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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEJanuary 21, 2013James JohnsonCOACH JOHNSON: I think our guys are coming off another good win. All wins are good. But we found a way, didn't play great basketball for both halves, but we found a way to pull a victory out, which we've done the last couple of games. I think we're improving in spots and still have room to get better. Q. I don't know how much, if any, tape you've looked at on Virginia at this stage. It's hardly big news that they play good defense, but 36 points on Saturday against Florida State is historically low in the shot clock. What do you see from them defensively right now? COACH JOHNSON: Well, they're going to keep the basketball in front of them. First of all, their transition defense is very good. So getting back, getting the easy baskets on them is going to be very difficult. They protect the paint, keep the basketball in front of them, so penetrating the defense, whether it be dribble on dribble or the pass is going to be very difficult. They keep the basketball in front of them, and then force you to make contested jump shots. Q. Evans is the one most of us focus on with their defense. But it's got to be some other guys who are pretty effective on that end too. COACH JOHNSON: I think all of that starts with he have ins and his ability to put some pressure on the basketball. He's strong, he's quick, he's athletic. All those guys are big guards. They're strong and physical, and they keep the ball in front of you. Then they've got a lot of hands action‑‑ what we call hands. They don't let you get a direct look to the basket on direct passes. They've got their hands up. They play with a lot of hands and a lot of size there. They've got the very good help‑side defense also where they're low to the ball. They're not going to give up too much space on drives. Then if you post, they do trap, they take the basketball out of the post guys hands there. Q. Do you anticipate them doing much like Wake did another day in trying to trap Erick off ball screens? COACH JOHNSON: I do. I've seen that in some of the films that we've watched, so I do anticipate them trapping Erick Green and trying to get the basketball out of his hands, yeah. Q. When you decided to go to the up‑tempo style when you first took over the program, did you do that with‑‑ do you think about it at all the contrast in styles now that these two in‑state programs have? You sort of emphasizing pushing the ball, and they don't, I guess, emphasize slowing it down, but they play a more methodical style. You've been around the rivalry for a while now. Do you think that adds to it, the fact that you guys now have kind of adopted and basically completing contrasting styles? COACH JOHNSON: No, no. I don't think either guy ‑‑ that's something that Tony has played basically all his coaching career, that's the way he's played, and that's the way I envision playing when I became a head coach. So it didn't have no thoughts with how they played up the road there. We're just trying to play the way that I would like to play, and try to play to the strengths of what we have here on this team. Q. In your‑‑ I guess it was five years, I guess, as an assistant coach, what are your impressions of Virginia‑Virginia Tech game? COACH JOHNSON: Oh, no matter what the records are for either team, it's going to be a game. It's going to be a grind‑it‑out, tough, physical, hard‑fought, competitive game so you may as well strap it on and get ready to play, regardless of the records. They're going in last year to the game up there where they haven't won a league game. And that was our first league win up there on the road, and they came back and beat us here at our place. Throw the records out. Home or away, and you're going to get the best effort from both teams, I think. Q. I guess Marshall's going to be cleared this week for the UVA game? COACH JOHNSON: I haven't heard. He is doing more things in practice, but I haven't heard if he's going to be ready to go or not. I would say it's a long shot, but don't know anything yet. Q. Concerning UVA's defense and just their overall style, what do we think Thursday, the first team to 60 points wins the game, I guess? 50 points wins? Is this going to be kind of a tough game for the fans to watch in terms of not as entertaining, I guess? COACH JOHNSON: Well, I think both teams are going to try. They're going to play their style of game where they want the possessions low. They're going to play great defense. They're going to be very methodical and very smart on offense. Don't get me wrong. They'll push the ball in spots and they'll get out and get easy baskets also. But they want‑‑ in the half court, they're going to get it to their particular guy. They'll get the ball where they want to get it, when they want to get it, and they'll take the shot that they want. And we'll try to rebound the basketball and get out and run and try to get some easy baskets like we've been trying to do all season. So I think both kids are going to try to play the way that they play. Q. As someone who has been around the league for a couple of years, in your mind, is there anything to account for what's been kind of a drop in overall scoring in league play this year? Couple halftime scores below 20 and stuff like that this year. Then the second part is are you seeing more widespread parity in the league, top to bottom, kind of any team can beat any team on a given basis? Or is that something that's always been there in your mind? COACH JOHNSON: I think we're college basketball in general. You have to come ready to play every single night. That's just how it is. You've got very good coaches in this league, and teams are game planning, and the defenses are good. I think with the low scores, I think that's coming from the game planning and the scouting report, and guys taking certain guys away and trying to make other guys beat them or make other guys force to do things that they haven't done. Then your parity is in the league, and I think it's early in the conference season. I think guys are still feeling guys out. It's a young league. We've got a lot of young teams in the league, a lot of young guys. So I think that has a little bit to do with it too. I think you'll see the support come up a little bit as the season goes on. Q. Just a follow‑up, if you don't mind. Have you seen teams become more defensive minded in the past year? COACH JOHNSON: I think the league has been a very good defense and defensive league anyway. Like I said, I think the league is young. I think the league is young. You put a lot of young players out there on the floor, and the inconsistency with certain guys that you can't see that. Q. I wanted to ask you about Erick Green. Leading the nation in scoring, which is something nobody in the ACC has done for 50‑some years. Can you talk about the defenses he's facing or is he starting? He carries so much of your offensive load. Is he starting to get a lot of special or odd defensive attention? COACH JOHNSON: I don't know if it's a lot of special or odd defensive attention, but he's getting a lot of defensive attention. It's coming from different ways every game. The teams are scheming on him, and just like in football when a quarterback is showing him different blitzes, as they would say in football. But he's seen a lot of different defenses, and sometimes like it took him a while to recognize and see what was going on. How to handle it. So I don't think it's anything he hasn't seen. He's just got to adjust every game to the way teams are playing him. He's doing a good job of that. He's doing a good job. He's doing a good job of picking his spots when he can score. Picking his spots to get his other teammates involved, too. Q. You've seen him mature since his freshman year when you're on the staff there. What's changed with him to make him such a dynamic scorer? COACH JOHNSON: Well, I think his decision making. I mean, he knows when to use the three ball. He know when's to get in and use the middle game. He knows when to go all the way to the basket. He's attacking a little bit more in transition. He's become a smarter player with reading defenses and that comes from watching tape and studying game film and studying opponents and studying himself. I think he's trusting his teammates around him a little more too, as evidenced by his almost four assists a game. So I think he's‑‑ all of that is going into him being a much better player over the years. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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