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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEFebruary 25, 2013Steve DonahueTHE MODERATOR: We have with us now Boston College head coach Steve Donahue. Coach, a few comments about your team, then we'll open it up for questions. COACH DONAHUE: Thank you. We wrapped up Tuesday our fourth game in nine days. I thought we played really well over those four games, which was a one‑point loss to Duke, a three‑point win to Wake, a three‑point loss to Florida State, and then we beat Maryland by 11. Just was real proud that we were able, with our young group, to go through that stretch. Came out yesterday, did not play well the first 15 minutes versus Duke. I think they had a lot to do with it. They were ready for us. They really guarded us. I thought we were really careless with the ball that led to easy opportunities. We got to learn from it. I thought we played the last 20 minutes really well. Looking forward to another challenge on the road against a very talented NC State team. THE MODERATOR: We'll open it up for questions. Q.  You played NC State, a very competitive game, but that was a little while ago. How much has changed and what do you see that would make this game a different outcome? COACH DONAHUE: I haven't watched too much NC State. I'm sitting right now with my laptop watching some of their stuff. They went through a little stretch with Lorenzo Brown being out, probably didn't help. Teams were gunning for them. I think that's also something that happens in this league if you're not ready for it. Teams can really come after you. They're very talented. It's not the best offensive team in the league, one of them. We have to do a good job. Transition defense is so key because they're just so good at getting the ball up and getting early offense, attacking the rim. Then I think all five guys that you put out on a court can put it in the basket. There's not a lot of weaknesses on the offensive end. We got to do a great job on offense, control the game as we normally do if we're going to win. You can't turn it over, got to get good looks, and you got to make it on the road for sure. Q. There's a huge disparity in this league about how teams play at home and on the road. Most of the responses are that young teams are so much more comfortable at home. You have a young team. You've had a couple of good road performances. Is your team handling the road very well? COACH DONAHUE: Yeah, I think youth does having something to do with it. I've been pretty proud of our road games. Our two bad losses were Miami and Duke, No.1 and No. 2 in the country. I don't think anyone is going in there and necessarily beating those two teams. Went down to the wire at Wake, went down to the wire at Florida State. Felt we played a really good half of basketball at Virginia. Beat a good team in Virginia Tech at Virginia Tech. I think we've been pretty consistent. We don't have a great home‑court advantage maybe like other teams that really make you feel comfortable at home. So there's not a drastic difference right now in our atmospheres that we've been playing in. I thought yesterday's Duke crowd was terrific. Duke was very much ready after we gave them a scare here. But I do think youth has a lot to do with it. There's a lot of things working against you on the road when you're a young team. It's the mindset that the other team senses, as well, that you're young and you're not sure of yourselves. I think that's what you saw yesterday with us. But it probably exists with other teams as well. You don't have a pedigree of success in adverse environments, and it shows itself in a lot of different ways. Q. Your impressions of Rasheed Sulaimon of Duke. What he brings defensively to them. COACH DONAHUE: I've been impressed with Rasheed for most of the year. He's a good all‑around basketball player. I think that's the thing that sticks out at you. He seems a lot more mature than a freshman. He understands the game. There's not a lot of BS to him. He makes plays that he should. There's other plays that he doesn't try to make. I think that's the best thing about him. He's really confident and secure, yet he's not trying stuff he can't do. He's a very good defender with good length. But I thought he was really ready yesterday for sure, as well. Q.  I wanted to ask you about one of your guys. Eddie Odio has seemed to come along in the last eight or nine games or so. His contributions were spotty up until then. He's developed more consistently. I'm sure part of that is because he's getting more minutes because Dennis Clifford can't go. How about his development in the last month or so? COACH DONAHUE: When we recruited Eddie, I was hoping we could get a redshirt year out of him. I didn't necessarily know if he was a three, a four. He played a lot of guard in high school. He grew about two, two and a half inches since the time we recruited him till he got on campus. I thought he needed a year in the weight room. He's done a great job. He was probably 205, now he's more like 220. I think you're going to see another really big growth in his game over the next six to eight months as well. Has a great IQ. Has a really good athleticism to him. I think what you're seeing is a kid who is starting to get confident. He's a very good shooter. We do these five‑minute shooting drills, and he matches any of our guards. He's going to be a good standstill, step‑out four. Then, obviously, with his rebounding and blocking shots, his passing ability, I think it's just a matter of time that he physically consistently can play against the bigs in this league, and the confidence that goes with knowing that you can do it. Q. You mentioned his blocked shots. He leads you in blocked shots in ACC games. One of those guys that has a knack for doing that? COACH DONAHUE: Well, he was a volleyball player growing up. I think they're the best athletes you can have in terms of blocking shots. What he does, he doesn't have a gather. When he blocks shots, he has good length, he goes off of two feet. Even if you're guarding him, he's not a kid that's going to go for every pump fake. He's going to go when the ball is literally released. I think it surprises some of the bigs in this league as they back him into the basket. He's a very good first jumper off of that, then he has a really good second jump in him. I believe they're the best kind of athletes around the rim. They're guys that have a second jump in them quickly. I credit his volleyball background more than anything else with that. THE MODERATOR: Coach, thanks for taking time being with us today. COACH DONAHUE: Thanks for having me. THE MODERATOR: That concludes today's teleconference. Thank you for taking part. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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