LOCKER ROOM REPORT: Wolfpack Players

NC State's Casey Morsell, D.J. Horne, and Kam Woods met with the media following the Wolfpack's 82-70 win over Saint Louis Wednesday evening.

Morsell led the way with 21 points versus the Billikens while adding two assists, two rebounds, and one steal. Horne tacked on 18 points, two steals and one assist. Woods recorded one assist and one steal in five minutes of court time in his second game since the NCAA issued a hold on multi-year transfer student-athletes.

NOTE: Click on each player’s respective thumbnail to watch each interview in the player above.

Casey Morsell

“We were pretty stagnant coming out. We tried to get a good feel for how they were playing us. We just tried to throw the first punch, but they threw the first punch on us, and we had to respond. As an older group, we tried to be aggressive and lock everybody in.”

“It was just finishing possessions and keeping them out of the paint. They got in the paint a lot in the first half. Once we got them out of the paint and finished possessions, we were able to run in transition. When we ran in transition, we always had numbers, so everyone got open looks.”

“It was more, on the offensive end, that we were getting rough looks. Guys were open, and we weren’t really finding them. That was pretty much the message. I felt like the energy was up, but we needed to lock in and find open guys. That’s when we started hitting open looks.”

“It’s big for us. We play full court. We try to turn them over. That’s a big momentum boost, scoring in transition. It was big that we scored 29 points [off turnovers]. That made a big difference."

D.J. Horne

“I think it just makes us a better team. We can play as hard as we can, knowing that we’ve got guys who can play just as well and just as hard to come in right after us. It gives us extra ammunition, and it makes us even deeper.”

“I knew we had to get a spark. We were trailing going into the half, so [Kevin Keatts] was on us about getting off to a good start. After I saw that first one go in, it carried over to the rest of the team, and they started making them.”

“It’s very important, especially if you have any aspirations about playing in March. This was a must-win for us, and I feel like this is the best team we’ve played at home, so it’s definitely a big one. Coming back from Tennessee, we took a lot of lessons from that game. There was a lot of stuff to learn, but our three losses now are to Ole Miss who just went into the Top 25, Tennessee who’s in the top 15, and BYU who’s still ranked. It shows that we’re right there, and we’ve just got to keep chipping away and working.”

“It was really having that experience as an older guy. Casey Morsell started getting it going, and he’s an older guy. We just trusted our game, trusted our work, and knew that, when those shots came, we would knock them down.”

“Coach got onto us, as he should have. We definitely came out lethargic in the first half, and we knew that, if we wanted to win this game and not want it to be close, we were going to have to play NC State basketball. I felt like we did a good job of that."

Kam Woods

“I’m really glad for all the two-time transfers that are playing right now.”

“Every time somebody went to the scorer’s table, I thought he was coming to get me. It was definitely surreal, but it felt good to be back out there.”

“I don’t feel rusty. I’m just happy to be playing.”

“I don’t really know. That’s on the coaches. I just know that I’m ready for whatever role they want me to play.”

“I felt good. I didn’t play the minutes I wanted to play, but I was glad to see my teammates happy and to see them shine. And the crowd… we’re on Christmas break, and they’re still out there.”

“We knew we were going to win the game. It was depended on how we were going to win the game. We needed energy. We didn’t want to win in a close game. Across the country, that’d look crazy. We just needed to play NC State ball.”