	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

January 24, 2011

Seth Greenberg

COACH GREENBERG: I was pleased with our week last week. I thought our kids really handled playing on the road well. They were extremely poised, confident, played hard, defended. Shared the ball and made good decisions in a tough environment against a very, very good team. A team that is as efficient as any team we'll play against this season and as well-coached as any team we'll play against this season.
We played our second straight week of, I guess, turn-around games even though it was long, and we didn't have the same focus and energy that I would have liked to have, but we got done what we needed to get done.
We took yesterday off, which was kind of hopefully a risk and reward that we would have liked to have done some preparation. But I think it's more important to have fresh legs and be able to compete at a high level than wear the guys down.
We do have three seniors, and hopefully those seniors will kind of lead the way today in practice and get us ready to play Georgia Tech tomorrow.
Georgia Tech's been terrific at home the last two times out. They've played hard. Holsey's ready to play. I don't know what the situation is with Holsey. But in watching him, he's a live body that attacks the rim, and we've got another challenge. But in our league, as in all leagues, when you get into league play, it's hard to win games.

Q. At the risk of get being into a graduate level thesis area I was wondering if you would talk a little bit about playing zone defense now as much as you guys are. And a little bit your philosophy about man versus zone, and what kinds of things you guys are doing to kind of offset the disadvantages of playing zone?
COACH GREENBERG: Wow. But, again, you've got to play with your personnel, and again we've got a limited number of guys, so I want to find a way to keep our players in the game. I think that all the man-to-man break down stuff we do actually helps our zone because a lot of our zone is predicated on man-to-man concepts, closing out, guarding the basketball, moving on the pass, being active, being alert. All of those things are consistent in whatever defense you're playing.
Again, I've played a lot of man-to-man in my career. We have played some of the one-three-one zone. But I think that changing up this year out of necessity has been a good thing. It's actually been stimulating as a coach to study something to the point that we've studied it.
But it really comes down to effort, and it comes down to your skill set defensively. What I mean by that is if you can't guard the ball in man-to-man, you'll probably not be able to guard the ball in zone. If you can't close out well on man-to-man, you're probably not going to close out in zone.
The biggest concern for me is coming back and rebounding and getting our guards engaged and coming back and rebounding. Was that an answer?

Q. Have you had a check to watch Georgia Tech film?
COACH GREENBERG: I watched some of it. I passed on watching six hours of football, actually. I watched a great deal of their film the last few days.

Q. They've had an issue this season with other teams having great success shooting three pointers. And I was wondering if you could give me your take why that might be?
COACH GREENBERG: I would love to. I think they played really hard. I think they have long athletic bodies. As I said Shumpert, Miller, and Rice are active and alert and they do a nice job of pressuring the basketball and closing out. I think Miller will be a very good player, big, and physical.
I can't tell you. I'm not with those guys every single day. I can't tell you why the people shot the ball well against them. But they guarded pretty good in that Wake Forest- North Carolina game. But I think that they're extremely aggressive as Paul's teams always are, and they're tough. So that's probably a really bad answer.

Q. Your team's done really well limiting scoring opportunities of late. Is there anything you can attribute to allowing the fewest points per game in the conference currently?
COACH GREENBERG: I'd like to say that we spent hours and hours on our defensive transition and some other things. But since our limited numbers, we haven't spent any time breaking down defensive transition or things of that nature.
We're just trying to keep the ball in front much us, contest shots, and limit people to one shot as much as we can. And offensively try to attack as quick as we can. I think we're playing pretty fast and effective in transition. But if we don't have it, we're trying to make people guard and get a good shot. So, again, not a very good answer for you guys.

Q. Can you talk about the year that Malcolm Delaney's had?
COACH GREENBERG: Yeah, Malcolm's a special player. It's kind of interesting. Eric's made Malcolm better, and Malcolm has taken a lot of pressure off Eric. So as a back court, they've really complemented each other well.
So Malcolm's a tough-minded cat who can make shots, and get to the basket. He's got a very high basketball IQ, uses screens well. He's just got a good feel for the game. I say it all the time, the Baltimore kids, in general, they just know how to play. They just play ball and he fits in that mode.

Q. When you look at Shumpert on film, what is the thing that catches your eye about his play this season?
COACH GREENBERG: He's so aggressive coming off ball screens. We know he can shoot the ball. He's extremely athletic. I felt coming out of high school he was the best guard in the country. I've always loved his game, watching him at those elite camps, I thought he had range and was aggressive and could attack. He was tough, and he had good feel for the game. I still feel that way.

Q. Compared to your recent games with Maryland or Carolina. Are you more concerned about the perimeter game of Georgia Tech than maybe you have been with some other games this year?
COACH GREENBERG: I'm as concerned. I think they have good guards. You know, Mo Miller has had very good games against us. Shumpert is capable of putting up big numbers and had a really big second half against us last year. And Rice is playing at a very high level. Really athletic and attacking, shooting the ball really, really well. Taking very good care of the basketball.
So I think that part of their game is really good. Like I said, their young front court guys are really talented.

Q. I wanted to ask you about Manny. How early in the recruiting process did you see that confidence factor that you always talk about him? And how did you notice that and how important was that in the process?
COACH GREENBERG: I just think Manny's character was the thing that jumped out at me during the recruiting process. I remember visiting his high school, and his coach taking me around the school and introducing me to the principal and teachers and to people actually in the cafeteria. It's kind of interesting.
Every single person that I came across during that day talked about Manny's character, and what a wonderful kid he was and he was always smiling. He was just a special young person. I think, with that, comes that confidence.
He allows himself to be coached, but he's got every intangible that you would want because of the way he carries himself. I mean, Manny Atkins is just a good person. He was raised right. He's got great character he's going to be successful in whatever he does. Part of that is because of who he is, and his confidence breeds off of that.

Q. In terms of him as a player, where would you like to see him? Obviously he's going to be a guy who is really important for you now and will be much more important next year as you lose Terrell. Where would you like to see him improve as a player specifically?
COACH GREENBERG: I think the biggest thing is tightening up his handle. I joke around with him, and sometimes people get up into him a little bit, and he turns into an M1 mix tape. I just want him to use it with a purpose. He could learn from Terrell Bell in terms of getting to his spot with his dribble, and not overhandling him and getting to a nice play. Getting the shot off a little bit quicker, not keeping the ball, but that's a little too intricate.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297