NC State guards Marcus Hill, Paul McNeil, and Jayden Taylor met with the media after the Wolfpack's home loss to SMU.

NOTE: Click on each video above to watch a specific player interview.

Guard Marcus Hill

On the game

I was just trying to win. I really didn't recognize it. I was just trying to win, so whatever.
 

You've got a couple of games now, or a couple of days, and then you have to go play at Duke.  How much do you take this in, wipe it away, move to the next one? How much of a challenge is that game going to be? 

We've got to look past that. I don’t like losing. We've got to look past this and get ready for Duke. It's a big game. 

What are you talking about with the Devils? 

They're a good team. They play with each other. They're athletic, tall. We just are gonna have a plan. Come out and fight and try to win. 
 

For you guys tonight, how frustrating was it that the shots just weren't falling? What's that like? It just hurt.

You're seeing everybody, the guys, the coaches, everybody's in the gym. So, seeing it not falling, it kind of hurts. But, it's going to fall. It's going to fall. It's going to come. 
 

There's just really nothing you can do when the shots aren't falling. I mean, what can you do when the shots aren't falling? 

I lean more on our defense. I feel like we held them down, usually, from the averages. The shots didn't fall. I know it is. 
 

Did you feel like you guys played good enough defense to win this game tonight? 

Yeah, for sure. But, some shots ain't going our way. That's it. 
 

How do you keep from getting frustrated? Get these guys together and keep from getting frustrated? 

Talking to each other. Keep talking to each other, picking each other up. Our heads down, you know. Like you said, we got Duke in a few days. 
 

You got some burn at point guard. And you guys made a run when you were at point guard. How willing are you to do that? Are you comfortable doing that? And if you're called on in the future, are you willing to contribute that way? 

Yeah, whatever, like I said, whatever the team needs, I'll do it. You know what I'm saying? I love doing point guard, but whatever the team needs, I'll do it.

Have you experienced that in the past? And, again, what are your strengths at when you play point guard? 
Dishing it out, trying to get my teammates over there. My scoring ability, I can score and dish out. So, that's what I do when I play point guard.

Guard Paul McNeil

On his 3pt shot in the corner...

Well, that's where I bust my lip, but the three that I shot, I got fouled, nothing happened. 
 

You all have to face Duke here in just a couple of days. How do you wipe this game clean and move on to what's going to be a really hard challenge at Cameron? 

We've got to just stay focused, can't dwell on this loss. We've got a big game coming up ahead of us. We're going to practice, we're going to stay focused, we're going to watch film and do what we've got to do. 
 

What do you think of those guys over there? You've seen them on TV, I'm sure.

It's a great program, great guys, a lot of pro guys over there. They're grinding, so it's a good group they've got with them. So we've got to just really be prepared, really stay focused, and be ready to play more games.
 

Is it fun facing a challenge like that for somebody like you? 

Oh, yeah, it's very fun. I've never been in this type of environment, so it's my first time. So I'm going to take it all in and enjoy it. 
 

Probably the most minutes you've played all season, is that encouraging for you going forward? 

Oh, yeah, it's definitely encouraging, but that's why it's up and down. So I've just got to stay focused and stay on course and trust the process. 
 

Was that the plan coming into the game, or did that just shift into the game? As it went. Your minutes, your minutes. 

Oh, yeah, it was just as the game went on, I guess I produced at a high level tonight. He trusted me, and however it happened, it happened.
 

When shots aren't falling like that, I mean, that's got to be frustrating for you guys. How frustrating is it? What can you guys do? 

We've got to just find energy. We've got to find energy. It's bigger than scoring. We've got to find a way to stay focused, a way to stay together. It was hard for us not hitting shots tonight, but we stayed focused.
 

We kept the energy high, and it just came up a little short. How do you stay positive after a game like this? 

It's not our first time bearing through this, so we know what we've got to do. We're going to talk about it, like I said. We're going to stay focused and trust the process.

Guard Jayden Taylor

You just can't get the ball in the hole? 

Yeah, very tough. We're a team that relies on our defense though. So even when the ball's not falling, we try to think we can get stops and stuff like that. When stops aren't falling, it's hard to kind of keep up when you're not getting stops. 
 

Did you feel the defense was playing well enough for you guys to win this game? 

At times. I thought we had spurts when we played really well defensively. I thought we had spurts when we made some, like, scouting report mistakes. There were mistakes on that end. 
 

What would have taken to win this game? What did you guys need to do to win this game? 

I would say maybe in the first half a little stronger. When they first went on, I feel like we kind of got a little stagnant. And then we stopped playing defense when shots weren't coming. So I'd say in the first half, we were stronger.
 

Do you guys feel like you certainly got to start winning some games like this? 

Yeah, I mean, we will. We're in them. We're close. We just gotta keep going. This time, it's like we got to come closer together. 
 

As one of the leaders, how do you get these guys going in the right direction? 

I feel like we are going in the right direction. Even though we're losing games, you kind of got to see positive things as well. We got a quick turnaround. We got another great opportunity on Monday versus Duke at Duke.
 

That would be a great win. That would be a good place to start. What are your thoughts on Duke? I'm sure you've seen them play. What are your thoughts on that team? 

I think they're a really good team. I think over there, they have a standard that they play and are well coached. I think they're going to give us a good performance.