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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

January 31, 2011

Frank Haith

FRANK HAITH: Obviously we're coming off another tough week in terms of just two ballgames where it's come down to the last possession, Carolina here and then at Virginia Tech. I thought our kids played really hard, and I keep saying this, and hopefully it's true, that I think it's a learning experience, and I think we're going to get better from it, and we're getting stronger with all this adversity we're going through right now, and I think this ballclub if we can just continue to stay with it, there will be some good things that happen with this ballclub before the year is over with.

Q. I just wonder, with this string of excruciating losses that you guys are going through, it's one thing for the players to be able to have to handle that. I just wonder how the coach does. Do you try to stay away from tall buildings and bridges? Really, how tough is it just on your end?
FRANK HAITH: Well, I'd be lying to you if I didn't tell you it was real tough. I've never experienced anything like this, and I've reached out to some coaches, Rick Barnes that I've worked with, and we've had five straight games that have gone down to the last second and we won the one game against Boston College that's gone down to the last possession. These last four have been tough.
Like last night with three minutes left to go in the half, the kid Garland comes in and he banks two threes in the game.
You know, but I was told by Rick, the kids are going to respond and react to how you react, so we've got to continue to coach them. And we've got to continue to be upbeat and continue to work because this team is getting better, and just hoping and praying that the basketball gods will -- the balls will start to bounce our way.

Q. Do you see any common threads in these losses; if we fix one thing then some of these might go our way?
FRANK HAITH: You know what, we've gone back to looking at obviously the execution and what we needed to do at the end of the games. I even go back to Florida State; we had good shots. Those things happen late in the game. You have a good shot, you don't make it.
The other night against NC State we needed a stop and we needed a block-out. We took a lead with 40 seconds left at NC State and Tracy gets a tip-in against an offensive rebound. We needed that rebound. We needed to come up with that rebound. And that's a toughness thing. We had a chance to scrap out. We needed to scrap out that loose ball.
But I go to look at the other 39 minutes, and our guys understand you can't take a possession off. The margin of error in this league of winning basketball games is very slim, and you cannot allow yourself to take a possession off on either end of the court.

Q. Have you had a chance to watch Georgia Tech film yet?
FRANK HAITH: Other than watching them against Virginia Tech when I was watching Virginia Tech, so I know a little bit about their program a little bit.

Q. What are your impressions of the team this season from what you've been able to see?
FRANK HAITH: I think they're very athletic. I think Shumpert is an outstanding player. I think he's an all-league performer. I think Oliver has had great performances on the year. I watched a little bit of their Carolina game, too, in terms of the way he's playing their small but they play that to their advantage because I think they're very aggressive in attacking you from a defensive standpoint.
In terms of match-ups, you've got to guard your four guards basically. They're a tough match-up when they're on their game in terms of shooting the basketball.

Q. They have in the past few games given up 120 points in the paint or at the line. How do you try to take advantage of that on Thursday?
FRANK HAITH: Well, I think that's something that we've got to play -- that's the way we want to play all the time. We want to get the ball in the paint, we want to score in the paint, and we want to play inside out. We've got to run our offense through Reggie Johnson, and that's a big part of who we are in terms of the way we play.
Not knowing those numbers, I think that that's basically the way we want to play. We've got to get the ball inside either by throwing the ball inside to Reggie or by driving the ball.

Q. I wanted to ask about a guy from up our way, Julian Gamble and how he's coming along. He's not posting big numbers but he seems to be giving you some consistent production. What is he doing well and what does he need to improve on?
FRANK HAITH: Well, he's a young man that's really been hampered with some injuries this year, and I think he's starting to feel better and move better on the basketball court. He had knee surgery earlier in the year, and then he started having some back problems. But he's starting to feel better, and I think what he is is he's a role guy, and everybody has to have one of those guys. Whether he's playing the four spot or he's spelling Reggie Johnson at the five spot, we need him consistently to continue to be a better rebounder and defender. But the one thing that Julian does do when he's out on the court, he executes very well on the offensive end in terms of knowing what we need to do and from a screening standpoint and executing.
So we still need to see that Julian of last year in the ACC tournament where he is getting 14, 10, 12 rebounds and getting back to that kind of player. And if he does, it'll definitely help our team as we finish the season, as we get to the second half of the season.

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