NC State F Darrion Williams, F Ven-Allen Lubin, G Paul McNeil Jr., G Quadir Copeland, and G Matt Able met with the media to discuss the 81-74 loss to No. 2 seed Virginia in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.
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F Darrion Williams
On the loss to Virginia...
It was tough; we couldn't find a rhythm, but we got to be smarter and not foul.
Do you think the effort, it could take you guys far in the national tournament, what you had out there today?
Yeah, I think we can match up with anybody, especially when we play hard. We're not the biggest team, but that's not an excuse to not be able to rebound. I think if we just play hard, we can match up anybody.
When NC State was down 10 or so to UVA, it was set up for them to run away with it, why didn't they run away with it? What did you guys do?
I think we just stayed together. I think in the past games against them, once it got to that point, like you said, they pushed it to 20 or 30, so I think in this game, we did a better job of staying together and taking advantage of the opportunities we got. Obviously, we didn't take advantage enough, but we did better than before.
General consensus among the fans after this is they're quite proud of the effort NC State put out. What does that mean to you as someone who wears that, and is the name on the front of the jersey meaningful to you, sir?
It means a lot. They come to every game, they come to every real game, every home game, they pack it out for us, but we gotta win to make them, I guess, more happy. We appreciate the support always, but we're trying to win for them.
Where's the growth between now and the national tournament? How do you guys make a run?
Stay consistent in what we do, and so whenever we get drawn on Sunday, be ready to go on Thursday, or whatever it is.
F Ven-Allen Lubin
This team has gotten more into its roles over the last two games in particular. I mean, how much do you guys feel like everyone knows their roles now going into the Encephalo tournament?
Yeah, it's critical. It just shows that everybody's bought in. Everybody's willing to sacrifice and accept their roles. We didn't want to build so much more. But it's what's really important. That's what we need for the team. You know, they need to improve, too. Because they haven't been able to be bought in.
Just sticking to their roles and maximizing them. It just really helps us out. It's something that you can really contend with as well. You know, we have, no doubt, how we can play. How hard we can play. Who we want to face. And if we can play to our strengths, that will be more than fine.
I was going to say, I mean, obviously, you played in the NCAA tournament. I know a lot of guys in this room have. But how important was this for the younger guys to kind of get that feel of what it's like to play in a big conference tournament before you get to the NCAA tournament?
I think it's important. Obviously, for me, I wasn't able to get that experience until I got here last year. Just being able to experience it, witness the field, the energy, the environment, the intentions in the game. Just knowing how critical all the other details are. The coaches kind of appreciate it. So it's everything from being disciplined, showing so much effort. Diving at the big balls and just playing hard on both ends of the floor.
All those little things just kind of matter. And that's what it shows on the Encephalo tournament. Everybody's playing for something. It's now like, who wants it more? Every team wants to come out on top. So we got to be willing to show that, show that to the young guys, how important these games are.
What do you feel like this team needs to do to get on the stretch to finish some of these games out? Because they're having a lot of, you know, tight games where you guys have had opportunities.
Yeah, I think it's being a little bit more disciplined and patient with the details. I think sometimes when it's like the heat of the moment, we kind of lose track because of the noise, the tension, the pressures on us. Sometimes we're in our heads, let's not make a mistake, let's not make a mistake.
And sometimes, just lose focus on what's going on in the game. As long as we continue to do that, be better, just staying present and being fully locked in, then I believe that we'll be fine. And I know that we're capable of doing it. And that's just what we showed.
When you guys were down 10 points or so to UVA, it was set up for them to separate and take it to another level. You never let them do that. Why didn't that happen?
Yeah, because that's what the coach kind of preached. Virginia's a really good team. Any time we go on a run like that, we hang our heads and let it affect us, and don't have a reason to respond. And that's just kind of breaks out into a bigger lead.
And I think that's what happened in the last two meetings, especially at their place. We kind of hang our heads, kind of just felt defeated. And they just went on a run. They just stopped playing. So for us, it's really important not to stop playing, respond to it the right way, and just keep on playing. Because there's more than enough time for us to come back and just cut the deal.
The balancing act you're going to face over the next week is to not let this be a moral victory. You're going to have to try to take the tape, learn from it, and get better. How big is this week coming up? What are the things NC State can do to improve for the national tournament?
I'll just kind of slow down and just stay in the moment. I think just watch the film, talk with the coaches, talk to the muscle players, get in the gym, and get some recovery. Because we're going to need everybody.
You want to make sure you're well prepared, your body's prepared, your mind's prepared. We can learn from this game. We can learn from, you know, the past games that we played in order to be very prepared and capable of making the run at the NCAA tournament.
Your other teammates have had some great experiences in the NCAA tournament in terms of experiencing it, right? Darrion's playing for the title. Tre getting to the elite eight and Darrion getting the elite eight. You guys obviously beat San Diego State and lost to Ole Miss last year at UNC. Do you ever watch that game? Like, do you ever go back and see what that feeling was like?
Yeah, I do. Just because it reminds me of that moment, and I really want to go back to it. Because, again, as I said earlier, in my first two years of college, I wasn't able to experience that. And so for me to be able to be on that stage, to perform at a high level, that's something I always want to experience again, especially for my last year. And I think it just really helps, you know, when we have guys who have experience, being in the NCAA tournament and making it far.
I think that it just shows, like, they've been on a winning team. They know how practice has been, how they have to take care of their bodies, how they're able to prep themselves in order to win big games. They can really, you know, help us in just saying some things, being able to implement that every single day, knowing what it takes to win.
When was the last time you watched the Ole Miss game?
Oh.
Was it a long time ago or recent?
Not a long time ago. No more than a year.
What was the motivation to go back and watch that loss?
It was just being at that stage, you know. I think it was very frustrating for me because I knew that the game was tied, and I was in trouble because we were never going to lose. But it was just a really competitive game. And just for me to kind of learn and build on myself and how I was able to improve myself, improve my game, and just kind of be a bigger role than I was actually. Coach loves his guys. He does a lot.
The NC State consensus among the fans is that they obviously wanted you guys to win, but the consensus so far, early on, is that they were quite proud of the effort and the fact that you didn't bow down when it was double digits. Now, in a world where so many kids transfer, which is well within your rights to do that, what does that mean? Do you feel like you're representing the front of the jersey as well as the name on the back? How much does that mean to you?
Yeah, I believe I am. The front of the jersey is more important than the back of the jersey because I'm playing for somebody. I play for something, and we all have a purpose. I think that we're all kind of bought in. However, our role is, I think, the fans have done a really good job in supporting us, creating energy, and showing up for us. Even when the times we were down, they never gave up on us, and they always continue to show up for us.
And I think that was really big for us. So we just really appreciate them for showing up, showing us some love, and showing us support. As you said, sometimes when we were down, they never gave up on us. We didn't give up on ourselves, and we didn't want to give up on them. We want to play for NC State, and we'll play for the name on the back of our jersey because it means something to us. And we know that if we just continue to play hard and we do our part, then we're going to stick to the run.
G Paul McNeil Jr.
How much do you feel like playing in this kind of environment? The last two days prepared you guys for what's ahead now?
Yeah, definitely. As I said, we got a lot of older guys, so they've seen all of this. But for me personally, I feel like, definitely, I need to see this and definitely get that whole fit level. But, man, we're gonna be fine. We have a lot of experienced guys.
On hitting the three on the second attempt down the stretch...
Yeah, that was a big time point, man. The first one going in, it felt good. Just enough, I got it back down, I was able to hit it, and that was my mindset. Big-time players make big-time shots, and that's what I gotta be able to do for my team.
The balancing act you're gonna face over the next week is to not make this a moral victory. Find the things you can correct. How big is this week of preparation?
That's definitely big for us, man. We're gonna be fine, like I said.
We've seen it look, and we're gonna be able to move on, move forward from it.
The consensus, without trying to look at it as a moral victory, a lot of the NC State fans on social media are very appreciative of the effort you guys put out today. They feel like you represented the name on the front of the chest. Speak to that. How meaningful is that?
Man, like I said, man, NC State, I've been with since I was in 10th and 11th grade, man. So, like, I've been committed to this school, man. This is a big time for me. It's more just about the players, more about the school, and what we can bring. It's a good school, very good academics, so, man, we're gonna be fine, like I said. I want to shout out to the fans, to come out and shout out to the university to give us the opportunity to play.
How much does this give you confidence that you guys can compete with some of the bigger, more physical teams once you get to the NCAA tournament?
Yeah, we've been able to compete with other teams, but it's just a matter of time. Tonight's a show that happened; we were a push game. We've got the guys committed. We're more committed than we've been before.
Paul, you've been in several games this season where you haven't been able to close it out, late meeting. What is it going to take to kind of get over that point?
Oh, just a little bit. It's 50-50. It's a 50-50 ball. I think we lost a lot of 50-50 ball. We had at least five minutes inside the ball to get one up. It's a 50-50 ball, have one up.
What do you think this next week is going to look like for you?
Oh, we know what we're going to have in this first game. We've got a lot of guys coming down for the first game. We're going to be ready for it.
What do you think about maybe the shot selection in the second half?
I like guys working on shots. Obviously, ya’ll don't see it. Obviously, ya’ll don't be in the gym where there's going to be working on it. But I think guys are taking shots and working out. That's like next to second nature. See if it's going to go in or not. The second half wasn't going in, but it'll be fine.
Do you feel good about the shots that ya’ll were taking?
Oh, yeah. I feel great about it. The guys are working. We put hours in. We put countless hours in. Countless hours in on the same rips. It's not rips. It's just all the amount of time we're making or not. I think if we don’t make it we’ll make it next time.
Defensively, this was one of your better games. I know you don't want to take home victories. But does it feel like, okay, maybe we can make a run?
Oh, yeah. Of course, man. You're going to see me finish it all here. Personally, I know how everything is. I feel like I have to be better defensively to take it to the next level. So, I am. That's my word.
There were several times when UVA had it up to about 10 or whatever. It was set up for you guys to sort of fold. Why didn't you?
We had long summers. So, we were up at 5 in the morning, crying. Going through the fatigue, going through the hardness of the heart. I knew we weren't going to fall. It was summertime. We did this every Friday of the summer. Every week of the summer, we did this. So, we were going to be fine.
So, when you guys were grinding there in the down 10, what was the mantra? There was no splintering between the team. Who was leading the group and what was being said?
We were saying, keep the devil's toes and stay with it. Coach was saying, " It's a fight. We'll be good. Tre was just being more of an active leader. Like, get your hands out, get your hands ready. We've been through this before. We probably haven't. Over the summer time, let's be back in our minds. We've been through this already.
G Quadir Copeland
Thoughts on the way this game ended, you guys showed a lot of fight down the stretch, but ultimately not able to pull it out.
I just felt like it was easy shots. I missed that, would have put my team in a better situation. So just get back to the drawing board as well.
And you mentioned those some shots that you didn't make, but you did hit the and one and then get the free throw there. I mean, how much energy did that kind of bring to this team too?
Yeah, it brought great energy. Whenever you get more chances to feel like you can survive and fight and make it out, of course, it's gonna bring energy. But like I said, I gotta be better for them. And I feel like I appreciate my teammates.
All them guys picked me up and every time I put my head down, I had somebody lifting my chin up. So just having people like that, but I gotta be better now in the stretch and throughout the game for them.
Sounds like you're taking this awfully personally for a team game. I know you're focusing on yourself, but I mean, you guys played hard and took this team down to the wire, which is a big change for the first two times. What do you say about this group as a whole?
It says a lot, it says that we got fighters, and we play, I feel like with so much effort and fight today and some grit. But at the end of the day, I feel like I make those shots. I put my team in a way better position. So it's not really a personal thing or nothing like that. It's I gotta be better for them. That's all, that's how I just feel. I gotta be better for them. They were better for me today. They always got my back. So I gotta do my job and have theirs.
After Matt was unable to get that rebound on the mist back into the one and one, you put your arms around him as you guys were walking to the huddle. I mean, how much did you feel like you were able to show some leadership qualities there? What did you say to him?
I was mad like my little brother, so it was just he's going to get so many more of these big moments. I just didn't want him to harp so much on it. This is where he's still a freshman. He’s new to this. So it's just I just wanted him to move on from that. We got more games to come. You can turn this until we be playing for another month or two.
So I just told him that at the end of the day, we need you. We've been needing you all season and doing your part. And the same thing. They picked me up when I was just missing shots and things like that. They were picking my head up all game.
So it was just in that last moment, when especially when you were part of the main reason we were coming back. Don't put your head down. it's a mistake. You got to move on and look at it like all the mistakes we made.
How do you guys go? So you could be playing for another month. I mean, how exciting are the prospects of that?
Oh, it's super, super excited. But, we got to move on from this feeling. Of course, watch film back to the drawing board, see what we got to fix.But I think today showed a lot of improvements. Losing to a team about 25 plus two times at home and away and then coming here and, putting up this fight. But at the end of the day, you don't get props for effort.
We think we're good enough to beat them. We don't think we're good enough to just be in a fight. We want to beat teams like this. We don't want to just be in a fight. And people pat us on our back for that. We know what type of team we are. We know that we can be big in the tournament. We know that we can make a run.
So at the end of the day, in order to beat these types of teams, we know we got to play hard for 40 minutes and just stay consistent. So that's that's I feel like that's the main important thing, not getting happy about losses. Of course, I'm glad we fought. I'm glad this. But at the end of the day, we still lost.
I was going to say, how do you maintain this momentum going into the NCAA tournament? Obviously, you lose a little momentum in a loss here, but just having it from the ACC tournament, as opposed to what happened the previous few weeks?
No momentum loss. You just got to move on. You literally just got to move on. You got to get back to the drawing board. I got to get back in the gym, hit shots. We got to get and watch film with coach. Coach is going to make some adjustments. You just got to follow the game plan and keep it going. I feel like no momentum loss, especially in the time that we're in, because the losing season is over.
So I can't think of it like no momentum loss. You just got to keep pushing, keep going, find ways to get wins. That's all coaches are harping on today. You got to find a way to get this one. We got to rough it out. We got to tough it out. So I feel like that's the most important thing.
You mentioned you do not want to accept like the moral victory type feeling going ahead. How do you find that balance? You say, OK, we find good in this, but we don't want this. We got to lift it up. We got to mistakes to correct.
Of course, notice the good things we've done. But at the end of the day, we plan to get wins. We're playing to beat teams. We're not playing to show improvements and still lose at the end of the day. So I think our team know that the reason we're feeling like this because we knew we could win, not that we knew we could be in a fight with them.
So that's the that's the most important thing. Winning keeps everything going. So I feel like that's just that's just literally the most important thing for us, going out there and get wins.
And I don't want to harp on it, but, you know, effort wise, the state fans, the general consensus so far after this, they're very appreciative of the effort, the fight you guys put forward. And I've asked you yesterday, you know, about loving the name on the front of your jersey. Do you think that speaks to how much you guys care about the name on the front of your jersey?
Yeah, it's big time, especially when I know we need them. We can lay it on our fans. They're going to have our back. So hopefully, selection Sunday goes around. But it was kind of hard to describe. We've got more of us.
You might be in that late game situation like you guys had today, next week in the tournament. How much you guys have been able to learn from this experience?
We've been in a lot of late-game situations this season, so we got so much to learn from, not just this game. So it's just I got so much family to learn from, so much stuff to watch. I think it'll be an interesting game, I think a very understated game. And when it gets to the season games, that's our thing. So we work on it every day. So I think it's just harping on the details, protecting the ball, turnovers such as that. I think it's going to be one of the hardest games we've ever played.
G Matt Able
On the Virginia loss...
Tough loss. It was close down the stretch, but we showed effort.
Obviously, that late turnover, or not getting that rebound there at the end. What were your thoughts on that play, and what were your thoughts on the response from Will?
I didn't really see his response, but this shot was long, and I was moving too far in. And I just didn't get it.
What did Q say to you? When he wrapped his arms around you, there?
I'll figure that out next play.
Just the fact that the first two games, this one, were such blowouts. I mean, what does it say about this team to have grown from those and really show some fight in this one?
I mean, if I'm honest, not the best. I mean, we still lost, so it still ends up in an L in the win/lose column. But yeah, it is what it is. We're going to move on. We're going to learn from it. Definitely some things that build off what they were good at, but I definitely see something different in this one.
Points in the paint were difficult to come by in the second half. What did Virginia do to make it so difficult to get in the lane?
I mean, they've got two seven-footers. They have pretty good shot blockers down there, so that makes it a little difficult. But I mean, they're a good team. They know they play to their strengths. And there were some opportunities we had that we didn't fully execute on.
Speaking of that, y'all had really good shot selection in the first half, but it felt like y'all were forcing some in the second. Did you feel like y'all were pressing, or what went into that, maybe?
I mean, not really sure. I don't think we were pressing necessarily, but there was definitely some stuff we could have done better, taken a couple of better shots. But I mean, can't really go back on it now, so we just have to learn from it.
How frustrating was it to get some of those turnovers late and not be able to register, cash in on the other side? It was definitely frustrating.
We definitely had our chances and our opportunities, so we just got to learn from it.
Do you feel like this is the type of effort that can get you far in the NCAAs?
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think we can, like I said, just discipline-wise, execution down the stretch, they execute a little bit more than us. So I think once we pick up on that, we're going to be good.
The consensus among fans, obviously, everybody gets upset when you lose, but the consensus is there's been really a lot of pride. They were really proud of how you guys competed. What does that mean to you to know that the supporters were appreciative?
It feels good that the fans are still standing with us. They're a big part of all this, and we appreciate all the support that they give us. So it's definitely encouraging to hear from them. We want to do better for them and get wins next time.
How do you guys regroup from this and look forward to the NCAA tournament?
Go through the film, get ready, and really just mentally prepare physically prepare. Just make sure we're at our peak so that when we do get to that game and those games, we're ready to win.
Matt, from your perspective, what is the biggest thing that this team needs to fix ahead of the NCAA tournament?
I think just execution down the stretch. I think that's one of the big things. They executed, we didn't. And I think they made those winning plays at the very end, and we didn't. So I think that's something we need to work on.
How much does a week like this help you guys refocus for the NCAA tournament after coming off such a tough month you guys had coming in here?
I think we're going to be good. We have a great staff. We have a great group of guys. So I think we're very good at building off of each other and just picking each other up. Everyone's had bad games. Everyone's made mistakes in the crunch. So I feel like we have a great team around us to help build off this.
