus on Singler and Smith, and we did a good job of making them take a lot of shots. When they did shoot the ball, most of them were tough shots, and Ryan was just someone who got some air space.
We helped too much off of him and didn't recover back to him as quickly ad we should have. He made shots and we give him credit.

Q. Thank you. In terms of March and the tremendous jump after the game mid week to the Duke game, where did it come from, was it focus, or was it something tactical that you did?
COACH BZDELIK: Well, we're all about right now just we have so many young players. I remember just watching it, the tape of our game with Duke. There were a lot of moments there. We had four freshmen and one sophomore out there.
The toughness, we missed so many shots around the rim. We got the ball to Carson Desrosiers two or three times where he had two feet in the paint and just couldn't finish. C.J. Harris attacks the rim.
The time before that, Smith attacked rim. We fouled him hard, and he was able to maintain his balance and focus. But C.J. goes in there, you know, attacks the rim, gets fouled, misses the lay-up, and then he misses two free throws. So it's like it's against first the zero points, and then Melvin has a dunk and it's blocked as opposed to dunking it and getting fouled.
You know, I can go on and on. Tony Chennault, to the rim, coast to coast, just goes around the rim and out. I mean, we had maybe nine or ten opportunities there that we just didn't finish at the rim. And when that happens with a young team, we're not mature enough, just it different fuses our energy for a moment.
It's simply a factor we need to toughen up, mature, get stronger. It it's something that happened overnight. It just takes some time in the weight room. It takes some time, experience. It's hard in practice to simulate. I mean, we bring out pads and whack them as hard as we can, but it's different. We can't simulate what those games are like.
We just haven't figured out how hard we need to play, how focused we need to play, and how mature we need to play for 40 minutes. We go in spurts.
The Virginia Tech, and Georgia Tech team, I thought that we really felt sorry for ourselves. And when you shoot as bad from the free-throw line as we did against Georgia Tech, to me that's just a lack of focus. So, you know, that's something that we need to work on on a daily basis. Maturity, focus fight, toughness, all those kinds of words that are used all the time that are just they're the game to be honest with you. They're the game.

Q. I was also curious, Mescheriakov didn't play. Was it a temporary thing?
COACH BZDELIK: It was the coach's decision just on my part. We have a log jam there with Melvin Tabb, and we've been playing Travis there. The fact that Melvin Tabb was out several weeks with mono, and he's had some good practices here lately and he's a freshman that's earned the right to play.
Sometimes when you start earning those minutes, you get to playing six or seven minutes. I want to see what Melvin Tabb can do. He's earned the right to play. So we've given Melvin 16 minutes that game, and it was simply a coaches decision.

Q. You stressed to the guys that it doesn't happen overnight. And you realize in a society where things aren't going well, sometimes kids get wandering eyes. How are you monitoring that commitment going forward?
COACH BZDELIK: I talk to them all the time about that. And usually those (No Audio). On several occasions he was changing and building that culture to where it is today, and where it has been over the last several decades, so it takes time.
One of the life lessons you have to take from athletics is you have to deal with disappointments. In life, you don't always get what you want, and you have to go through some tough times.
You know, I'm going to find out who really is on board, to be honest with you. And we have some outstanding teachers here within this program, I mean there are some freshmen gaining valuable experience, and playing well and developing. Travis has been consistent and a warrior. And Tony Chennault, even though he's coming off that injury, I think in the brief moments he's played, he made a tough lay-up in the Duke game. He drove in there, and played off the two-deep, scored, went coast to coast out to the rim with the left-hander and went around and out. He defends well.
Carson Desrosiers as a young seven-foot freshman, picture him a year from now when he gets in that weight room and he understands. Seven blocks, nine rebounds and he held his own in the Duke game. And he understands because he's coachable and he works. We have a lot of really solid pieces in place, and they understand and they're responding. I look forward to the future.

Q. Is there a way to tell if a kid is on board for the long haul this year and beyond?
COACH BZDELIK: They didn't shoe it really well in terms of their body language and how they respond when you coach them. Players determine playing time. It's obvious to me we will get this right, trust me. I've been through this before. And we've always wound up on the successful side.
No doubt it will happen again. We just need to stay the course. I'm the leader. I come to work every single day with energy and a strong focus. Like I said, we see moments. We just need to see more of those moments. And we'll find out, like I said, as time goes on, who is on board. I feel great, like I said, about our future.

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