Hokie ClubHere are some comments from Seth Greenberg on the ACC men’s basketball teleconference on Monday morning:
Opening statement:
Yesterday’s game [against N.C. State] was, in a lot of ways, a game that defined what our league is all about. Just this weekend in general, whether it’s Miami and Duke or Clemson and Virginia Tech a week ago, or Clemson and Florida State when Florida State was able to come back, or us against N.C. State. I think this league reflects extremely competitive players and competitive coaches and one thing you’ve got to learn is you’ve got to finish. You not only have to play well and play hard, you have to do it for the full 40 minutes because the other team is not going to quit.
“Yesterday was obviously an emotional game and the technical I received was not at the best time and the team did not respond and that could have hurt us. Obviously, I’m sorry and I’m glad it didn’t affect the outcome of the game. I’m proud of the way our team responded. We had good leadership from Malcolm Delaney and we had some toughness out of our frontcourt down the stretch. A.D. Vassallo once again came up and made a big shot.
“Having said that, it doesn’t get any easier. Georgia Tech is an athletic, hard-playing team that is holding its opponents to a terrific defensive field-goal percentage, and they run the floor well. They challenge you at the front of the rim and offensive rebound as well as any.
“It’s just another day in the ACC. If you don’t play well and compete hard and aren’t focused on the task at hand, you’re going to get whacked pretty good. We’ve got a tremendous challenge ahead of us this week.â€
On what he said to his team when they were down by a large margin:
“You try to paint a picture of how you’re going to get back in the game. I think that’s the most important thing. You’ve got to create a scenario where they see themselves getting back. Obviously getting stops is the key. If you trade baskets, you’re not getting back in the game. Trying to show them and giving them a scenario where they turn 16 to 10 and 10 to 5 with four or five minutes to go is the key.
“That’s what we talked about when Hank [Thorns] went down [in the second half]. It was 16 or whatever and I said, ‘We’ll make these two free throws and score a bucket. Two stops and we’ve got it to 10 and we can play it in.’ That’s the biggest thing. To get back in the game, you’ve got to convince your guys and create a scenario and a vision that they realistically can see to get back in the game so that they’ll continue to compete.â€
What is it about overtime and this Tech team?:
“It’s not this team because it’s not just this year. We try to embrace overtime. We try to embrace the first 40 minutes and it doesn’t always work either. Getting off to a good start is a key, and getting stops. We never come into an overtime thinking, ‘Oh goodness, we’re going to overtime.’ My philosophy is, ‘Hey this is basketball. This is the greatest sport in the world and we get to play five more minutes. Let’s go out and have some fun.’ That’s the mindset I try to sell them on coming out of that timeout going into the overtime session.â€
On Malcolm’s leadership:
“It’s by necessity. A.D. [Vassallo] leads by example in terms of his competitive spirit. He’s not afraid to take and make big shots. But Malcolm brings it all together. He’s got to use those energies to bring it all together in a positive way. He was a very good high school quarterback and he’s used to being in the huddle and being in control. He’s used to looking guys in the eye and saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got to get this done.’ And guys believe him. I think that’s a trait that has developed from his days playing football and it’s a trait that is paying dividends right now.â€
On Tech’s post defense and rebounding:
“We’ve got to defend the post earlier. We can’t get pushed underneath. We’ve got to get people off the block. When the ball goes up, you’ve got to fight for position. We’re getting pushed under, and we’ve got to pursue the ball a little more aggressively. There are a lot of things.
“But in the second half [against N.C. State], we did a better job of getting them off the block. In the first half, they were catching it so deep, and part of that is [Ben] McCauley. He’s so big and strong and wide. He’s very patient, which is a great trait to have. We decided not to double him because he’s such a good passer. If I had to play them again, I might have to change that. He was so patient getting the ball to the middle of the floor and making plays.â€
On playing Georgia Tech:
“They’re a good team and they play extremely hard. Their defensive field-goal percentages are terrific. Teams are shooting 39 percent from the floor and 31 percent from the 3-point line. Mo Miller gives them another dimension. They’ve got depth up front. They’ve played a lot of games where they’ve been in position to win and they just haven’t finished. In that way, they’re reflective of our league.â€