Georgia Tech head coach Damon Stoudamire met with the media to discuss the 78-74 win over NC State.
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview!
Opening statement...
It was a really good game. It's one of those things, because I've been on both sides, and I've been on both sides as a player. I played on two teams that are in the top ten for worst losses in NBA history.
Lost to the Indiana Pacers by 58 points. By 58 points in 98’, after we just beat Chicago two nights before, in Chicago. We lost to Cleveland, and we lost by a margin of around 53.
So it was probably the worst time in the world to be coming off a loss, as we had, and then coming up against a team that had just landed for a week. It gets a little hard. So, you know, our guys competed.
They played hard. They fought. We looked like Pitt when they came in there and beat us.
NC State is a really good team, and you've got to keep playing, you got to keep playing, you got to keep playing. But we took their best hits, and we were able to come out on top. But, the biggest thing for me, I can talk about a lot of stuff, but for me, like the game came down, I thought Jaeden Mustaf did about as good a job as I seen on Darrion Williams.
Not only this year, but when I watched him before. He was physical. He was tough.
He didn't back down. He didn't go for pump fakes. And the biggest thing, he didn't put them on the line.
So that, to me, was big for us. We guarded the three. McNeil was three of ten.
Honestly, just really happy with the guys responding. I'm proud of my team. And like we talked about, we just can't go backwards.
Damon, in terms of the road games, you guys have been close in the first two ACC road games, but couldn't quite close it out. Does this turn things around a little bit? Will you guys close games better? Is this a momentum moment for your team?
We'll see on Tuesday. But I tell you, one win can change a season. I do know that.
And so, we can go, and we can build on this. It was good to see. And we didn't make the free throws, but we got the stops.
And so before we couldn't get the stops and we made the free throws, what difference did it make? And I think that was the biggest thing.
Tonight we had a collective effort. It was five guys connected and playing as one on both ends of the floor. And I think that that's what I take away from this win, because it's been a tough 48 to 72 hours for everybody. And so we did a lot of, I won't call it soul searching because it gets cliched and all that, but we just weren't happy with what happened.
And so to come back today and meet a really good NC State team at their place, I think it shows a lot of character in those guys down there now.
Coach, you guys won the rebounding battle by nine. Can you speak on the toughness it takes to do that, especially on the road?
Well, it takes a lot, and truthfully, I won't sit up here and say that I felt like that every game this year, but I think that, again, what happened on Wednesday had a lot to do with this.
I normally start two bigs, but with injuries, I started one, pretty much for most ACC play. And we get a lot of mileage out of this group.
They have toughness, they have grit, but we talked about finishing plays, and that's what we did tonight. We boxed out, we rebounded with two hands, and we had five guys rebounding. Some of those rebounds that we got late in the game, those balls been going out of bounds, and the other team gets those.
We fumbled the ball; teams have gotten layups. So for me, just seeing that payback that these guys got, I was really happy for them.
Your team limited NC State to 11 of 29 inside the three-point line. What about your defense was able to keep them uncomfortable, not get consistent, with those?
Well, I just think everybody did a good job of sticking to the scouting report. We didn't overreact to a lot of things. Again, Copeland, he's a really good player, and I remember him from even when he was in Syracuse, I thought he was a really good player.
But we were going to live with anything he did inside the paint and try to guard it, guard the three, let him shoot from the three, excuse me. In the second half, we tried to; they got a little better with that ball screen, so we tried to adjust some things. But the biggest thing is that guys took on the challenge.
I mean, they got Williams. They have Copeland. We already talked about McNeal.
They've got guys coming off the bench. They can really shoot the ball. And so we did a good job, I thought, from a physical standpoint.
And a lot of times, you know how basketball goes. When your best players are uncomfortable, usually your role players don't play the same way you do.
Damon, I thought Kowacie's three, that was a big moment in the game. To answer back there, can you talk about just the confidence you've seen from him and him kind of asserting himself? I know you've wanted a guy to step up. It seems like he's trying to do for you.
Well, Kowacie is, he's become Wacie now in terms of, you look for him for stability. You look for him for leadership. Talk to the other guys.
He's been here as long as I've been here. And, he did. He stepped in and made some big shots to keep us in the game.
And then he made some big shots for me. I won't say we got over him, but it took us one time, I think he made it three to the state, maybe. But I was happy for him.
He's bought into everything that I've said to him from day one. And it was really good to see him get payback for what had happened. He's been here again; he's been here through the ups and downs.
But this is a really good road win. And guys like Kowacie, hopefully, we keep training, and we can train in the right direction.
I thought Cole did some good work off the bench for you tonight. How have you seen him kind of develop here? I know he maybe wasn't planning to have as large a role as he's had because of Mo being hurt. But just kind of what have you seen from him in his last couple of games?
I just, Cole to me, again, you already know, I told you when I picked Cole, when I signede Cole, it was more so he reminded me of Luke Kornet. He has a great feel for the game. He just needs to get stronger.
He's a freshman, he's young. He's going to continue to get better every practice, each and every game. And, sometimes it takes bigs a little longer, but he just has a feel for the game, his movements, and different things.
And now it's just learning his way, defensive positioning, knowing when and when not to on the offensive end, setting screens, being able to hold screen, roll, hold people. He did a great job tonight. Trust me, his minutes impacted that game. They definitely did.
