|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEMarch 4, 2013James JohnsonJAMES JOHNSON: Well, obviously we're coming off a very good win here senior night versus Clemson. We're headed down to Durham to play a very good Duke team with a very good player in Ryan Kelly being back. We've got the end of season here with two road games here at Duke and at Wake Forest. Q. You've played these guys once obviously, and they really got the better of you. Now with Kelly back, how much better do you think they are right now? JAMES JOHNSON: Well, I mean, they're a very good team, but with Kelly back, of course it gives them another guy that can stretch the floor, stretch your defense with him being able to shoot the three from deep. That opens things up for drives with Cook and Sulaimon and Curry, that opens things up for Plumlee inside, also. He's a guy that you've got to guard him out to 23, 24 feet. So he makes them a lot better. Q. In the first match‑up obviously Seth Curry had the big game and you switched Erick on to him. As you go into this game would you like to avoid using Erick in that defensive assignment? JAMES JOHNSON: Definitely. Erick is going to have to expend too much energy on the offensive end of the floor, so we're not looking at that match‑up early in the game. There will be times where we'll put Green on Curry, but we're not looking at that match‑up. Q. To continue with Ryan Kelly, obviously since you didn't have to face him the first time, how tough a match‑up is he going to be for you, and who draws that assignment? JAMES JOHNSON: Well, he's a 4. Our 4 is going to draw that assignment. It'll probably be CJ Barksdale who's playing at a high level right now, and he'll have to do the job like Marshall would and get a little bit of assignment on him, and then we could play big some and we'll put Cadarian Raines on him and put van Zegeren inside on Plumlee, so we've got a few different options for him. We'll try to mix it up on him a little bit and different guys will guard him in different ways. Q. What's the message to your team in terms of what you have to do better in the second meeting with Duke versus the first meeting? JAMES JOHNSON: We've got to defend. We've got to defend. Offensively I thought we did a pretty decent job. I thought Raines gave us an inside presence down there, he had 10 points, and I thought Barksdale played pretty well at 14 and 8, and Green of course hit his 22. But we've got to defend. He shot 53 from the floor, they shot 73 percent from the three‑point line and scored 88 points. We've got to do a better job of defending. Q. Were you a little taken a little aback with the struggles defensively in that Duke game because even during that losing streak you were pretty competitive in almost every game but they came out and punched you in the mouth there? JAMES JOHNSON: No, I wasn't taken aback. They were coming off a loss there, and I knew they would come out and be ready to play. Curry did not‑‑ he hadn't played well in recent games, and I knew he would come out and be ready to play his last game right there at Cassell, so I wasn't taken aback at all. I knew they'd come out and be ready to play, and I knew we'd have to come out and defend. Q. For a young guy like Marshall that hasn't played in Cameron before, what's the message to him about getting ready for that environment? JAMES JOHNSON: No message. He's played in ACC venues. I mean, that's not an issue. We're not going to address that. We're going to play basketball. Q. You mentioned the win on senior night. Erick only taking 12 shots and having such an efficient game in his final outing there, it just seems he would have been so tempted to try more shots and enforce more opportunities. What did that performance tell you about him and the season he's had? JAMES JOHNSON: It sums his whole season up in one game, what type of player he is and what type of kid he is. He'd much rather have the win. He makes the right decisions as a basketball player, the right decisions as a point guard. If that means shoot the three, I'll take the three; if that means use my middle game, if that means make the pass off over to the big man or kick it out for a three. And that's how it's been all year long. Again, there's times where I look at it and I think he should be a little bit more aggressive or needs to be a little bit more aggressive, but he makes the right basketball play. Very unselfish young man. Q. What have the NBA types who have been through your building for practices and games told you about his draft stock? JAMES JOHNSON: Well, they just‑‑ it's going to come down to things that he does. He's definitely improved it with the season that he's had. He's definitely improved it, but it's going to come down to things that he does in the postseason and these camps and things that he goes to. But he's definitely improved it. They've seen a lot, the unselfishness, the ability to pass the ball, the ability to score the ball in different areas, the ability to defend. They like his length, his size and length for a point guard. So he's got a lot of things going for him right now. But I haven't talked to him about that at all, and he's just concentrating on finishing up the season strong for us. Q. I was wondering if I could take a little bit of a different turn. Allan Chaney is a guy who's spent time in a couple different programs and has had a health issue and is now playing well for High Point. I was wondering if you could share a little bit about him and just maybe your thoughts on where he's come from and where he is now. JAMES JOHNSON: Well, I'm happy to see the young man having an opportunity to play the sport that he loves, and he loves basketball. He's a great kid. He's a basketball junkie. He talks basketball, he works on his game, he watches basketball. I'm just happy to see him getting an opportunity to play and having a good year. His team is having a good year. Just happy to see that young man. He's a good kid. Q. You mentioned CJ earlier. What's he doing differently these last few weeks? I know back in September you sat him down. Has his attitude changed? What is it that's sparked his surge here recently? JAMES JOHNSON: Well, I don't think of that. He's always had a good attitude toward that. I think his energy and his effort has changed, and I think he's putting more time in outside of practice time in the gym and working on his game. I think those are the things that have changed and is carrying over to his game and play. I think he's just playing harder, he's playing with a lot more energy, getting to the offensive glass, he's getting in the gym, working on his game, and I think it's just carrying over right now. Q. I'm trying to put together some info to pick an all‑ACC defensive team and just looking for some input. Can you give me just a sense of two or three guys you've seen around the league that have really impressed you defensively? JAMES JOHNSON: Well, I think Durand Scott down in Miami is a really good defender. I think Joe Harris at Virginia is a really good defender, as is their entire team, of course. I think Tyler Thornton down at Duke is a really good defender. I think Stricklen at Carolina is a really good defender. I think those guys got to stand out to me right now. Alex Len at Maryland with his ability to block the shots; Day, as well, at Maryland, are really good defenders. Those guys right now stand out to me. Q. How about with your own team? Are there one or two guys that have been your defensive anchors? JAMES JOHNSON: Well, I think our guy‑‑ it's hard for‑‑ my best defender it's hard for me‑‑ he's doing so much on the offensive end, he's a guy that could possibly be a lock‑down defender, but I've got to make sure they're up in spots and play them in certain situations, our guys, but that's something we've been searching for all year long, and we're trying to develop some guys into that. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|