LOCKER ROOM REPORT: Wolfpack Players
NC State's Michael O'Connell and Jayden Taylor met with the media following the Wolfpacks' 70-67 road loss versus Virginia Tuesday afternoon.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch the players’ press conference.
If the final shot was taken too soon...
MOC: Sure, but I don’t think too much about that. I don’t think we should’ve been in that position in the first place. If I’d taken another dribble, maybe we’d have had a better chance.
On Virginia’s second-half success from three-point range...
MOC: I just think, from our defensive standpoint, we kind of dropped intensity a little bit. I think in the first half, we did a pretty good job. They had really good looks and good shots in the second half. We weren't as precise in our switches.
JT: I would say miscommunication on our end, miscommunication between the switches.
MOC: We just weren’t as precise as we were in the first half.
On the offensive struggles in the second half...
JT: Personally, I think we just didn't play together in the second half as well as we did in the first half. First half, shots were just way easier. They were high percentage looks. Second half, we kind of got in our own world and settled for tougher shots. Tougher shots are hard to make.
On the impact of missing Ben Middlebrooks...
MOC: It's definitely tough having one of your starters who plays a lot of minutes not playing. He’s a center who gets a lot of rebounds, so it's definitely not easy to go out there and play, but we definitely have a lot of talented guys that could step up.
On Elijah Saunders’ performance...
MOC: He’s just a mismatch, especially for the guards. If we're switching, he gets inside the paint; they throw it in, and he has the height advantage — obviously he’s bigger than a lot of our guards. Mainly, it’s a size advantage.
On Kevin Keatts’ message after the game...
MOC: I would just say the biggest thing is playing together. As soon as we do that, we communicate better. Obviously, we’ve seen what we done in the first half. We played pretty well, stayed together, and got a lot of good looks. We’ve got good stuff on defense, so as long as we play like that and play together, we’ll be just fine.
On the assist discrepancy between the first and second halves...
JT:Playing together. That's really what it boils down. When we play as a team, we're a much better team. When we don't, we lose.