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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEFebruary 4, 2013Steve DonahueMIKE FINN: We're now joined by Boston College head coach Steve Donahue. We'll bring on coach, ask for a brief opening statement, then go to questions. COACH DONAHUE: Played well on Saturday, probably our most complete game in a long time. I thought we defended really well in the first half. I have great respect for Clemson's defense. We shared it very well, but we made shots that we typically haven't been making, made us look a little better than we were at the time. Really pleased with the effort. I think we're playing better defense, which has been our Achilles' heel. We've been consistent in terms of ball movement and offense. Haven't been making shots like we wished, but for the most part pleased with the offense. We'll continue to try to develop and get better here each and every game. MIKE FINN: Questions for Coach Donahue. Q. So the reward for breaking the losing streak is to go on the road and play an undefeated ACC team. When you played them earlier in Boston, it came down to the wire. What did you do well in that game and is that something you can take on the road and do? COACH DONAHUE: Yeah, I don't know. I've been through these so many times when you play a team for a second time. I did it in my years in the Iveys. You played everybody a second time as a round robin. You'd be amazed. There's no correlation. I think we played with some poise and toughness and guarded very well against obviously a very talented offensive team. They didn't have Reggie Johnson, which I think he is a huge plus for them. Just gives them another weapon inside. We really did a very good job managing the game in terms of shot selection, when to push it, when not to. Obviously you got to do a lot of things well against Miami. If you have a lot of empty possessions on either side of the ball, they really make you pay and can get on a roll. Obviously playing super basketball right now. Q. I know you have two wins in the conference, one at home, one on the road. Overall in the league this year, home teams have been winning 70% of the time, been very dominant. Is that a function of the youth in the league or is there something else going on? COACH DONAHUE: Well, I don't even know, although I think some of the teams are young. There's a lot of veteran teams in this league with upperclassmen. The thing I've been impressed with since I got in the league is the venues which you play at, the advantage the crowds give you at these places. Pretty remarkable. I think that's a credit to these campuses, the athletic departments, the marketing. The excitement when you walk in these buildings, it's difficult. There's no tangible thing you can put your finger on, but there's a sense of discomfort that they put you at. I think it's really difficult to win in these kind of environments. We're trying to develop ours here at Boston College. We're not there yet. But almost every other place you go to has an incredible home‑court advantage. Q. Coach, Shane Larkin was considering coming to BC for a while. How much communication was there and what was that process like? COACH DONAHUE: We recruited Shane very hard. We got him on an official visit. Spent time with his parents, which were great. It didn't work out. It's obviously worked out well for Shane. He's got a great situation where he's at. I just told our guys, I think he's the key to that team. I don't think they necessarily had a point guard last year that really got everybody involved, and Shane wasn't ready for that. But right now you make any mistake on him, everybody else is so dangerous, that's what happens. He drives it and kicks it. You go under a ball screen, he hits it. What other things he does, he creates so much on the defensive end getting steals and easy baskets. Just real impressed with his development and confidence. As I think I said, I think he's the ideal guy for that team. It's worked out well for him. In recruiting, you go through a ton of these guys, meet a lot of different people. I try to keep in mind I hope the kid finds the right spot for him. I think Shane making his way to Miami found the right place. Q. You mentioned about Dennis Clifford trying something last week. What did he try? How did it go? COACH DONAHUE: Well, make no mistake about it, I'm not a doctor. He had a cortisone shot in the knee. It was about a week ago. It usually takes a while to take its course. I think it helped him. I was watching him today. He was moving better. Pain isn't as bad. What you hope is you keep with the therapy, keep working on that condition, it gets better over time. This is something that would hopefully progress and help him with the pain, the flexibility, continue to be doing more aggressive rehab. I think it's worked a little bit, but I don't know if we'll really know for a couple more weeks. Q. Your two freshmen guards are playing 34, 35 minutes a game. Is this a concern for young guys, to put that many minutes in? How have they handled it? COACH DONAHUE: I think it is a concern. I wish I could say and do it any other way. We're going to try to address that with recruiting, developing other guys. I think at times, like Joe Rahon for the last couple games before the last one, I think he was fatigued mentally. It would probably be nice to be that backup freshman point guard to come in and play 15 or 20 minutes at a time. The mental strain. We talked a lot with those guys. I tell them, There's so much on your plate, and you guys both have to play well for us to win. It's asking a lot of you. I really think they've handled it well, but I also do feel it's been a strain. I think where you see some inconsistencies sometimes, it's basically those minutes and the wear and tear. To be honest with you, losing games, not being really successful for your team on top of that is something that really weighs on these kids as well. It's obviously been an up‑and‑down season for us. Their play, though, for the most part far exceeded my expectations. I thought they were both ready. I never would have guessed I'd be able to play them this far, this many minutes, and be this successful their first season. Q. You mentioned the fatigue of losing. Does winning a game, does that provide a shot of adrenaline? COACH DONAHUE: It really does. I think coaches understand. Coaches probably take the losses much harder. But you're able to do, you're sending messages every day as you build a program. The kids don't see the results. You try to tell them, Here is what you're improving, you're doing well. Until they feel good about a win, it's really hard. Now you can go back and show them, This is why we won. There's a little more hop in their step, there's positivity flowing, they feel good about the work they're putting in. It's a huge step. I was so happy we got one of those wins, and now we can continue to learn and develop and try to win the next one. MIKE FINN: Coach, thanks for being with us today. Good luck this week and we'll talk to you next Monday. COACH DONAHUE: Thank you. MIKE FINN: This concludes today's ACC men's basketball coaches teleconference. Please join us next week, next Monday, for another edition beginning at 10:30. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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