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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 13, 2014Boris BojanovskyLeonard HamiltonIan MillerAaron ThomasGREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA Florida State – 65 COACH HAMILTON: Maryland was a very difficult game for us to prepare for because they've got two powerful guys inside. They have three guys that can really take the ball off the dribble in Wells and Faust and Allen. And then what you normally have is some good perimeter shooters so they test all your defensive principles. First half they had seven threes and obviously it concerned us. I think they got one the second half. I think it probably made the biggest difference. They had a couple good looks. The ball ‑‑ shots just didn't fall so we were very fortunate. I thought our guys fought very hard and we did a good job of executing in second half, a lot better than we did in the first half. First part of the game I think we had five unforced turnovers and we gave up, I think, four or five offensive rebounds in the first half, and they had scored on at least three of those offensive rebounds. I thought we did a much better job in the second half. When they missed, we got rebounds, and I thought we did a much better job of executing and being patient. I looked down and saw we had 19 turnovers, but I still thought that we executed very well, especially down the stretch. Q. Coach, congratulations on the victory. I was wondering if you could take just a second and talk about the final play as far as how it was set up and how it looked to you from your seat? COACH HAMILTON: Well, what we wanted to do was run a double house screen, and we just didn't want to call a timeout. They didn't have any more timeouts and it allowed them to set the defense to tell them to do what we already told them to do in the first place, so I thought our guys showed a lot of patience. And I thought Ian showed a lot of experience being a senior. He was very patient, and we got the double ball screen with just enough time on the clock for us to get one shot up maybe and a rebound. That's what the plan was. When Ian came off the screen, he saw Okaro in front of the lane, and it was not a clean catch by Okaro so he bounce passed the ball to Boris and he finished the play, which was a very big play for us. Q. Boris, can you talk about the emotion? You were obviously fired up getting that in the last second, just what was going through your mind at that point? BORIS BOJANOVSKY: I mean, it was a great feeling. It was an important game for us, so I was really happy. Q. Boris, you're obviously very tall, but there are some guys that they have that are very physical, really strong players. How do you feel like you handled that challenge getting thrown around a little bit? BORIS BOJANOVSKY: It is tough, you know, but if I want to play on this level I've got to get used to it. Q. Boris, just as important, I guess, as the dunk were the two free throws. Having missed the two previous to that, what were you thinking when you went to the line? BORIS BOJANOVSKY: I didn't think about the two free throws before. I just know I got to make them, so I was trying to be confident, and I hit both of them. Q. Coach, could you first address the next match‑up with Virginia, and then for Ian and Aaron, the importance of penetrating against that UVA defense? COACH HAMILTON: Well, obviously, Virginia was the No.1 team in our league. To go through our league only losing two games is basically unheard of. That just shows a little bit about the maturity of that team, how well they played together. I thought they might be the most unselfish team in America where they always are playing to each other and creating easy, high‑percentage shots for each other. It's like they play without an ego but with a tremendous amount of intensity and focus. They're very disciplined, and they tried to take certain spots on the floor away from you, and they're determined. They're sound. They don't make very many mistakes, and they don't beat themselves. They deserve the season that they had because I felt the team really came together, and I think they've taught a lot of us a lesson. We all want to try to get our team to that magic level, that mental, emotional level, that allows everybody to be in sync, and that's the kind of team I think Virginia is. AARON THOMAS: I think the first couple games as a team we didn't do a good job of being able to handle their defense because they play that packed line defense. I think now we understand and learned a lot from those two games.  I think we've got to do a better job of penetrating the pitch, because they play that packed line defense. As long as we go out there, play team ball, make the extra pass, that's what you have to do against Virginia, and I think we should be all right. IAN MILLER: First and foremost, I think Virginia is a great team and I've got a lot of respect for them. But in the beginning of the season, I think we were very young minded and didn't understand how to be patient against them. You can't really play how we just want to go. You've got to really take your time and really mentally prepare for it rather than just physically go out there and play. We want to just go back tonight and get some treatment and watch some film and get ready to play them. Q. Coach, in the current state of affairs where it's 24/7 around the clock, are you in, are you out, I know that has to wear on you. My question to you is what message will you tell your kids about the Virginia game versus the big picture? COACH HAMILTON: To be very honest with you, we don't talk very much about it because we're only worried about those things we can control. Now, obviously it's in your face every day, but bracketology in and out has become a sport, and we all can play it, and we don't judge. We can be wrong, we can be right, and it makes for great conversation. But most of the people who are talking, they don't have a vote. They're not in the room, so it doesn't really matter when it boils down to it. So we try to not pay a whole lot of attention to it, but try to internalize our emotions and understand that the only way we're going to have some postseason opportunities is to take care of the task at hand, and that's been our approach all year long. Q. I think you had four guys with two fouls at the half. How important was it to get through that half and still be in the game? COACH HAMILTON: That was probably my biggest concern of the evening, being able to‑‑ I've got four guys, and we're not as deep as we've been in the past, and it was a real concern of mine. It might go unnoticed but I thought Ojo gave us some good minutes in there. He didn't have a whole lot of statistics but he had four rebounds in, I think, eight minutes, and Joell Hopkins came in the game and gave us three points at a critical point of the game. And Marquez came in and really did a real good job defensively in the last minute, so we were very fortunate with that many guys in foul trouble to be able to go in only down two at halftime. That was a very important period for us. Q. For Ian and Aaron, Seth Allen had 32 against you in College Park and had a big first half today. What did you guys do in the second half to frustrate him? IAN MILLER: Had to man up. He was crucifying us. He's a great guard. We just had to go in at halftime and regroup and play team defense like we usually play. We didn't really change up the way we play defense, we just had to play it a little bit harder and a little bit smarter. AARON THOMAS: That 32 first game woke us up. I think first half he came out real hot, like Ian said, we didn't make no adjustments. I think we came out second half, played aggressive and played hard, and was able to defend him. You know, like I said, first half he had a real good half.  I think second half we played team defense and was more aggressive and played hard. COACH HAMILTON: I also think he was limping around a little bit. I thought he might have turned an ankle or something. But I saw him a couple times grimacing like maybe he had bumped his knee, so he wasn't quite as fluid as he was the first half. It could have been caused by maybe a slight injury he had. Q. Coach, being from North Carolina, growing up and thinking about the historical aspect of this game today, finishing off Maryland and the last time we'll probably see them ever again in the ACC Tournament, just some thoughts about the historical aspect of this game. COACH HAMILTON: To be very honest with you, I didn't have any thought about that at all going into this game. We just wanted to win. It might be historical to some other people, but it meant very little to us. We just wanted to go win. It was a very important game for us in terms of where we are. When you think about it, it might mean something down the road, but for us we only was concerned with trying to win and move on to the next game. Now, when you look back at it probably as adults, Maryland has been a premier program in the ACC for many, many years. And they've had some of the greatest coaches with Lefty and his personality and what he brought, and Lefty coaching at Davidson for a while and moving up to Maryland, kind of had a little North Carolina flavor in it. And he was always a colorful guy, and I thought he brought a lot to the ACC. And then Gary with his aggressive style, so Maryland has meant a lot to the legacy of the ACC. But they're moving on, and we're going to wish them well. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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