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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEJanuary 16, 2012Seth GreenbergCOACH GREENBERG: The reality is that we're playing young right now. Not only do we have young players, but we're laying young. We haven't been able to finish out games. We haven't been able to come up with the plays that we need to come up with. We're still defining for some of our guys what playing hard really is, and not just players. I think they're trying to play hard.  I think competing, which there is a big difference between playing hard and competing. We've always had these young teams and we've always had one really high energy player, whether it was Doron Washington or Brian Matthews or Carlos Dixon. We don't have that high‑energy guy to set the tone right now. I like our team, and we'll continue to work and continue to really kind of get our guys to better understand how we need to play to win. It's not exactly the best time to play Carolina. I want to thank Leonard for that, but it's time to move on. Every single game we've played, we've been in the game. Whether it's been Syracuse or Kansas State or the three league games. So it's not like we're way off. It's just there are some things that are missing that we need to tighten up in terms of finishing games. Q. Any kind of update on if Erick might be available on Thursday? COACH GREENBERG: Yeah, we don't know yet. He had treatment yesterday. I haven't met with David either, our trainer, yet this morning. We're going to practice in about an hour. I'm sure he's down there in treatment right now. It's just one of those unfortunate things. Just a freak play that seems to happen here at Virginia Tech. I would hope that with the natural process, he'll have a chance to play this week. Q. You mentioned the high energy thing and not having a high energy guy. Did you go into the season kind of thinking that, Geez, I don't think I have a high energy guy that could be a problem? COACH GREENBERG: JT Thompson was our high energy guy. We always called him our energizer bunny, and that's kind of a role he played. So, obviously, when he went down, that physical, experienced, high energy guy. We've been able to get through that and stay in games. It's just maintaining that level of intensity during the course of a game and that focus. Not taking a play off here and there. But I mean, it is what it is. This is the team we have. We're not going to make excuses. We've never made excuses before. It's our job to get these guys at a little bit higher level. That's what we're working towards doing. It's not doom and gloom around here. Because if we're getting whacked by 30 and 40, no matter who we were playing, I could see that. But we also have a lot of positive things going on. Q. I wondered with the offense you've used of late, do you think you guys are getting good shots and just not making them or do you think there's something systematically wrong whether they're running the offense, they're not running the offense well enough, they're not going out and transitioning enough? What do you think the issue are? COACH GREENBERG: First of all, we charted every single shot from last game, and we've got one or two shots I would have liked back. But we actually got good shots. We're not playing fast enough. We've got to get out in transition. Our wing guys are not running hard enough. They're not running deep enough. They're not giving us enough space to attack. But we actually, in terms of shots, I mean just an example. Second play of the game, Marquise comes off a step‑up ball screen. Gets to 12 feet and doesn't make the shot. But it's a good shot. It's a shot he's got to take. We took one or two at certain points in the game that I wish we had back. We went, and I met with the guys yesterday individually yesterday in film, and went through some of those things. But we have to play fast. We have to get more easy baskets. There's no doubt about it. We did a decent job, not a great job, but a decent job defending. Q. Coach, quick question about your freshmen Dorian Finney‑Smith. Talking to coaches today about their freshmen and how they've played so far. He had seven double scoring games and non‑ACC play. And he's been held scoreless in two of the first three ACC games. Is it a matter of looking for a shot? What is the difference there? COACH GREENBERG: Well, thank goodness he's continued to rebound the ball. He got another eight rebounds the other night. He's got to be more aggressive. He got to the basket a couple times early on and didn't finish. I think that he wasn't as aggressive. He's got to get more than four shots in a game if he's going to play 30‑plus minutes. He's got to be attack more. He's got to try to make more happen and not just facilitate. He does that also. But, again, it's a long season for these guys. I think it looks a lot easier on TV. The reality is people are going to game plan and take certain things away. But I've got a lot of confidence in him. He's doing a lot of other things that I'm pleased with, and he needs to stay aggressive. Q. You mentioned you're going to get a riled up NorthCarolina team, but did Florida State expose some weaknesses? Was it just one of those games for them? COACH GREENBERG: Well, I mean, the weaknesses, Dulkys is having a career game. If that's a weakness, you know. I mean, the guy‑‑ I watched that game yesterday, and the guy was out of his mind. Florida State has some personnel with their size up front with a 26‑year‑old guy that could lay a little wood on Zeller. You know, that poses a problem. Everyone talks about Florida State played a magnificent basketball game and they made shots. This is a make and miss game. When you're making fadeaway threes and kickouts and it's a step behind the three‑point line, is it good defense, bad defense or a guy just making it on this night, he's making shots? Carolina's Carolina. First thing, first words you've got to say to your team is get back. You've got to see the ball and get back in transition. You've got to find the post early. You need to know who you're playing, personnel. You need to cut people off the glass when the ball goes into the low post because they do such a good job of getting to the glass on the back side. I would think that I'm sure they probably had a spirited practice today. Q. The other thing about them, I know he did not have a real good game Saturday, but Kendall Marshall is setting assist records that look like the highest assist total in ACC history, at least he's on that pace. What can you do against him? Is there anything against him specifically or do you just have to take away his targets? COACH GREENBERG: Yeah, again, I'm not going to sit here and tell you how we're going to play him. But I think that the one thing, the difference between Kendal and say Ty. Ty brought it at warp speed. Kendall brings it at warp speed, but he does it with the ball in the air. We used to say you have to outnumber the ball in transition against Ty Lawson. But Kendall is a different problem because you do have to run with the shooters, and you've got to see the basketball. Obviously you've got to beat Zeller down the court. You can only run a real fast break if you get one of your big guys involved in the break. Because if he runs the middle of the floor, you've got to defend a little bit inside out and that opens up all those head‑to‑heads on the wing. It's a lot faster to pass the ball up the floor than dribble the ball up the floor. He's probably the best I've ever seen it at pitching it ahead. Q. A few weeks ago you had mentioned trying to get Barksdale a few more minutes. I didn't know if that was a response because you only got him 7 against Wake, and you just need to get him in the game more? Certainly you have gotten more minutes in the last few games. Is he a guy that might be able to give you a little low post offensive spark? I know he didn't shoot the way you wanted him to against FSU. But he looked like a guy that has a chance to get to the line a little bit? COACH GREENBERG: Yeah, he's going to be a good player. I like his energy. That's what I like. I think he wants to catch it down there. He's kind of got a cute game. He's got a little feel, a jump hook, a spin move. He's got good hands. He wants to hold his spot. I'm really excited about C.J. Barksdale. I really am. He wants to please. He's got to work on his balance and his closeouts and changing ends of the floor a little bit more efficiently. But he's gotten better and better. He's got a big old body. He's going to be, again, six of our guys are freshmen or basically first time sophomores, and he's one of those of the eight guys we've played this weekend. So I'm excited about C.J. I think his future is really exciting, and I think he can help us right now. Q. You mentioned wanting to play faster, but will that be a fine line Thursday night because that's the way NorthCarolina wants to play and then some? COACH GREENBERG: Yeah, it is. I think you've got to read the advantage and disadvantage and make good decisions. There is no doubt about it. We've got to score some easy baskets, too, and it's hard to grind it out when you've got Henson and Zeller and their length.  So we're going to have to make good decisions on that. We've played these games over the last three or four years and they've always been pretty competitive games and they've always been in that, you know, 66 to 70ish range. But we've also been able to get some easy baskets. We've also been able to have some room and rhythm shots and made some plays in transition. We've just got to make good decisions in transition. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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