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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEJanuary 28, 2013Brad BrownellCOACH BROWNELL: Really proud of the way our guys played yesterday coming off a good win against Virginia Tech. Certainly Damarcus Harrison played much better than he's played all year, which was good to see. He made some shots for us. K.J. McDaniels shot the ball well from three, and Milton had a great game both scoring and making clutch free throws and rebounding the ball. So it was a good win for us. Obviously, a very quick turn around here in preparation for Georgia Tech. Q. With the kind of game that Milton had, not that it necessarily has to be 28‑14 every time out, but since he is in his senior season, can he maintain a high level like that the rest of the season and really help carry you guys? COACH BROWNELL: Well, I don't know. That's been the big question with Milt, really, since he's come to Clemson. There have certainly been some very good signs against Virginia. He played very well. We had a nice win. Other nights he's either gotten into some foul trouble, maybe hasn't hit off to a good start and hasn't been able to bounce back and play the way that we all know he can at times. That's the big question. He plays consistently well, and he's very impressive. He can be a very good player in this league, and he's shown it at times. He's had trouble at times also being able to do it night‑in and night‑out. You certainly want that from guys of his age. He's a senior now, and a guy that's been through some battles for a couple of years. He needs to play with that kind of consistency to give our team the best chance to win. Q.  It seems funny to ask about a senior. But is it a matter of confidence with him to any extent? COACH BROWNELL: A little bit. I think Milt has come to Clemson with a lot of expectations and gotten some criticism sometimes that maybe isn't always deserved. Some people blame a lot of things on him. So I think he deals with more pressure than a lot of people. He's an emotional kid. He's a guy that really cares about our team and doing well. He works really hard every day at it, but there are days he gets down on himself. And there are days that things bother him and it probably certainly affects his play. He's just one of those guys that it's hard for him sometimes to just stay as even keel as you would like. So sometimes when that happens you can lose some things, perspective, and he struggles a little bit. Other times he's really good. He's had some games, not only this year, but in years past, that have been high‑level games. Double‑doubles against very good competition. Some of the best teams in our league. I do think confidence is a part of all of that and him dealing with the pressure and just feeling comfortable and confident with what he's doing. Q. I wonder if you could share your thoughts on a guy that doesn't necessarily show numbers on the team, or a guy or two that does some stuff that doesn't always show up in the box score, but is a big part of the success that you guys have? COACH BROWNELL: I think Rod Hall is probably one of those guys for us on this year's team. He's not a high‑level scorer. But obviously that's what people generally look at in a lot of ways. He's a very good defender. Has done a very good job this year. He and Damarcus Harrison are both guarding the best players on the perimeter we've faced night‑in and night‑out, and those guys have done a good job of holding most of those guys to points below their average. I think the other thing Rod does is he's a tremendous passer. He's a very unselfish player. He's a guy that consistently is looking to get other people shots. He has good assists numbers. He doesn't have great assist numbers. But a lot of times he's got a lot of hockey assists. He's got the pass that leads to a pass that leads to a basket. He plays a very good poise. Our guys have a great deal of confidence in him. He's very tough‑minded, a very tough, physical player. So his personality is kind of what we want from Clemson basketball. I think he's probably an underrated player on our team. Q. You guys have one of the best home ACC winning percentages in ACC history. You have a better ACC home winning percentage than Mike Krzyzewski or Roy Williams. And yet you've really struggled on the road. What is it about, is Littlejohn that much of a Snake pit or is there something else that's going on here? COACH BROWNELL: You know what, I don't know. I didn't know those stats and I find it hard to believe because we've lost some games here in the last couple of years at home. But it is a good place to play. There is no doubt about it. I do think our fans are certainly into the game. I think we have good student followings, so our students are behind both baskets and certainly provide our team with a good deal of energy. I don't know. Obviously, I've only been here a couple of years, so I can't speak to‑‑ I've had very little to do with all the history of it. Certainly Coach Krzyzewski has been in his place for 30‑plus years or whatever. So that's certainly a different deal. But I do think it's a difficult place to play. It's a very positive home court, and I think our guys enjoy playing here. Q. Is that an explanation why your guys have been so much more successful at home? You have struggled on the road. COACH BROWNELL: You're trying to butter me up with some nice comments about us being good at home, but we suck on the road? Q. Well, your biggest differential between home success and road success in the ACC? COACH BROWNELL: I wish I knew the answer to that. It's ironic, because last week we played two games on the road and we played really well. With two minutes to go, we're tied with N.C. State, and N.C. State has a chance to win. We controlled most of the game at Florida State and had a bad last possession, and they banked in a 30 footer to beat us. So we played well in both games. We don't have anything to show for it, but we played pretty well. Having said that, we've had outings that we didn't play well. And some of it is getting a little younger team. I'm sure our guys will become a little unsettled, especially offensively on the road. Maybe don't play with quite as much confidence. I know we don't shoot the ball quite as well at times. Milt hasn't played as well away from home this year, and that's been a problem. So I can't pinpoint one thing, but I would imagine that it's not that uncommon in college basketball for teams to struggle on the road. But we're certainly one of those teams that is doing it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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