University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Post-Game Quotesheet
1/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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POST-GAME QUOTESHEET
Pitt at Duke • Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, N.C. • January 19, 2015
No. 6 Duke 79, Pitt 65
Pittsburgh Head Coach Jamie Dixon
Opening Statement:
“Congratulations to Duke and their win. I thought we battled, played and competed as the game went on. I think early we missed good and open shots that put us on our heels and took away some confidence against the zone. We kept battling and hit some shots in the second half. We did some good things to get it down, but they made their free throws, making 25 free throws and 11 threes. We tried to limit [Jahlil] Okafor’s touches and points. We did that to some degree at the expense of giving up some threes. I thought he passed very well out of it. He was obviously a big factor in their offensive success. They are a good team that plays well, and they know their roles.”
On playing against Jahlil Okafor:
“We tried to get some deflections and steals. We have done that in the past and have gotten some steals and deflections but we didn’t get anything today. Eventually that just hurt us. We had to make those shots early in the game, I think that is what hurt us and got us in a hole. I don’t think we could have had better shots against the zone, but we just couldn’t knock them down. That became an issue. They are good; they made 11-of-23 from the three, and made all their free throws. We have to get more free throws than our opponents.”
On the Duke’s initial lead:
“It was just a pure matter of numbers. We kept going and kept battling. I think we had open shots and we had good looks. We had exactly what we wanted, and at times I feel we haven’t executed well, and that affected us defensively and the next possession offensively. That’s the thing we have to improve on. I think we did a better job in the second half with that.”
On Jamel Artis:
“He becomes one of our better shooters without Durand [Johnson]. He puts himself up there as one of the best three-point shooters of the guys left. Obviously he has success against zones and finds the right spots. He was good against it, but he had a few fouls in the first half. It obviously hurts when you get those fouls early”
Quoting Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski
Opening statement:
“We’re obviously really pleased. We beat a good team tonight. That was a good game. They’re a tough team. I told my team the last day and a half, I said, ‘You’re going to see a really good Pitt team on tape and when we talk about it. What you won’t realize is that they’re not a team, they’re a program.’ In our league, we have a number of great programs and Pitt is one of them. What [head coach Jamie Dixon] has done, I think he’s been there for a dozen years now. Just check their record. They’re winners. And so we beat a team that are winners. They know how to win, they play every play. I’m proud of our guys because we were able to win against that level. When you can win against somebody who’s really good, who’s playing their butts off too, then it’s even a better win. I’m proud of how they’ve responded in the last six days after two losses, and even how they responded after Louisville because it was such a big win for us. You don’t know. The teams that have been in the ACC are not accustomed to Saturday/Monday, Saturday/Sunday/Tuesday. It’s just different. In fact I mentioned to Jay Bilas before the game, I said, ‘I wonder at the end, if we look back at February and January and ask how many kids on all the teams, how many Sundays did they have off?’ And then you take a look at your lives, and in a normal life, how many Sundays do you have off? But really, for a kid – and that’s everybody, it’s not just us – it takes some time to adjust to that. And there’s some wear and tear on every team that is in that position. It’s part of expansion, it’s part of having a big TV contract, but it’s still an adjustment for teams. I thought Tyus [Jones] and our backcourt was terrific. Quinn [Cook] gets a double-double, he had 10 rebounds. Who would have thought? And then Tyus really these last two games has really run our team. He’s taken on a much more commanding personality. And Sheed [Sulaimon] came in and gave us a big lift. And we saw the ball go in, we saw it go in today. It’s the first game in the ACC where we shot well. I’m proud and we’ve got to get some rest. Justise [Winslow] is banged up, his shoulder, ribs. He’s taken some blows. I don’t think anything real serious but if we get a couple days off for him we’ll be really good and get him proper medical attention.”
On Tyus Jones adjustment to ACC play:
“It’s just getting accustomed to the level of competition and intensity that you’re going to see game in and game out in our conference. Really, I think I think it’s that simple. They had never been through it, now you’re going through it and you hope that they can adjust quickly and they did from last week. These are two big wins for our guys. Tyus, his play was outstanding.”
On Jim Boeheim and the zone defense:
“It was never named after him. We never had the ‘Boeheim zone.’ Orange [zone] is with USA Basketball – that was just to make him feel included. He did text me Saturday night and said, ‘Where’s my royalty check?’ And I said, ‘After the season. We’ll see if it’s a one-night wonder.’ It’s not exactly like theirs because they have all these long guys – he recruits to it. But it helps that I’ve been exposed to that.”
On whether the zone prevents defensive breakdowns:
“There were no breakdowns defensively against Wisconsin, against Michigan State, against Stanford, against Connecticut. We were playing great defense. Our defense started to go bad when we couldn’t hit a shot. I’m not saying we can’t defend better either – we should have defended better. But I think the missed shooting, it hurt us the other way. And then what I think what happened is you’re out there alone instead of being together. And so the zone, or we played man too today, it’s back, so you’re not exposed. You feel like more people have your back. A little bit psychologically, we tried to do that. And it helped. We talked better. It’s interesting, today, in the first half, because they’re right in front of us on defense, and because we’re learning it, we can talk to them and help them. And then we go to the other end and they got 14 points in the first four minutes because they didn’t talk it out. And they’re tough because [Jamel] Artis is one of their best three-point shooters, he’s a four. And [Michael] Young can shoot, he’s a good shooter. So you can have five shooters. That puts a lot of pressure on.”
On Pitt’s physicality and tenacity:
“I say that in an all-clean way. Sometimes people say, ‘They were physical, that they’re dirty.’ Pitt’s just good. And they’re strong kids, mind and body. I thought we met up to that challenge today. And they were ready to play. It’s a big game, we’re both 3-2 in the conference. As we move along, each of these conference games are huge.”
