NC State head coach Justin Gainey met with the media to discuss the Wolfpack's 77-73 win in its exhibition game against Mississippi State inside First Horizon Coliseum.
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the full press conference.
On getting back on the court...
It was great to be back and to play a quality opponent, a well-coached opponent like Mississippi State. Coach [Chris] Jans does a great job. I had a chance to coach against him the last few years, and I knew what to expect: a physical game, really athletic personnel, and they didn't disappoint in a defensive-minded group. It was great for our guys to get in here, to play against somebody else, and see where we are. We're nowhere near a finished product. In practice, you can tell them all you want, “You’ve got to do this. You’ve got to do this.” But [it’s] until you're in an atmosphere like this that they really see it sometimes, so it was good we were able to get it on film. It was good being back, and we'll be back in December and then again in March. Anytime we can get in here and get some reps is always good.
On the stats that he prioritizes…
Number one is field goal percentage defense. Number two is rebounding, and then number three is turnovers.
On his evaluation of the front court…
Not good enough. [We gave up] 18 offensive rebounds. That's just not good enough. You look across the board, especially at halftime, where we were from that group of guys on the glass. Some guys responded in the second half. I was really impressed with Zymicah [Wilkins] from the standpoint he stayed ready. It'd have been easy for him to sulk and not be ready when his number was called, but he came in in four minutes and gets three rebounds and one offensive. We've got a lot of work to do there, and we will get better in that area.
On foul trouble leading to hesitancy…
Maybe it may have, but even still, from our standpoint, you've still got to figure out a way to go up and finish through the contact. We shot 38 free throws and made 30, so I like the fact that our guys are thinking, “Get downhill.” We have some talented shooters, some skilled shooters, but to get to the free-throw line 38 times, it shows that they're willing to get some paint touches and get downhill.
On Darius Adams’ performance...
It was huge. It was huge. Darius is that Swiss Army knife for us. He can play on the ball. He can play off the ball. He's a really good passer, but he also can create for himself and score on his own. With Darius, it's been fun watching his development. He was here early. He was one of the first guys to get to campus in May, and he started working right away. He enrolled in a class, and then he went to work on the court. His body is transforming. He's getting more comfortable and more confident with every dribble, every bounce, and so it's nothing new to us what we've seen, and so I'm excited about his development and his growth. We’ve got to continue to get better. He's got a lot of areas to get better in, but his mindset is right.
On Paul McNeil getting 16 points despite poor three-point shooting…
It was good, but more than anything, even the points, just his voice in the huddle [was important]. Paul has been a guy that, from the minute he came back, our conversations went directly towards leadership because, at the time it was only he and Zymicah that were guys back, and he was the only one that really played significant minutes. He understood what it means to wear that jersey, and what it means to go through the ACC, to play at NC State, and all that stuff. He wanted to be the vocal guy. He wanted to grow into more of a leadership role, and he's been continuing evolving there, developing there. Even when he was wasn't making shots, he was still in the huddle talking about getting stops, rebounding, and challenging guys. I never felt like he was pressing on anything. He was just continuing to find open windows, find open spots, and he took shots that we all know and have seen him take and also make. To see him finish up there, it's not a surprise. He'll be better, but the other thing is, I thought they did a good job of being really physical with him and taking him off screens, so when he couldn't catch and shoot, he did show his growth by putting it on the ground, and that and-one he had in that last four-minute stretch was huge. We were down six. He goes in get an and-one. That was a huge play in the basketball game. How many people here would have thought, “Man, Paul's getting a three, but it ain't shooting a three?" That shows his growth and his development.
On the memories he’d thought about from when he’d played inside this arena…
None. All I was focused on was winning this game, beating Mississippi State, and our guys giving their best effort and playing as hard as they possibly can. That was a long time ago, and I've moved past that, and it's not about me. This thing is not about me at all. It's about those guys in the locker room and making sure that they're prepared for everything that comes their way.
On finally playing against another team…
Oh, it's great! It's great. I think we are in week 16, coming up on week 17, and at this point, they're tired of playing each other. Everybody knows what plays are coming. Everybody knows the scouting report on each other, and so when they play somebody else, these events, these games, are so meaningful, and they help you develop and figure out the areas you've got to get better in, so I thought it was a good game for us.
On the defensive pressure…
The guys locked in, and I'll say, throughout the game, I felt like we did a good job the first 25 seconds of the shot clock, and we would get them down to low shot-clock possessions, and that's when they would put their head down, drive, and maybe get a foul, or they would get their second shots, and now we've got to guard again. Our first-shot defense was pretty, pretty good. It's just we [gave up] 18 offensive rebounds. That’s going to put you on defense a lot. You're going to lose that possession battle every time when you do that, and so the effort, the intent, the talk in the huddles — guys were talking about getting stops — I’m encouraged by it. That’s a hard team to play. That was a hard team to play because of how big they were, how physical they were, and how athletic they were, and I thought our guys answered the bell there, but now we’ve just got to rebound the basketball.
On having Ven-Allen Lubin in the game…
It was good. Ven is such a versatile piece. You can play him in a lot of different ways, and then he's so cerebral. He's smart, and you can run the offense through him, as you saw. As we came down the stretch, he closed it for us, playing off that elbow. He got an and-one, and then he made two free throws, and so his versatility has a huge impact on our team. And he made [free throws] when they counted. He went nine for 12. He missed three of them, so we'll have him shooting a lot of free throws this week too.
On what Kyle Evans and Robert Jurkovic can learn from this game…
A lot. They battle against Zymicah, and they battle against Shah [Hall] all week. That’s something we've been talking to them about: "You've got to figure it out. You've got to be more physical. It's coming. This is what's coming." For them to actually experience in a real game in front of fans, it was great. Look, Mississippi State, those guys, they're big, they're physical, they're athletic, they keep them close to the basket, and it's tough to deal with, but you've still got to figure out a way to drive them out, to get a rebound, or to hold them off so they don't get it. But I'd also say some guards kind of slipped in there and got some second shots too, and so it's a whole team effort. When the [other] team gets 18 [offensive] boards, it's everybody. It's everybody.
