NC State head coach Wes Moore met with the media following the Wolfpack's 87-58 win over Georgia Tech Thursday evening.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Moore’s press conference. A transcript will be provided below shortly.
Opening Statement
I'm really proud of the way we've been coming out the last few games, ready to play, making a little bit of a statement early. First half, we had 15 assists and only three turnovers which was great to see. We're getting everybody involved. I think we had six people in double figures, and Maddie Cox had seven. She was right there. We’re doing a lot of good things. Fourth quarter got a little sloppy, but through three quarters, I thought we played extremely well. It's good momentum. Again, [we’ve got] another road game coming up Sunday, a tough one. Davidson's already taken Baylor to overtime on a neutral court. A couple of years ago, they won two out of three against ACC teams on the road, and now we're going to their place, so [I’m] not a very smart guy here. It’s one more to hopefully try to end on a good note before we send everybody home through the holidays.
On the team’s resurgence since the trip to Cancún…
For one thing, maybe we got a little confidence. We played a really tough schedule and lost a couple of tough ones that, as a coach, [when] you lose a one-possession game, you think of what I could have done or should have done, and so I'm sure the players have felt the same way. It can be disheartening a little bit, having a couple of good wins in Cancun and probably seeing me in a Speedo probably inspires a lot of people and gets things going. No, again. I just think playing well is contagious. Everybody gets their confidence. We're shooting the ball better. I think we were 8-for-18 [from three-point range] at Miami, and then tonight, 9-for-26, but I think at halftime, we were a lot better than that. That helps, too, when you're knocking down shots. Everybody gets a little more confidence. Again, we've really been working on defense, trying to clean things up, transition D especially. We’re getting better. We have a young team, but I think we're getting better, and we've just still got a long way to go.
On the improvements on defense…
It might be a combination [of aspects], but we've really stressed in practice. We're trying to hold them accountable [with] transition D. Everybody has certain responsibilities. We didn't do a great job of it tonight, to be honest with you, at times, but everybody doing their job, playing with a lot of urgency, and making sure, trying to really concentrate on a few things in practice at a time that we need to do better defensively. If we don't get those done, we get a lecture conditioning in, and so they understand, “We’ve got to fix it. We're not where we want to be.” First quarter, I was disappointed we gave up 20 points. They end up with 31 at halftime, and then three points in the third quarter, so until I see the film, I don't know exactly if everything was us or them, but I do think we're getting better.
On this trajectory being ideal for a young team…
Lord, I hope so, and I hope it continues, but it's been like said, it's been tough. We're used to winning, and I know I scheduled a brutal schedule: top-ranked teams, a lot of road games. We played in Greensboro twice. We played in Charlotte. Yeah, those are close by, but you're still on the road, spending the night in the hotel. Then obviously, we went to Oklahoma, then went to Miami, so it's been a brutal stretch, and we got one more on the road [before Christmas]. Hopefully, we can hold it together, then they're going to get a really nice break. We don't start school back til January 12 which is kind of later than normal. Hopefully, they'll be pro basketball players for a couple of weeks and just concentrate on that.
On the relief of having a tough, front-loaded schedule with the rest of the ACC schedule to come…
We hadn't been real good at Miami in the past, so I don't know if it had anything to do with it or not, but I was real proud of the way we went down there with confidence and a lot of urgency, and played really well. Again, we've had trouble there. They're always athletic, always well coached, and so we were able to get a really nice win there, so maybe it did. Maybe it paid off a little bit in that regard. Hopefully, it'll pay off these next couple of months when we're in ACC play and playing great teams every night.
On Zoe Brooks’ leadership…
I think it's been tough on Zoe in some ways. She's a junior, but she really has to be the leader [or] one of the leaders. I don't know that she's always one that wants to be vocal and hold people accountable, so I know that's tough on her. Also, she doesn't have Saniya [Rivers], Aziaha [James], or Madison [Hayes] taking some of the heat off of her. A lot of times, she's going to see the other team's best defender and maybe have to do a little more on her own. She’s handled it pretty well and still has got a ways to go. I have high expectations and standards for her and for all of them. I told them, "I can't stand to see talent wasted, whether it's an individual or a team, and we're not going to do it.” Whatever it takes, we're going to try to maximize what we have. I like our team. I like our talent, but we've got to do the little things better and consistently for 40 minutes.
On Zamareya Jones stepping up as a leader…
She's a fierce competitor. Sometimes, we butt heads, but I think we both want the same thing at the end of the day, and that's to see NC state win. She's playing really well right now: shooting the heck out of it, seven assists, one turnover tonight. That's what you want in a guard. [Between] her, Zoe, and even Ky'She [Lunan]. we've kind of got three point guards out there at a time sometimes, but that's what you want to see: that kind of ratio. I'm proud of the way she's playing, and obviously shooting the ball really well helps, but she's also defensively doing a great job. We've just got to get more guards on that page with her.
On his reaction to Qadence Samuels seeming to get her shot back…
That's just my normal look. If it goes in, great. If it doesn't, “What the heck?” No, again, I've got a lot of comments in Qadence’s ability to shoot the three, I don't think she's been shooting it as well as she can. Tonight was a good start. The biggest thing, I thought she did a great job defensively because [Talayah] Walker was killing us. She had 18 of their first 27 points, and so I thought Qadence did a really good job going in there after that. She only scored two points the rest of the night. Again, you do want to get the flow of the game sometimes, maybe not jack one up immediately, but it's just my normal look if we [make] a shot.
