Krzyzewski: "State Is A Really Good Basketball Team"

No. 2 Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski met with the media after his team's home win over NC State.

NOTE: Click the video above to watch the press conference.

Opening Statement
It’s an ACC win. They’re good. I talked to Markell Johnson. He played a great game. He set them up well. They’re a tough team to defend because they can have five guards out there when they put [Jericole] Hellems in. Well-conceived offense.

Our guys did a good job against them. We had that flurry in the second half when we came down against them five-six times, and it looked like there should be points on the board and we got none. In a game like this, because they’re good, that can be the time where it turns, and you lose. Then we became a really good half-court team.

RJ [Barrett] and Zion [Williamson] connected. RJ had a triple-double, I think one of the only four we’ve had here, which is amazing. Most of [the assists] were to Zion. We were able to work that set.

Our defense took away the three. [Braxton] Beverly scares the heck out of you. He had eight points and one three. Defending their three was one of our high priorities in this game. We did that. We rebounded well.

We’re a very tired team. We’ve had a few kids sick. On Wednesday and Thursday, RJ was just throwing up for the full two days. I was shocked that he could even practice even a little bit yesterday, and then he plays 38 minutes today. Today, Marques [Bolden] was really sick, and he played. It’s just that time. There’s so much. You’re playing all these games with all the travel.

For our guys to win, I’m proud of them, and especially against State. State is a really good basketball team.

On rebounding better than State:
I don’t think they play as far out against other teams as they did against us offensively. They’re a really good offensive rebounding team, but because they were wide-out, it gave our guys a chance. I think that’s part of it. I thought Marques and Javin [DeLaurier] really pursued the ball. In the last three weeks or so, RJ has been getting so many defensive rebounds. He had nine today. We have to keep doing that.

We beat a good team. We need a day off. This is the first Sunday we’ve had off in a month and a half. We need to get rejuvenated, because when we come back, we have Carolina. I don’t know why they do it, because you shouldn’t have two road games Saturday and Tuesday; you should only have one. We did it with Virginia and Louisville and now we’ll have Syracuse and Virginia Tech.

I don’t understand that. One of those games should be a home game, for everybody. That’s a lot, and we just need to get fresh. It was good to see a lot of our former players here. That was neat. The locker room is a happy one. Happy and tired.

On Jack White’s big stop giving him confidence:
I’m hoping it’ll get him to playing like he was. He’s been such a good player for us. The last month he’s been playing okay, but he’s been like a shell of who he was, because he was so good. He had that dunk, the good pass and then a dunk. He missed a wide-open three during that flurry, and Cam [Reddish] had two of them. We had that dunk blocked. But he made a great defensive play. Hopefully that’s a sign of him being who he was the first half of the season.

On Zion learning to foul less but still be aggressive:
He’s just got to learn that. He had one without all the contact. He didn’t go over a guy’s back but just was taller and got a rebound. I would teach him to do that so that he wasn’t called for a foul, but he was called for a foul on that. But he’s played the last two games with an unbelievable amount of minutes with four fouls. If we’re going to win something big, your best player is going to have to learn to play with the discipline of four fouls.

On Coach Kevin Keatts opinion of the key times of the game:
Obviously, he has the best opinion of his team and a better opinion than me. That’s his call to significant points of the game. I thought a big point in the game was when we started out the second half.

You can tell we’re tired because we go up 14 points, he calls a timeout, and I think we stopped because we were tired. Then they came right back.

On RJ’s advanced play at a young age:
Well, he’s very advanced, he’s very young, and he’s going to be here a very short time. Is that a very good answer? I’m sorry, I’m just fooling around with you.

He’s very advanced because he’s always played up. His high school coach is here, Kevin Boyle of Montverde [Academy]. That’s the highest level of high school. They won the national championship. He’s played up for the Canadian team, and that’s helped him. Remember, he came in early. He could’ve still been in high school. He’s a sensational kid and player.

On managing media attention:
Zion and RJ are the key guys in handling that. Zion came in here having a lot of attention. I think he’s even made comments about what his parents used to say to him in high school, like, “If you’re going to be really good, you’re going to have a lot of attention.” He brought in a million or so followers.

Every game that he played in high school or the AAU was a show, so he’s been accustomed to dealing with that. RJ, because of the level of international experience, he has a maturity and a comfort level with not taking it seriously but understanding that if you’re going to be good, that’s a good part of what you’re doing and to not let it become pressure.

They’ve handled it really well, and they’ve got good families. Their families aren’t caught up in all that. I’ve got good kids. I have really good kids with really good families, so that helps.