Danny Manning; "They Do A Lot Of Different Things Well"
Wake Forest head coach Danny Manning met with the media after his team's road loss at NC State.
NOTE: Click the video above to watch a segment of the press conference.
Opening Statement...
“NC State is a very talented team, well-coached, and they do a lot of different things well. We know they come out and play aggressively at home. They got off to an aggressive start, and we were able to chip away and claw back into it for a little bit of that period in the first half. I thought the biggest difference was Markell Johnson. He got off to a really good start and ignited them, and he did a good job throughout the rest of the ballgame.”
On Markell Johnson...
“He’s a very good player, and he made a couple tough shots. He got to the free-throw line. He just did a lot of really good things for them-- in terms of his aggressiveness, not always shooting the ball, but pushing the ball up the court and attacking the defense, then getting the ball reversed and getting good ball movement. He made some really good plays off where he was in tight situations and made some really tough plays. You still have to try and slow him down, more than what we did, and we weren’t able to do that enough tonight.”
On personnel guarding Markell Johnson...
“You could say that, but I mean once a guy gets going, it’s hard to slow him down. Once he finds that offensive rhythm, it’s tough to slow guys down. He found his offensive rhythm very early and was able to continue that throughout the ball game.
On rebounding...
“We knew they were going to be aggressive. We didn’t hit bodies and hold the box out. You know it’s one thing to hit, it’s another thing to hold, and it’s another thing to go get. I thought Torin Dorn got free a couple times to go get some offensive rebounds early which we knew he was going to do. We have to do a better job of putting bodies on guys and pursuing guys ourselves.”
On Jaylen Hoard...
“It was just the flow of the ballgame. You know were down a man with Olivier being out. Those things happen when putting yourself in foul trouble from time to time. It was just a couple of them that were just not in the right place at the right time. They made him pay for it with some of those earlier fouls. Then that catches up to you towards the end of the ballgame.”
On Hoard’s fourth foul...
“He just has to do a better job of understanding the situation, playing defense with his head and his feet, and putting his body in the right spot.”
On Olivier Sarr...
“Honestly, we missed Oliveri’s presence. He makes guys change shots at the rim with his height and length. Then offensively we missed him just catching the ball and being able to face up and get off a shot of some sort; he’s been doing that really well. I thought Sunday was terrific; he came in and played hard, rebounded the ball well, and scored when he got the opportunity. I was very pleased and happy with Sunday’s minutes.”
On defensive effort...
“It is knowing where guys are, knowing who the shooters are. Markell Johnson made quite a few threes, where a couple of times we were there guarding him, but we weren’t really guarding him. We were there in front of him, but we weren’t taking away air space, and he was able to rise up and make some shots. We would contest after the fact. That is pretty good defense on an average player, but he is not an average player. We have got to do a better job of recognizing that, taking away his air space, and making him put the ball down on the ground. When we did make him put on the ground, he made plays in those situations as well.”