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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEFebruary 20, 2012Brad BrownellBRAD BROWNELL: Coming off a tough game at North Carolina, obviously played reasonably well for about 30 minutes and then had a bad stretch there where the game got away from us. North Carolina scored late. Heading down to Georgia Tech tomorrow, watching those guys, they seem to play very well in their game at Virginia Tech and really had the game won, except for a last‑second mistake by one of their kids on an in‑bounds play. I thought their kids played extremely well, maybe four or five guys with double figures. So I thought they played with great balance. Maybe better balance than they have without Glen Rice. Q. You've been competitive in almost every game but you said you were competitive for about 30 minutes. But North Carolina presents a lot of people problems because with that front nine and great passing; do they stand out as the most talented team in the league or the most difficult, or is it just a bad week? BRAD BROWNELL: I think they are probably the most talented, especially physically. Their length and size is very difficult to deal with on both ends of the court. You know, they get more easy baskets than most teams because of how they are in transition. . You have to use a lot of your‑‑ you've got to pay so much attention defensively to get back that you don't maybe go to the offensive boards as much or as hard. And so you're not getting second shots very often. They are getting some second shots because of their size and length. And it's funny, the first two baskets they got I think were offensive rebounds, two of their first three baskets were offensive rebounds and in both situation, one, we were blocking a kid out and it just bounced in a different spot and another one was kind of a similar situation where it's a longer rebound and led to a dunk. It's just like you can guard them and do well, and then all of a sudden you still maybe don't get the rebound. They make you pay. And I think defensively, they are improved, and it's hard to score against them around the basket because of their length and size. You know, and then Kevin Marshall I think is a terrific player, and certainly in my mind the best point guard in the league. Q. I was going to ask you about that, he's on a pace to set single‑season records in the ACC; is it his skill or the fact that he has so many quality players to throw it to? BRAD BROWNELL: Well, it helps; the more options you have, it helps. Having said that, he still makes some remarkable passes and plays that other point guards just aren't making. I think his size gives him great vision. I think he's a little quicker than people realize. I think he's deceptively quick and he's quicker with the ball than people realize, especially in transition. And then obviously his vision allows him to make 30‑ and 40‑foot passes that, you know, that lead the basket. I think it's a combination; I don't think it's just that he has really good players around him. I think that's part of it, but I think more of it is his ability as a player. Q. I wanted to ask you about the freshmen class and making decisions for the future of the program versus for the immediate impact of the program. Does there come a point where you say, well, I need to play this guy because it's going to help down the road even if it might hurt us immediately, or we need to play a certain way? BRAD BROWNELL: Yeah, I know what you're getting at. I'm certainly not just playing a kid at the expense of losing the game. That's not fair to the older guys in the program. Having said that, you know, there are certainly situations where you're looking to put your freshmen or your young guys in situations that they need to be and seeing how they sink or swim a little bit. But it's a little bit of a challenge in that way. This year, we have got four seniors, two juniors, no sophomores and five freshmen. So there's a big age discrepancy in our team. There's guys that are 21, 22 years old and there's a bunch of kids that are 18. It's been a delicate balance. Next year is going to be even more difficult with ten freshmen and sophomore, at least. So I'm not trying to make decisions on the future based on a lot of subbing in games or things of that nature. We are playing guys that we think can help us win the game but at the same time I think we are trying to do more things with our freshmen maybe in practice, extra work, different things of that nature, because they need it. They can handle it, and we know that that's going to be necessary for next year and in the future. Q. You'll be playing in Phillips Arena, which in a couple of weeks you'll be going back for the ACC Tournament. Is there anything that you can gain from this experience bes just the game there that may benefit you for the tournament? BRAD BROWNELL: Oh, I don't know. If you play well and guys shoot the ball well, then maybe you can take some positive vibes from that, having been in the arena a month or less than a month before you come back for the ACC Tournament. But the ACC Tournament will be much different in terms of crowd, things of that nature. So I don't know, other than knowing where the locker room is maybe. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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