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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTMarch 1, 2018Sylvia HatchellParis KeaGreensboro, North Carolina NC State 77, North Carolina 64 . SYLVIA HATCHELL: Really good game but we'll keep working and getting better and get some kids out there and we'll be back. Q. You've got almost everybody back for next year, but one player you don't have back in Jamie Cherry. What would you say to her if she were here right now? SYLVIA HATCHELL: Well, first of all, she's a really good kid. Appreciate how much -- the hard work that she's put in, and you know, I said this the other day. You know, we've been through a lot the last the last few years, and on June 4 when the allegations were dropped on women's basketball, it was pretty rough, and a lot of our best players took off because they can you tell we were going to go on probation and lots of bad things were going to happen that did not happen. The truth came out and everything's fine, and now our future looks tremendous. But Jamie is one of those that hung in there with us. She didn't tuck her tail and run and she loves Carolina, loves playing at Carolina, and she's just worked her behind off the past few years. I think she probably leads the country in minutes played because we had not had a lot of depth but she's battled hard and just a really great kid, from a wonderful family. And again, I appreciate her loyalty and her love for University of North Carolina and just what a great kid she's been for us the last few years. Q. There were a lot of just missed opportunity offensively and defensively, were there any that stick out to you? SYLVIA HATCHELL: Yeah, we had a couple runs there where we missed a couple easy shots around the basket. We missed an open three. We had a couple times, we had the break away. We had two or three opportunities if we could just make a couple baskets, and then it was down to like six, eight points. We could have made a couple of those buckets and got it down to two or three points, and then I think we would have really gotten an extra spurt of energy. Because when we've played in close games this year, especially the last four or five minutes, we've played well. I think we're like 6-2 in close games like that. But I thought we had some good looks and good opportunities, and probably us playing yesterday, you know, could have had a little bit to do with that. I don't know, but I do think that we played really hard and our kids battled out there, but we did have -- I thought we had some really good looks. If those could have done down, and like I said, I thought when Janelle got the technical, because she was playing well and she was scoring and everything like that. So you know, and Janelle, she's a really good kid. She's a competitor. She's the nicest kid in the world. She just competes out there, you know. But I want her to keep competing like she does. I want her to still keep having that competitiveness and that firepower, because as she plays, she'll be gaining more respect out there on the court from everybody, and you know, I think actually what paid off today will probably help her in the long run and she's just going to keep getting better and better. So I was just proud of the effort our team gave today and how hard they have played, and if a few more buckets had gone down, we'd be celebrating right now and getting ready to play Duke tomorrow. Q. Paris, you had six of your points in the second half, were you seeing different things defensively or did you just get tired playing so many minutes? What was going on for you? Pair? PARIS KEA: They changed their defense a little bit. They started face guarding me. That's when I got the back door from Jamie who is wide open. Down the stretch, I missed a lot of open shots. Q. Aside from just the returning talent you guys have next year, what have you learned about this team that's encouraged you about their mindset for next year? SYLVIA HATCHELL: Well, first of all, it's been a joy to coach these kids. I mean, they are really, really good kid. Our chemistry has been tremendous all year, and it even is right now. You know, so that's what we're so looking forward to. We are losing Jamie, but Paris being back and just what she's done this year, and her being, again, our only senior next year on the team, and then having Stephanie Watts and Destinee back will make a major difference. Janelle will get better over the summer, as well and then we've got the top two junior college players in the country coming in. One is a point guard and then the other is about a 6-2 4-player. That's one of the areas that we need. We're bringing in what we need, plus with Destinee and Stephanie back, and then we have a couple other kids coming in, Claudia Dickey, she's out of the Charlotte area and she's a big-time soccer player, as well as basketball player. You know, I'm really looking forward to the future and the kids that we've got coming in, and just the improvement that these other kids will make over the summer. But they fought hard. They have battled hard. Our last couple weeks, we've really battled hard against some really good teams. Had a chance to beat Louisville who is the No. 1 seed here and Syracuse, as well. So we've just -- the depth, the lack of experience, and the depth at times, at crucial times has hurt us but we've really improved tremendously and like I said, I'm excited about the team that we have in place for next year. Q. Can you give us an idea, your opinion on tomorrow, Duke and State? SYLVIA HATCHELL: I don't know. This time tomorrow afternoon, I'll be at Billy Graham's funeral. I was hoping that I wouldn't be because I was wanting to play tomorrow. But I don't know. They are both outstanding teams. I mean, Duke's got shooters and they are pretty doggone good when they get rolling, too. State's athletic. They are physical and they are athletic, and their No. 1 is a tremendous shooter. They puts them on another level I think. Two things, her shooting, outside shooting puts them on another level, but also, I think their athleticism really makes them a very good defensive team. I mean, it could go either way. I really -- I've looked at scouting reports on both of them because we played both of them the last couple weeks, you know. They are different, different kind of teams. But it will be interesting to see what happens. A lot of good games left in this tournament. Q. Do you think that it's an advantage for North Carolina teams to play here, and do you think the tournament should move around? SYLVIA HATCHELL: Well, I don't think it should move around because I don't know who is going to do a better job than Greensboro. Last year at the Beach, it was great. They did a great job, but just the arena was not big enough. If they had a facility like here in Greensboro, you know, the Beach might be better because there's great hotels down there and great restaurants and so many things for the fans to do and everything like that. But Greensboro does a great job. They have been other places, Independence Arena, Rock Hill, South Carolina, Fayetteville. I've played in all the places and they have all done an outstanding job, especially the hospitality folks. But as far as the facility and set up and all, of course, the ACC office, we're staying right next door to it at Grandover and the Greensboro Sports Council. If you know anything about basketball, when you hear of Greensboro, you think of tournament town, whether it's men or women's basketball or whatever. But they just do such a great job here. You know, we're fortunate that we're an hour away. I was looking in the program book yesterday, and I was looking at the attendance over the years, and I was looking at who played in the championships. We've been there. So when the attendance has been good, it's been us and lots of times Duke, whenever this place has been sold out for ACC women's basketball. So you know, this is a big Carolina area. A lot of graduates, but I love playing here because I love Greensboro, Carolina, our alumni here, being close to home. So I'm a little biased. Maybe you ask some of the Notre Dame people or Louisville or Syracuse, some of them, they probably just would say it needs to move around. You look at some of the other tournaments that have moved around, and I don't think it's really helped them. I mean, I've been to a lot of the men's tournaments through the years. I go, not every year, but I go a lot, and you know, I mean, I don't know -- I don't think you can do much better than Greensboro. But I know that a lot of that's political and everything like that. So I understand why they move around. But it's hard to beat Greensboro. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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