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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 14, 2013Jeff BzdelikDevin ThomasGREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA Maryland: 75 THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Wake Forest and Coach Jeff Bzdelik. JEFF BZDELIK: I'm extremely proud of my basketball team and their effort, it was 54‑54 with 9 minutes and whatever seconds left and what we did in the first half to have a lead we didn't do in the second half. Second half we turned the ball over, I believe, nine times and they were bad turnovers, unlike the first half, where we turned the ball over five times and we were more efficient in the first half, giving ourselves a chance. We coupled that with missing free‑throws and the game got away from us there. Questions? Q. Coach, curious, just to get your thoughts on what Maryland did in the second half defensively especially in that 8.5 minute drought without a field goal. JEFF BZDELIK: They were up and into us, we knew they would be. I thought we were just a little careless and just not real sharp offensively. Nothing special. Some of those turnovers were self‑inflicted, just being careless with the ball, loose with the ball, not running through passes. I thought we tried to force a little bit too much on the break, we got stops defensively and then we turned it over unnecessarily on the break, not making good decisions, trying to just force the action too much, instead of just pulling it out and playing off two feet and making short passes, and we wasted some valuable possessions there. When we had opportunity on the break, that's where their defense was set up. Q. Jeff, C.J. Harris, your scholarship senior, he leaves without having an ACC Tournament victory, how disappointing is it to have a guy who has been here so long and not able to come away with an ACC Tournament win? JEFF BZDELIK: We're disappointed for him. He's a terrific young man. He has really just been a great role model for our young players. He represents Wake Forest the way we want it to be represented. And we were disappointed for him. Q. How much did Maryland's defense and taking away C.J. disrupt the flow of the offense in the second half? He didn't hit a field goal and how much does that disrupt what you guys wanted to do on the offensive end and allow Maryland to transition from their defense to their offense? DEVIN THOMAS: I think we got C.J. where we wanted him to get the ball, we were careless with the passes and the fast break and we turned the ball over nine times and those led to fast breaks and when you do that you can't really win the game. Q. Devin can you talk about the disappointment in your first ACC Tournament? JEFF BZDELIK: It's disappointing, it's sad for us and for the Wake Forest, for C.J. not to get a win in tournament play, and for us freshmen that were experiencing it for the first time. We need to stay humble and hungry in the off season. Q. Coach, as the game wound down there were two Wake fans behind you, one screaming at you and the other defending you. What is your message right now to a frustrated fan base? JEFF BZDELIK: That this foundation that we've built is rock solid, with terrific young men and terrific young players and that there is a bright future. You know, we have beaten four out of the top six teams in this league. We've lost in numerous close games. As these young men grow up, get bigger and stronger, they're going to turn those close losses into great wins. They really are. We played well for a good portion of today, but the game got away from us, especially in those final nine minutes. It's a learning experience. There is a great majority of the fans that we hear from that are very, very supportive, it's been reflected in the attendance at our home games and they're behind these young men. These young men are committed to Wake Forest, they're committed to working hard and there is a bright future, the right way. Q. Devin, I think it was a 1‑point game or so when Alex Len went out and that's where they took control. What happened there? DEVIN THOMAS: Like I said before, fast break points, off of rebounds, free‑throw shot rebound, outlet pass. We did a great job stopping Dez Wells in the first half, in transition, and most of his points were all jump shots. We would live with that because he isn't a good jump shooter, except for today, but normally he likes going to the rack, and we weren't going to allow him to go 11 for 12 from the rack again. I think we did a great job on the rebounding and I think we lost by 4 but they didn't get a lot of offensive rebounds. So what it comes down to is missed free‑throws and turnovers in the second half because we were controlling the game in the first half. Q. You guys talked about careless turnovers, nine of them in the second half. What can realistically‑‑ what can you guys do in games when they're starting to put a stop to that and prevent them from continue and go it having a snowball affect? JEFF BZDELIK: You have to be strong with the basketball. We were in the first half, we have been at times throughout the course of this year, so much of this came is from the neck up. There were many times on the break that we just simply left our feet and tried to make a circus pass instead of a solid pass. Just have to be rock solid in your fundamentals, catching, passing, playing off 2 feet. Just hitting guys, throwing the ball to someone who is wearing a Wake Forest Jersey, it's that simple. It might sound corny to you but it's interesting in a conversation with Coach Bob Knight one time he said "I tell my guys to throw it to the guy wearing the same Jersey as you are" and it's that simple. We were leaving our feet, trying to make circus plays. Q. Coach, there was an article about ‑‑ (Away from mic.) JEFF BZDELIK: First of all, I don't read the newspapers or the internet and that's the truth, and I don't watch sports on TV except for games that I need to watch so I've never seen anything, have no clue about what's being said, I don't worry about things I don't have any control over. I just do my job and what I know is this: We have built a really strong foundation without compromising any values or integrity at Wake Forest University and there is a very bright future. Q. Jeff, would you discuss your reasons for starting Codi after mentioning that you were going to start someone else? JEFF BZDELIK: Just that Codi has been starting games and he had strep throat and couldn't make the trip and Virginia Tech game he hadn't practiced much and I started Madison. They both played extremely well. Again, we have such a great group of young guys that they understood and I'm not going to have a young man lose his starting position just because he got sick. It's about playing well when you're in there. They have all bought into that. Q. We've seen this team play very well at times in the season, beat No. 2 in the country, N.C. State in a big game and then we have seen this team play games where they didn't perform so well so when you get down to stats it's like splitting hairs in this conference. What can you do between now and next year to close out games and get the victories that were so close to getting throughout the season and grow into the team with the foundation that you say you've built? DEVIN THOMAS: Like Coach says, just from the neck up it's the mind‑set, half of it's in your mind. When we are at home we have a different mind‑set than when we are on the road. I think next year we will be more comfortable getting to play everywhere, get to go experience every gym in the ACC and understanding Coach's offense a lot better and we will be a lot better understanding the game more and it will slow down for us. JEFF BZDELIK: Just to echo what Devin said, yes, we have been inconsistent, no doubt about it. We need to get stronger, physically, we need to, as Devin said so well, the game will slow down for them and understanding defensive positioning, understanding how to defend offensive situations better. We have to understand the importance of blocking out on every play, being ball strong. We need to get in the gym and really get up lots and lots of shots to be a better shooting team, be a better passing team, and we're going to get to work on that. We'll have a meeting Monday and plan the spring and summer and fall and we're going to go to work and next Octoberis about seven months away. They will be bigger, stronger, wiser, grittier, tougher and they will be more together. That's the process when you have a young basketball team like we have. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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