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Men's Basketball
vs Kansas
Quotes: Duke 72, Louisville 65
2/8/2016 10:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski
Opening Statement:
“We won. We won a heck of a game. That was a great effort by our team against a team that plays so hard and good. It was a great win for us. These kind of back to backs for us are hard. From Saturday, Saturday was a very difficult game for us and the recovery, I think we're doing a good job, but still, I thought they were fresher than we were. In that second half when they got momentum, I thought they were playing really well and we were playing tired. Somehow, our group just showed incredible toughness while they were tired and won. No x's and o's. A couple weeks ago, there's no way, I think we lose that game by 15 points because we wouldn't be able to get there. They keep growing up and they keep playing hard. They earned it. I mean, it's not something that was given to them tonight. We're really banged up. I think you could see during, Marshall [Plumlee] got hurt and played, Matt [Jones] got hurt, Grayson [Allen] he was all over the floor a bunch of times. So, we need to really get well. We'll meet tomorrow, but it will all be for therapy and give them feedback. Then we'll try to get refreshed and play on Saturday against one of the best teams in the country and one of the most physical teams in the country. This was not a good one, this was a great win for these kids. Not a good win, a great win. I'm very proud of my team. That was a big time win. Big time win.”
On the short turnaround simulating March:
“We're not even thinking that, we hope we can get to March. When Amile [Jefferson] went out, again, everyone wants to play this game of where we're predicted and all that. Since Amile went out, we're a very limited team that's trying to get better and has to fight like crazy to make the tournament. We knew that in December and that's what we're trying to do. We're not trying to simulate anything. I've had a bunch of teams that we could simulate, this isn't one of them. This is a team, we've just got to keep mucking about, keep getting better, keep earning it, and be this Duke team. This Duke team. And they're becoming this Duke team, whatever that is. It's good. Just trying to keep going. Hopefully we don't get another injury.”
On Amile Jefferson's recovery:
“Any time he's not trying to do a little bit on the court, we're going to have him in a boot. When Ryan Kelly, a few years ago, even though he was back to playing, any time he was not, it just relieves the stress. I think a lot of people are doing it. So, it's healing well. He just hasn't got past the pain. There's still pain there. What happens then if you compensate for that, something else goes. I'm sorry I can't give you a better update than that. So, there is no timeframe.”
On the team's growth:
“Just experience. We've been in so many. We played, with Amile, we played some really good non-conference teams. Not just VCU or Indiana, but Yale is good. Yale, I mean, they're old. So we've been in, there have been no like they're going to roll over and die for you teams. Then the league is good, so good, and it's old. You're playing against Clemson and we get in foul trouble and you make a few mistakes, but they're older and they were better than we were. So how do we get old? We're getting older, not necessarily in age but in experience.”
On Brandon Ingram:
“He's pretty good. He's not bad. His defensive rebounding the last couple games, well, when he defensive rebounds it's huge. Then he changes some shots. We almost went to him exclusively there in the last few minutes because we felt with that ball screen, either he could make a play shooting or he could make a play passing. It wasn't really a play, it was just kind of spread it, isolate, and let him be instinctively there and he really did a good job.”
On Derryck Thornton:
“He's done really well. These games, he's 18 years old, he and Chase [Jeter] are 18. You've just got to be in there. He keeps getting better. That shot he hit was terrific and he'll hit the free throws. Then he came right in and stole the ball. I thought he did a good job. All our kids did a good job. They're good, they're really good and they've got a lot of guys. They're very athletic, so we played man just about the whole time and we did a good job. We did a good job with it.”
Duke Sophomore Grayson Allen
“I think we showed a lot of maturity and a lot of fight as a team. We played a really good first half and we were up at halftime. We came out in the second half and hit a couple of shots, and then we let up a little bit and they started slowly coming back. When they came back and made that run, we could've let up and I think that's what a lot of young teams would do. It was huge for us to come together and fight back like that. It's a big point in our season for us to do that.”
On the maturity it took for Duke to withstand the Louisville comeback and pressure:
“It's very impressive. We're going to have to grow up fast as a team, so something like this is a big moment for us, and especially playing against a team that's as tough as Louisville, a team that gets after you for 40 minutes. It can get ugly quick when they go on a run like that and take a lead, but thankfully we got together and fought back.”
When asked what allowed Duke to overcome Louisville's 13-0 run in the second half:
“I think we came together. We came into a timeout and Coach [Mike Krzyzewski] was getting onto us and trying to fire us up a little bit. I think in that stretch, Brandon [Ingram] and Luke [Kennard] made big plays for us that kind of turned the game around. And then down the stretch, going exclusively to Brandon, he did a great job of handling the ball and just making plays. I think that comeback that we made there was big for us as a team, showed some resiliency and some fight.”
On Duke's success on defense against Louisville's Damion Lee:
“We know he's a very explosive scorer. He can get his shot off quick and almost anywhere he wants it, so we had to put a focus on him, make it tough for him to catch, make it tough for him to get to his spots where he can pull up and get easy shots. A lot of it was making him work for the ball and just making sure we know where he was at all times.”
When asked if this game was more physical than other games Duke has played this year:
“We've been in physical games. I think Miami was up there as one of the most physical games. I think the style of play of Louisville, just getting after us for 40 minutes, it's going to be a physical game if you do that. It's not dirty or anything. I think the game was called properly, just because there was a lot of contact from both teams, but it was definitely a hard-fought game and tough on a team that has small numbers.”
Duke Freshman Brandon Ingram
“We got after it defensively and most of all, we rebounded the ball well, everybody got in, we gang-rebounded. It was just a good win for us today.”
“We showed growth today. About two weeks ago, I don't think we would've won or fought as hard as we did today. We knew we were tired but we fought through it every possession. We're just getting tougher. We got after it defensively – we love to play the man defense.”
“We just wanted it – we wanted to win. We knew we had no other option and we had to defensive rebound. With Amile [Jefferson] being out, that's a key point for us – for everyone to rebound, not just the bigs, but the perimeter too.”
When asked if there was an emphasis on getting the ball into his hands and giving him more responsibility toward the end of the game:
“I wanted the ball in my hands. I told [Coach Mike Krzyzewski] to give me the ball and he trusts me with the ball.”
Duke Freshman Derryck Thornton
On his basket late in the second half to help seal the Duke win:
“I'm very confident. I love positions like that. Whenever I get a chance to make a big play, I live for stuff like that. I was very confident when I took the shot, and it went in so it was a good feeling.”
Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino
Opening Statement:
“It was a really good college basketball game. They played great defense on our best player and you have to give them a lot of credit for that. I thought there was a stretch there where we had it, and we missed a layup, we missed a free throw, and then they had a lucky Hail Mary there at the end. So you have to give them credit. It's a great atmosphere here, it's my first time, and I enjoyed it except for the game. There is a great student body and it's everything I expected, so it was a well hard-fought game.”
On Quentin Snider's offensive play:
“He did a great job.”
On how the defense settled in:
“We made some crucial mistakes in leaving them to help. Duke is a very unusual team to play against because they can put four shooters on the floor and you have to be careful where you help. You have to keep them on the sideline and out of the middle and that's tough to do.”
On having such a young team:
“You know, I think this is the best recruiting class that I've had in terms of quality of people, quality of athletes. But they're just scratching their potential. All three of them have major flaws in their game and they're just going to get better. All three of them—this is the first time in my life as a coach—I can't tell you which one of the three will be the best basketball player. I've said that over and over. You know, Donovan [Mitchell] is a freak athlete, Ray [Spalding] has the best hands I've seen, defensively, in a long, long time, and Deng [Adel] is going to be terrific. He's coming off of a knee surgery but he's going to be terrific.”
On Duke's 15-point lead:
'We had a lot of great shots that didn't go in in the first half. In the second half we executed well, with the exception of Trey [Lewis] sometimes he loses his mind out there. You know I think he's possessed out there.”
On Duke stopping Damion Lee:
“They just really pressured him, made him shoot quick, and they just did a great job. And he's got to learn to play without the basketball a little bit more early in the game. And slow down, slow down. He's rushing things too much. He needs to slow down, let the game come to him, be more of a passer, and then it'll open up more for him. But they did a great job defensively.”
On playing without Chinanu Onuaku:
“I don't think it changed at all. I thought Anas [Mahmoud] played great. I think that's one of the reasons we came back. He blocked shots, he bothered people.”
On Chinanu Onuaku's playing time:
“He wasn't playing as well as Anas [Mahmoud]. He played 22 minutes and he had three rebounds and three turnovers. You have to give credit to the defense. To Marshall Plumlee.”
On offense in the paint:
“We missed about seven, eight layups in the first half. And we are going to go into some tough environments, Notre Dame, Virginia, Miami, and it will be fun for these guys because we don't have a whole lot to look forward to.”
Opening Statement:
“We won. We won a heck of a game. That was a great effort by our team against a team that plays so hard and good. It was a great win for us. These kind of back to backs for us are hard. From Saturday, Saturday was a very difficult game for us and the recovery, I think we're doing a good job, but still, I thought they were fresher than we were. In that second half when they got momentum, I thought they were playing really well and we were playing tired. Somehow, our group just showed incredible toughness while they were tired and won. No x's and o's. A couple weeks ago, there's no way, I think we lose that game by 15 points because we wouldn't be able to get there. They keep growing up and they keep playing hard. They earned it. I mean, it's not something that was given to them tonight. We're really banged up. I think you could see during, Marshall [Plumlee] got hurt and played, Matt [Jones] got hurt, Grayson [Allen] he was all over the floor a bunch of times. So, we need to really get well. We'll meet tomorrow, but it will all be for therapy and give them feedback. Then we'll try to get refreshed and play on Saturday against one of the best teams in the country and one of the most physical teams in the country. This was not a good one, this was a great win for these kids. Not a good win, a great win. I'm very proud of my team. That was a big time win. Big time win.”
On the short turnaround simulating March:
“We're not even thinking that, we hope we can get to March. When Amile [Jefferson] went out, again, everyone wants to play this game of where we're predicted and all that. Since Amile went out, we're a very limited team that's trying to get better and has to fight like crazy to make the tournament. We knew that in December and that's what we're trying to do. We're not trying to simulate anything. I've had a bunch of teams that we could simulate, this isn't one of them. This is a team, we've just got to keep mucking about, keep getting better, keep earning it, and be this Duke team. This Duke team. And they're becoming this Duke team, whatever that is. It's good. Just trying to keep going. Hopefully we don't get another injury.”
On Amile Jefferson's recovery:
“Any time he's not trying to do a little bit on the court, we're going to have him in a boot. When Ryan Kelly, a few years ago, even though he was back to playing, any time he was not, it just relieves the stress. I think a lot of people are doing it. So, it's healing well. He just hasn't got past the pain. There's still pain there. What happens then if you compensate for that, something else goes. I'm sorry I can't give you a better update than that. So, there is no timeframe.”
On the team's growth:
“Just experience. We've been in so many. We played, with Amile, we played some really good non-conference teams. Not just VCU or Indiana, but Yale is good. Yale, I mean, they're old. So we've been in, there have been no like they're going to roll over and die for you teams. Then the league is good, so good, and it's old. You're playing against Clemson and we get in foul trouble and you make a few mistakes, but they're older and they were better than we were. So how do we get old? We're getting older, not necessarily in age but in experience.”
On Brandon Ingram:
“He's pretty good. He's not bad. His defensive rebounding the last couple games, well, when he defensive rebounds it's huge. Then he changes some shots. We almost went to him exclusively there in the last few minutes because we felt with that ball screen, either he could make a play shooting or he could make a play passing. It wasn't really a play, it was just kind of spread it, isolate, and let him be instinctively there and he really did a good job.”
On Derryck Thornton:
“He's done really well. These games, he's 18 years old, he and Chase [Jeter] are 18. You've just got to be in there. He keeps getting better. That shot he hit was terrific and he'll hit the free throws. Then he came right in and stole the ball. I thought he did a good job. All our kids did a good job. They're good, they're really good and they've got a lot of guys. They're very athletic, so we played man just about the whole time and we did a good job. We did a good job with it.”
Duke Sophomore Grayson Allen
“I think we showed a lot of maturity and a lot of fight as a team. We played a really good first half and we were up at halftime. We came out in the second half and hit a couple of shots, and then we let up a little bit and they started slowly coming back. When they came back and made that run, we could've let up and I think that's what a lot of young teams would do. It was huge for us to come together and fight back like that. It's a big point in our season for us to do that.”
On the maturity it took for Duke to withstand the Louisville comeback and pressure:
“It's very impressive. We're going to have to grow up fast as a team, so something like this is a big moment for us, and especially playing against a team that's as tough as Louisville, a team that gets after you for 40 minutes. It can get ugly quick when they go on a run like that and take a lead, but thankfully we got together and fought back.”
When asked what allowed Duke to overcome Louisville's 13-0 run in the second half:
“I think we came together. We came into a timeout and Coach [Mike Krzyzewski] was getting onto us and trying to fire us up a little bit. I think in that stretch, Brandon [Ingram] and Luke [Kennard] made big plays for us that kind of turned the game around. And then down the stretch, going exclusively to Brandon, he did a great job of handling the ball and just making plays. I think that comeback that we made there was big for us as a team, showed some resiliency and some fight.”
On Duke's success on defense against Louisville's Damion Lee:
“We know he's a very explosive scorer. He can get his shot off quick and almost anywhere he wants it, so we had to put a focus on him, make it tough for him to catch, make it tough for him to get to his spots where he can pull up and get easy shots. A lot of it was making him work for the ball and just making sure we know where he was at all times.”
When asked if this game was more physical than other games Duke has played this year:
“We've been in physical games. I think Miami was up there as one of the most physical games. I think the style of play of Louisville, just getting after us for 40 minutes, it's going to be a physical game if you do that. It's not dirty or anything. I think the game was called properly, just because there was a lot of contact from both teams, but it was definitely a hard-fought game and tough on a team that has small numbers.”
Duke Freshman Brandon Ingram
“We got after it defensively and most of all, we rebounded the ball well, everybody got in, we gang-rebounded. It was just a good win for us today.”
“We showed growth today. About two weeks ago, I don't think we would've won or fought as hard as we did today. We knew we were tired but we fought through it every possession. We're just getting tougher. We got after it defensively – we love to play the man defense.”
“We just wanted it – we wanted to win. We knew we had no other option and we had to defensive rebound. With Amile [Jefferson] being out, that's a key point for us – for everyone to rebound, not just the bigs, but the perimeter too.”
When asked if there was an emphasis on getting the ball into his hands and giving him more responsibility toward the end of the game:
“I wanted the ball in my hands. I told [Coach Mike Krzyzewski] to give me the ball and he trusts me with the ball.”
Duke Freshman Derryck Thornton
On his basket late in the second half to help seal the Duke win:
“I'm very confident. I love positions like that. Whenever I get a chance to make a big play, I live for stuff like that. I was very confident when I took the shot, and it went in so it was a good feeling.”
Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino
Opening Statement:
“It was a really good college basketball game. They played great defense on our best player and you have to give them a lot of credit for that. I thought there was a stretch there where we had it, and we missed a layup, we missed a free throw, and then they had a lucky Hail Mary there at the end. So you have to give them credit. It's a great atmosphere here, it's my first time, and I enjoyed it except for the game. There is a great student body and it's everything I expected, so it was a well hard-fought game.”
On Quentin Snider's offensive play:
“He did a great job.”
On how the defense settled in:
“We made some crucial mistakes in leaving them to help. Duke is a very unusual team to play against because they can put four shooters on the floor and you have to be careful where you help. You have to keep them on the sideline and out of the middle and that's tough to do.”
On having such a young team:
“You know, I think this is the best recruiting class that I've had in terms of quality of people, quality of athletes. But they're just scratching their potential. All three of them have major flaws in their game and they're just going to get better. All three of them—this is the first time in my life as a coach—I can't tell you which one of the three will be the best basketball player. I've said that over and over. You know, Donovan [Mitchell] is a freak athlete, Ray [Spalding] has the best hands I've seen, defensively, in a long, long time, and Deng [Adel] is going to be terrific. He's coming off of a knee surgery but he's going to be terrific.”
On Duke's 15-point lead:
'We had a lot of great shots that didn't go in in the first half. In the second half we executed well, with the exception of Trey [Lewis] sometimes he loses his mind out there. You know I think he's possessed out there.”
On Duke stopping Damion Lee:
“They just really pressured him, made him shoot quick, and they just did a great job. And he's got to learn to play without the basketball a little bit more early in the game. And slow down, slow down. He's rushing things too much. He needs to slow down, let the game come to him, be more of a passer, and then it'll open up more for him. But they did a great job defensively.”
On playing without Chinanu Onuaku:
“I don't think it changed at all. I thought Anas [Mahmoud] played great. I think that's one of the reasons we came back. He blocked shots, he bothered people.”
On Chinanu Onuaku's playing time:
“He wasn't playing as well as Anas [Mahmoud]. He played 22 minutes and he had three rebounds and three turnovers. You have to give credit to the defense. To Marshall Plumlee.”
On offense in the paint:
“We missed about seven, eight layups in the first half. And we are going to go into some tough environments, Notre Dame, Virginia, Miami, and it will be fun for these guys because we don't have a whole lot to look forward to.”
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