NC State guards Paul McNeil, Quadir Copeland, Tre Holloman, and Matt Able, met with the media to discuss the 98-88 win over No. 15 seed Pittsburgh. 

NOTE: Click the hyperlinks below to watch the full interviews!

G PAUL MCNEIL

I'll just speak to this win, how big is it for you guys to move, advance in the tournament? 

It's big time, it's another game, but it's not what we wanted. It's what we wanted, but it's like we got to keep going and be able to focus throughout the-. 

Quadir Copeland just heard his name. Speak to his performance, if you don't mind. Incredible, man, we did it every day.

We did it every day, every game we got, man. When he's going at it, it opens for everybody else. It's time to get going.

Could you speak to his connectivity with the team? And sometimes he's motioning to the band, he's bobbing with it. It's just like there's a connectivity he has with everyone. What is that like? 

I just saw him off the court; that's how he's off the court. Positivity off the court is amazing, man.

He's just bringing it on the court, and y'all see it, hear it. That's what he's doing on a daily basis. He's connecting with everybody, that's what he’s doing for our team.

How does that lift y'all up? 

It lifts us a lot, man. I'm impressed with him, man.

You made some three-pointers. Everybody made three-pointers, if we're going to be honest. There was Copeland with the assist, and then there were also some hockey assists where you guys were swinging the ball out. Just speak to what was working for you guys.

Gotta get the ball moving, side to side, keep everybody on their feet. That's gonna be our game plan, I think, for tomorrow. Also, keep the ball moving, keep everybody on their feet.

Yeah, open shot, open shot, you know what I'm saying?

That's exactly where I'm going. Tomorrow's Virginia, they put it to y'all the last two times. What do you gotta do to change the narrative?

You really just win, and you win. The whole narrative changes, just move the ball side to side, get the gears out, keep everything flowing.

G Quadir Copeland

Thanks for taking the time. You spoke just now about a question, you mentioned NC State, the Pack. Can you just sort of reiterate what you were talking about, what this place means to you?

It means so much, just having people that have your back, having fans that have your back. Even when we was on our losing streak, we still had people that had our back and that was, still showing up, sold out crowds. That's crazy, you don't see that a lot. And it's an amazing feeling. The Pack is a real thing, the Pack is a real, like, the real meaning to it is this. And I can't complain about my experience at all.

One of the concerns people like to, I went to NC State, my parents went to NC State, they're long timers, they worry about this era because the guys are transferring around. You're well within your rights, you've not done anything wrong, but at the same time, they're actually, well, is this guy a mercenary, does he care? Why do you care about NC State? Explain what that means to you.

The support, anybody that's loyal, anybody that's loyal and honest, I gotta love, I gotta respect at least, I gotta have respect for. And they're loyal and honest, our family is loyal and honest and real. So, that's all I can ask for. The support is big, our guys, how they come out for us everywhere, even when we was an Ole Miss and we was all these, you're always gonna see red somewhere in the crowd. That's the best feeling to me.

My final question, sir, is this a relationship that will endure 5, 10, 15, 20 years?

Yes, it is, this is more than that, this is more than that. Hopefully, I'm back next year watching games or wherever my career takes me. But it's just, this is gonna be, it's a family, I feel like. I don't feel like I can never lose this love. I'm mad at my guys, I know my guys are gonna come back. I got freshmen, I got sophomores and stuff that got chances to come back. How wouldn't I not be here? At the end of the day, my coach is still here. That's my coach, that's family, he's still here. So, I'm always gonna be around, as long as the guys are around, I'm gonna be around.

G Tre Holloman

On the last year, through the ups and downs. 

Yeah, through the ups and downs, man. I wish it would have been better. We would have won a lot of games. We both lost them, but we learned from it. And now you just got to go out there and play. 

You have tournament experience. How vital is that in this scenario, helping with the young men?

It's very, very, what's it called?

Fellas like Able and McNeil. I'm sorry to cut you off, but you just got fellas like Abel and McNeil. They looking up to you.

For sure, man. They are natural gamers, though. So, like, all I have to do is just, give them little pointers. And then they, like, take off. And then, me, Darrion, Terrance, you. Then we all have, like, time and experience. So, we just try and prioritize every possession matters.

Quadir talked about how a point of emphasis for him was this is his last shot. Did that motivate you the rest of the team as well?

Oh, yeah, yeah, for sure. All of the seniors know that. So, me, we try and go out there and play like that. Like, this is our last possession.

Have you played with a guy like this? Have you ever played with a guy like that, first of all? I mean, he seems unique. He's kind of, he can bring the ball up the court, point forward type of guy, initiates, Just talk about what he brings to the table and how unique that is.

I mean, Q's mindset is his advantage over, like, people. Because, like, Q thinks he is going to kill everybody. So, like, that makes us want to, like, kill everybody. So, playing alongside Q, man, he's a 6'6", he can post up, pass, rebound, score, so. And then Q is a great, great, what's it called, teammate, too. 

G Matt Able

I want to also ask you about Quadir. He was, initiated. And there were times where he was barking at you, wanting you to take that shot. He was kind of demonstrative about it. Just speak to that if you don't mind. 

Yeah, I mean, he's a great leader. He's going to be confident. He's going to tell us what he thinks. He's going to speak his mind at all times. And the great part is, he's a great player, so most of the time he's right. And I feel like just having him on our side, sometimes I'll miss a shot. He'll go right back at me and tell me what to do next. So it's just great. He instills confidence in everyone. It's just a great overall.

Is senior leadership important in a tournament scenario? 

Oh, super important. I mean, all these guys have been there. They know what it is. They know what to expect. No moment is too big. And I feel like that goes for the whole team. No moment is too big for any of us. I feel like even as a freshman, freshman in me, fall as a sophomore, like, I feel like we got the utmost confidence because of our team.

It was knocking down the threes, but every time you guys answered, was that sort of, okay, we got to hit them back type of thing? 

I think it was a hit them back, but also, I mean, we got to defend. I mean, they had 50 points in the first half. We got to be better. So there's always things to improve upon and work at. But I think that's a big thing. Even though they might go in a run, we have to respond and bounce back every time. 

How big was the game knowing that you lost 6 of 7 coming in? You really needed to win for the NCAA tournament?

I think it was really big. I think that overall, I mean, no one likes losing. So when you finally do get that win, it feels amazing. And we need to bring that momentum into the next game and the rest of the tournament. 

What do you think the biggest difference is between the last few times you played Virginia and tomorrow's season? 

I think the biggest difference is our mentality. I think we're going into this game, there are any wins, we just need the utmost confidence in each other. Even though we lost the last couple of games, winning this game was very big. 

And also, I think we're just in a better spot as a team overall. I think our chemistry is a lot better, and I'm just ready to move over. 

You guys closed the season on a pretty rough shooting stretch. Was it relieving to not have any of those shots turned into goals?

I mean, it's definitely relieving, when the shots are going in, you don't have to worry about that. But I think overall, it was just how we got those shots. I think before, the ball wasn't moving as quickly, and now we're moving from 0 to 3, and we're all everyone's game. I mean, we had like, what, six people in double digits? 

Like, that's what happens when you just move the ball, and you play unselfishly. And I feel like that's one of the keys for us, and I feel like it's really tough to do this when we're playing unselfish.