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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEFebruary 18, 2013Jeff BzdelikJEFF BZDELIK: Well, obviously very tough week for us. We've got a few just closing seconds losses, one on the road and one at home. This will test the mettle of our young basketball team, but I'm sure they'll respond in a great way. They are great character young men that are excited about our future and excited about getting better and getting back on the winning track. Q. I was wondering, you've had some recent games that have been a little bit more low scoring than earlier in the season. Is that reflective of your defense and an improvement there? JEFF BZDELIK: Yes. We've gotten much better defensively. We've gotten much better rebounding the ball, especially from the defensive end. That's helped us out a lot. We're also trying to do a better job of shot selection. I think also, too, as time goes on, teams, both us and our opponents, lock in. Everybody knows what everybody else is doing. So all these factors play into it. And also, we're trying to score. We've had some great looks, we've had some opportunities, but in the end we just haven't converted, and that's going to happen. But we're getting better at the defensive end, no question about it, better on the boards. Q. Is there an example of a player or two, some of your younger guys who have really caught on to the defensive stuff you guys have been using? JEFF BZDELIK: Well, I just think that, again, a year ago seven of these young men were in high school. Defensive transition, defending situations, catch‑and‑shoots, people coming off screens, ball screen defense, all five players are involved defensively on every play. And in the post, post defense is all five players. You're digging, rotating, doubling down, all those kinds of things that everybody talks about the chemistry from an offensive standpoint, but it's also the chemistry from a defensive standpoint and the transition aspect of it and defending situational kind of possessions in terms of like I just mentioned, ball screens, screen catch‑and‑shoots, posting up, all those kinds of things. It's a work in progress, yes. Q. You guys have a full week to prepare for the game against Miami. Can you talk about any particular emphasis that you guys will stress this week looking ahead to the Miami game? JEFF BZDELIK: Well, I think, number one, first of all, it's‑‑ we need to mainly worry about us and what we're doing and what we can do a better job of. We've been very competitive in games, and I think we've lost six games this year by five points or less. Last week we're one rebound, one lay‑up, one defensive stop away from having a three‑game winning streak. We just need to get better at what we do, offensively, defensively and in transition both ways. I don't want to worry so much about our opponent as I do just doing what we do and getting better at what we do. To be quite frank, we won't worry about Miami until like Thursday, and we just want to spend the beginning part of this week just getting better at what we want to do. That's going to be our focus. Q. I wanted to ask you about Miami, too. This is a team that's not a young team, but they've never been very successful, they've never played in the NCAA Tournament, and all of a sudden they're a national phenomenon, probably going to be second in the poll. When you look at them, what do you see that's transformed them from a middle‑of‑the‑road NIT type team last year to a national contender this year? JEFF BZDELIK: I think they're confident. I really think their swagger. And it was born out of the fact that they just started just winning and finding ways to win. I mean, I don't know what their statistics are, but how many close games have they won? I mean, not even close games in the last second. I just think that they have a great confidence, great swagger, coupled with their experience and coupled with their talent. And Coach Larranaga has done a great job, and they're just a very, very confident group. I believe so much of this game is played from the neck up with one's confidence. They have a great team swagger, great team confidence. It just kind of developed by winning all these close games. You know, they're fearless now with their swagger. I just think that's where they're at right now. Q. You mentioned that you guys are like three plays away from having a three‑game winning streak. I was looking at your record with just a couple plays in close games, y'all could have seven conference wins. They're the exact opposite in that they've won two one‑point games. They won a two‑point game Sunday. Is there a cumulative effect when you‑‑ you just were talking about the swagger and the confidence, but in close‑game situations, is it cumulative either way when you lose maybe you start wondering what's going to happen and lose again, and when you win you always expect to win? Is there anything to that? JEFF BZDELIK: Oh, yeah. I think you're right on, I really do. It goes back to their confidence, that swagger, that feeling of‑‑ that here we go again, or oh, no, here we go again. Yeah, it kind of manifests itself, it really does. It takes a life of its own. You can practice late‑game every day in practice, which we do. I mean, we know what to do, and we just have to see the end result to it. And we've won a couple close games, too, so it's not like we haven't. It all adds up. Miami is a little bit bigger and stronger than most teams, not just our team but most teams because of their experience and their age, their physicality. It can change, one shot can change everything real quick. Everybody's state of mind is for the most part fragile in that regard. We can hit a big shot, and all of a sudden we feel that, and they can miss a big shot or a timely stop, and all of a sudden they start feeling that, as well, one way or the other. The competitive spirit is tested in each one of us. It's what makes you win games or lose games. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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