LOCKER ROOM REPORT: Wolfpack Players
NC State guard C.J. Bryce and forward D.J. Funderburk met with the media after the Wolfpack's 86-77 win over FIU.
NOTE: Click the videos above to watch a specific interview. We’ve included quotes from Pat Andree and Markell Johnson as well.
NC State Forward D.J. Funderburk
On getting back into the groove of the game: “It took me a little while. Probably in the second half it kicked in a little more. More effort, more energy. I can get going.”
On returning to the court: “When you get it taken away from you, it is a blessing and a privilege to get back out there with your family. It was definitely a wake-up call and something I appreciate. I am most definitely ready to put it behind me and focus on basketball.”
On the clutch shot: “I practiced that shot day in and day out. It was clutch because of the time and the momentum they had. They were coming back, they were down six and they were hitting some big shots down the stretch, so that shot just helped us out and changed the momentum of the game.”
NC State Forward Pat Andree
On his main focus when entering the game: “If I play 10 minutes or 30 minutes, it shouldn’t change my effort when I’m on the court. I just want to play as hard as I can every time I’m in there when those opportunities come and keep taking the shots I am supposed to and hopefully keep knocking them in.”
On how it feels to get hot in a game: “It feels good. Obviously being a shooter, you know I’ve gotten hot before and it’s a great feeling. When I hit one my teammates want to see me do better, so they try and get me a second one, then a third one. I think I hit four threes in a matter of maybe five minutes, something really quick. My teammates were trying to find me on the break and really just changing the momentum. We were down ten coming in so that’s what we had to do before half time.”
On if it was a good win: “I think it was a good win. They’re a tough team, very well-coached. I think they’re a lower version of us, but they play hard every single time they get on the court. They might not have the most talented guys but they’re playing every single minute of that game. If we hadn’t stayed in it, they could have taken the game from us.”
NC State Guard C.J. Bryce
On if it took the team time to get acclimated to playing together: “No not really. We play against each other every day in practice. We know what we can do, if somebody is off, we do a good job of picking up the slack. D.J. Funderburk, great tonight, really help out on the offensive end, and made a huge shot at the end of the game to contain the lead.”
On if there’s concern with Markell Johnson’s shooting: “No not at all. We’ve all seen Markell Johnson play. He continues to affect the game in other ways. We have no worries about him. He’ll come along very soon.”
On how it feels to have everyone there: “We are just glad to have everyone healthy and everybody playing on our roster. I feel like we got better tonight. I’m looking forward to practicing and getting ready for our next game.”
On what he’s learned so far this season: “A very good FIU team tonight, they played the same style we did, wanting to get out and press and run the transition. Great test for us tonight, and we did a very good job of passing.”
NC State Guard Markell Johnson
On having D.J. Funderburk back in the lineup: “With D.J. coming back we got a different look with offensive rebounding and his overall presence. We missed it a lot. Great to see him back out there for his first game.”
On the importance of turnovers and points off of turnovers: “We try to play off our defense. That’s what Coach Keatts wants us to do: turn defense into offense real quick. In the second half he talked to us about it and we were able to get on it.”
On why the press was tough: “We just didn’t know what kind of presses they were going to throw at us. We weren’t on the same page offensively, so that played a big part in it also.”