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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

February 7, 2011

Sidney Lowe

COACH LOWE: We worked the week, get some guys healthy. It's a tough ballgame over at Duke, particularly the first half. Thought our young guys really hung in there in the second half and played a little bit better. But we hurt ourselves in the first half.

Q. Wanted to get your impressions on Miami's big man, Reggie Johnson, when you guys played them. What challenges do you feel like a guy of that size presents teams?
COACH LOWE: He's a load down there. He's got pretty good hands, good foot work. Obviously, he's strong as ever and you always have to worry about him. Sometimes he can make plays with people hanging on him and able to finish. He's always someone that you have to worry about.
With that ballclub, the way they can shoot threes, they go forward. I mean, they've been in just about every ballgame and he's been the main guy inside that's carrying him. But he poses a lot of problems for you, just because he's so big and strong.

Q. Is there a guy he reminds you of or maybe you can compare him to?
COACH LOWE: No, not right off the top of my head, I really can't.

Q. Did you bring C.J. back to practice today?
COACH LOWE: Actually, we didn't practice today. We gave them day off. We have this long week, so we really need some time. This couldn't have come at a better time for us with Tracy's knee and Ryan just really coming back for the first time against Duke there.
But to lift and everything, C.J. is doing the lifting and stuff with the team.

Q. You were Sunday off, Monday off, back to work Tuesday?
COACH LOWE: Right, yeah. We thought it would be a good idea to give them from practice. Now they still have to lift and individual stuff, but as far as practice is concerned, we're not.

Q. It was just one game, but what do you think C.J. got out of the suspension? Obviously you're trying to send a message to him.
COACH HAITH: Well, I think hopefully he understands that there are rules. Sometimes they may not seem as major as some other ones, but rules are rules. Like I say, he handled it well. When we talked and he understood. Certainly hurt him, didn't want that. But he understood, and he was right back in there actually, yesterday. He came in and got treatment on his arm that he hurt in his last ballgame against Virginia Tech. He was right there and seemed like he's ready to go.

Q. Would you characterize that as just overall attitude issues?
COACH LOWE: No, I characterize that just as youth. Really not understanding the importance ever things, little things. You look back at the history of this game, and you look at this year. You'll see a number of players that have been suspended, some indefinitely, for violating a team rule or something like that a.
So I think it's just youth. I think it's growth, maturity, and understanding that there is structure, there is discipline, and it has to be done. Unfortunately sometimes the kids today -- I hate to keep talking about the AAU circuit, but there's not a lot of structure and discipline there. We get the kids and now we have to try to show them the correct way to do it.

Q. To follow-up, you do expect Leslie to practice this week and to play against Wake Forest?
COACH LOWE: Yes, I do, yes.

Q. Coach, your team's performance this season in conference play, there's been a lot of sporadic play, but yet you've never been able to develop that consistency. Why do you think that is?
COACH LOWE: I think most of it is youth. Depending on you're counting on a lot of young guys. We played three freshmen. We played them quite a bit. When you look at the minutes played and things, and we count on them.
Now, that's a combination of those guys playing with the returning guys, which most of those are sophomores and juniors. We have two seniors. So it's just, I think, more youth and these guys playing together and understanding each other. I know it's getting down to the second half of the season, and we should be there, but we just haven't been able to put that together.
The other thing is lately our starts. Getting off to good starts. We haven't been scoring in the first half, which also has been hurting our defense because we've taken some questionable shots at times and teams running out on us. But I think it's just really more of the youth of our ballclub and showing the inconsistency. When you look at box scores, you can see the inconsistency.

Q. How tough has it been for you personally with the constant conjecture and speculation of your job status in the future?
COACH LOWE: Well, you certainly never want to hear that. That can be a distraction not only to you, but to your team. But these guys have never said anything. I don't let it bother me obviously because I have to go in and coach these guys. We still have a lot to play for.
If we can get something going here and get into the ACC tournament, I think that's when you start making your decisions. Speculations are just that, speculations, and that can change.
If things are going great, speculation would be that coach is going to be around and maybe get an extension. But you don't know if he's going to get an extension. I think it's just speculation. I don't let it bother me.
Certainly as a human being, you obviously have thoughts about it. But as a coach, that's part of the business, and fans and media alike are going to say things. You just have to deal with that.

Q. With Tracy's knee, is that something that just needs rest? Is it going to be able to get back to get rid of that discomfort? How do you see that playing out?
COACH LOWE: That's what we're hoping. We're hoping that the rest will help him. It's the knee that he had the surgery on, and we've been going pretty good lately and pretty hard. We want to see if we just give them some rest and let them stay off of it for a while, and do some light work and be ready to play. We want to see if that will help them.
The whole thing is having strength in it. You can see in Tracy's numbers. You can see when he's going up. He's not able to really lift off that leg because it's a little weaker than the other one. But the rest, if you talk to doc, that will help him to work the leg, try to strengthen it up some more, but stay off the pounding.

Q. Have you had to take him out of games the last week or so because of that?
COACH LOWE: Yes, I did. I had to take him out in the Duke game. I took him out of the ballgame because it was just bothering him. He was trying to go, but it just wasn't -- he wasn't effective with it. I had to take him out.

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