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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

February 28, 2011

Leonard Hamilton

COACH HAMILTON: As we finish up the season we, as a team, understand each game takes on more importance. As I look at the games that are being played on TV, they're almost taking an NCAA Tournament or ACC Tournament-type atmosphere seeing the high level of intensity. Our players seem to be responding in that fashion and increasing their focus.
But I just think this is the time of the year that everyone seems to be jockeying for position, and seizing the tournaments and things of that nature. Players seem to be really excited as we now move toward the end of the season.

Q. You just mentioned the urgency of this time of year, and obviously tomorrow is March 1st. I wonder as a coach what you enjoy when that calendar flips over to March, and what the players enjoy most with what comes with that month?
COACH HAMILTON: As a coach, you hope you can develop the mentality with your players that in November it's the same as it is in March. But inevitably that's not really high work. As you move towards the end of the season, things start lining themselves up and that increases the focus and the urgency that I think everyone's playing with now.
So there is no doubt that this is that time of the year when people start looking at where you're positioned, and thinking about subconsciously thinking about where you possibly could be toward the end of the season.
I don't like it as a coach because we want to try to create that level of focus prior to every game that's important. But it seems as though these games now are taking on an extremely different type of posture than the games that we played earlier in the year.

Q. What do you enjoy most about the stakes that come with every game going forward from here?
COACH HAMILTON: As a coach, to be very honest with you, I've been in the business so long I just try to stay even keeled. I'm not real sure, as a coach, I am any different than I am during the course of the year.
However, you realize now that toward the end of the season and as you start, like I said earlier, jockeying for position, that the games themselves are highlighted. You like to put yourself in position where if you play well in the beginning, the middle and the end, you don't have this urgency toward the end. That's what it is.
From my standpoint, I'm not sure how it changes. But it seems as though the fans, the media, the kids, the players, they seem to heighten their excitement.

Q. You played North Carolina a couple weeks ago when they were just breaking Marshall in at point guard and he had a pretty good game. Can you talk about the difference he's made on that team and what you expect to try to do against him when he comes in on Wednesday?
COACH HAMILTON: I think Marshall has done a tremendous job. But I think their whole entire team seems to be stepping up. They were moving in that direction prior to Marshall moving into the lineup. It seems it's all kind of coming together.
I think Henson's playing extremely well. Zeller is playing very, very well. McDonald seems to be playing with a lot more confidence. Obviously Marshall is playing very well. I don't know which was coming first. Were they all coming together or was Marshall -- I just know as it relates to the University of North Carolina team, they're playing extremely well together. It seems as though every player is playing better than they were earlier in the year.

Q. I wanted to ask you with one win this week you'll lock up a bye in the first round of the ACC Tournament. How important is that some?
COACH HAMILTON: I didn't understand your question.

Q. You might get it any you way, but with one win this week you'd definitely lock up a bye in the first round of the ACC Tournament. How important is that to you?
COACH HAMILTON: Well, for our basketball program it's important for a number of reasons. As we try to move into the upper echelon of the teams in the ACC, it gives you a certain level of credibility that you are, for three straight years, you're in the top four teams in the league.
That's important for us as we try to move into that top tier of teams on a consistent basis in the ACC. We said we wanted to become a program of significance not only on a national basis but especially in the ACC, so that gives us a certain amount of credibility.
Secondly, I also think it gives you another day of preparation. As we look at these teams, you have one less game to play to play for the Championship. I think every team that plays in this tournament comes in with the idea they want to win the Championship. I also think that for national recognition is concerned, to be one of the top teams in the ACC that is consistently getting byes, it also puts you in another category.
Maybe that might not mean as much to some of the teams in the ACC, but from where we started to where we are now, those are significant points.

Q. In the scoring column, at least, in the absence of Chris Singleton, Dulkys seems to have really put together three fine games for you scoring-wise. I just wondering what the difference is that you see in him in the last three games?
COACH HAMILTON: Deividas has had a tendency to go on streaks where he's been successful and consistent, more consistent than other times. I think all shooters go through those periods where they're not shoot page the ball as well for whatever reason.
I'm not sure Chris's absence had anything to do with it. I just think he was starting to shoot the ball very, very well in practice along with some of the other you players. Sometimes it's psychological. Sometimes people say it's mental, but he is shooting the ball much better.
But I think our entire team seems to be improving in a lot of different areas, and Dulkys just happens to be part of that.

Q. Do you think that your guys have made the transition to playing without Chris now or are they still working on that to some degree?
COACH HAMILTON: I don't think there is no doubt that we're still working on that. You don't replace a guy of his caliber this late in the season. From our standpoint, we're still a team that's somewhat in transition with Xavier trying to get acclimated, and Terrance coming back from injury, and Ian's coming back from injury.
Now we still are a little too much of a team that's in transition to be going down the stretch, getting ready to go into the ACC tournament, but that's who we are. That's where we are, and we accept that. We just try to go on and do what we're supposed to be doing.
We haven't made a whole lot of adjustments. We haven't given it a whole lot of conversation about not having the availability to have Chris.
What we're doing is trying to keep working on the things that we were working on when he was available. Some guys minutes have increased because of the void that he left, and we just need everyone to turn it up a notch and contribute. It seems to be what the players have accepted.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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