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CBS SPORTS CLASSICDecember 23, 2017Chris HoltmannKeita Bates-DiopC.J. JacksonNew Orleans, La. UNC - 86 OSU - 72 CHRIS HOLTMANN: Give North Carolina credit, what I thought they really made shots in the middle part of the first half. We had some defensive lapses, but give them credit for making those plays, particularly in the, in that stretch in the first half when they got loose for a couple. Obviously Felton hit four on the game, hit a couple in that stretch, so that broke it open a little bit and we could never get back within striking distance. So give them credit, we'll learn from this and move on, just pleased with how our guys continued to battle and compete. Q. C.J., you were running the point and carrying the offense. What did you see early on? Was that something that you were taking advantage of or was that the game plan? C.J. JACKSON: No, not at all. My teammates just found me in the right spots pretty much, just kind of taking what the defense gave me the in beginning. Q. Keita, after two fouls in the first or in the first few minutes, kind of what was your kind of mindset change, especially going to the bench early on? KEITA BATES-DIOP: Just to stay focused and stay engaged, talk to the guys that are out there, still be involved in the game. Just because I have two fouls, I'm on the bench, doesn't mean I can't impact the game in some way. Q. You guys talked we saw you earlier about trying to take advantage of the stage and the opportunity and you guys played hard, but it obviously didn't click for you guys today. Why do you think you weren't able to pull this out? KEITA BATES-DIOP: Like coach said, it was a span in the first half where they kind of took control and they took a larger lead on us. I think we tied them in the second half. So it was that moment or those moments in the first half where we got to play for a full 40 minutes against a team like that or else they will take advantage of like they did, so credit to them. Q. C.J., in the first few minutes of this game it seemed like you were kind of the offensive kind of person or the guy making the majority of the shots. Was that just guys finding you with open looks or did you just kind of, were you feeling it early on or what was kind of going through your head, especially early on when you were the only one scoring? C.J. JACKSON: Like I said earlier, kind of just what the defense was taking, I was just kind of out there being aggressive, kind of just giving what the defense gave me. I was open for a couple of shots and I knew Keita went down a little early, so I had to be a little bit more aggressive than usual. Q. How does this loss feel different than those two earlier losses? KEITA BATES-DIOP: I feel we competed a little bit harder, for a more consistent period of time. In those other games you could tell when you watch the film that we weren't doing what we should have done. For most of the game we did what we should have done and like I said it was just that first half, that six, seven minutes, where they got on a run, got on a roll and we couldn't recover. Q. For both of the players. You guys had three offensive rebounds. Was it a matter of them shooting a lot of outside shots and just unpredictable rebounds or was there just something going on where you guys weren't able to clamp down on those? On the offensive rebounds. KEITA BATES-DIOP: They're a good defensive rebounding team. All five crash and are willing to grab boards, but a part of our thing is to get back on transition, so we find some one and two back. Q. C.J., being from Charlotte, did this game mean anything extra to you? Was this a program that you were watching and cheering for all your life and what's your relationship like with Carolina? C.J. JACKSON: I just treat this like any other game I would, it wasn't like any hard feelings towards them or nothing, I just wanted to come out and get the win for my team and do whatever it took to win and we kind of fell short today. Q. Is Carolina a team you cared about as a kid? C.J. JACKSON: No, not really. Q. How much did the early foul trouble for Keita affect the game? CHRIS HOLTMANN: Well, yeah, he's pretty important to us, as you know. I didn't get a good read on his first foul, his second one was probably a hand check, so that hasn't happened obviously much this year, it hasn't happened really in any critical game, but when you're losing a guy as important to us as Keita is, you're going to feel it and we felt it. I put him back in there for a stretch, in the first half, but he certainly wasn't able to play his normal minutes there in the first half and I'm sure that was a factor in them stretching the lead. Q. How important was he especially in the second half when in keeping up with North Carolina especially tying it up 45-45 in the second half, how important was it him getting minutes? CHRIS HOLTMANN: Well he was good. We're different when we can play him and J.T. their typical minutes, which we were able to do in the second half versus the first half. I think everybody understands that there they're our two most critical players and he's really, really important to us as we all know. So yeah, it was good, we just cut it to 10 and they got a couple offensive rebounds in that one possession, we just couldn't ever get it to real striking distance, unfortunately. Q. Even though kind of the first half run, at the end of the first half they kind of made a run that was very difficult to come back from, but especially in the second half how meaningful is kind of tying a team like North Carolina, especially offensively, how important is it for the team to put up 45 points against North Carolina? CHRIS HOLTMANN: Well, I thought we did some good things and executed at times well against their pressure, which was good to see. And I think we had nine turnovers, I believe, in the first half and had five in the second half, so we took better care of the ball had higher quality possessions. We just, your margin for error is really, really thin when you're, when you got a 14-point deficit and again, we just couldn't ever break to get it to like a two possession game. But I was pleased with how we completed the game, including the last five or six minutes, I was pleased with that. But we have got a lot to take from that segment in the first half and we have got a lot to learn. Q. Micah played eight minutes in the game before half, was he still feeling the effects of the injury, was he limited, was it just not the flow not going there and Kyle Young left the court and went back to the locker room and immediately reappeared what's his status as well? CHRIS HOLTMANN: Yeah, Kyle got poked in the eye. Micah is fine. Kyle got poked in the eye and lost vision for a little bit. So we had to get him out. I wasn't sure, but he had really trouble seeing. So he was able to go, I think it just shook him up because he really couldn't see out of one eye for a little bit. Q. You talk about that stretch in the first half, the way they hit those threes, was that something that they are doing, is that something you weren't doing, they hit some threes, but they're not really a predominantly three-point shooting team. CHRIS HOLTMANN: They're not. I think the kid who hit them was 7-20 on the year. But he came in and gave them a big lift, Felton did, and they, in there. A lot of it came out of their motion and their typical screening actions one time in that as well, so -- and then obviously one we had a transition breakdown on another one. So when your margin for error is really, really razor thin, you just have to be able to eliminate those kind of stretches. Q. The way that C.J. came out and played early for you, talk about what he did and how he was able to help bridge the gap with the early foul trouble. CHRIS HOLTMANN: Well, he's been able to play really effectively for us for most of the year, I think in scoring the ball. His assists, he had two assists, three turnovers. He turned it over, had a couple there in that stretch in the first half that really hurt us. But I was pleased with his ability to defend his position and to make open shots. We desperately need that and he steadied us a little bit when we had, when we were down a couple guys. So that was good to see. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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