WATCH: Williams Discusses Heels' Win Over Wolfpack
North Carolina head coach Roy Williams met with the media following the Tar Heels’ 85-79 win over NC State Tuesday night.
NOTE: Click the video in the player above to watch Williams’ comments.
“I’m very happy for our kids. I’m really happy for Garrison [Brooks]. He made 11 straight free throws in the second half and 14 out of 16 for the game. I thought that Christian [Keeling] gave us a big lift, to say the least. The shot he took when they’d cut it down to four, I didn’t like at all, but I loved it when it stumbled and went into the basket. I’ll tell you: Markell [Johnson] is hard to keep in front of you. He’s just a load for us. During the stretch when they cut it from 10 or 11 down to four, it seemed like they were making every shot and three at that time. Our defense has got to do a lot better. I thought we did a decent job of rebounding, but we didn’t do a very good job of guarding the screen and roll; their big guy kept rolling. I’m happy as I can be for our team.”
“I told them we were going to play our tail off. ‘Do it now.’ That’s all I said, and they had to do it themselves.”
“The last play of the first half was something I loved. Justin [Pierce] made a silly play when we were trying to hold for the last shot, then he didn’t get, but he stole it and ran through there but made a silly pass and turned it over. I think it was Andrew [Platek] that came from behind and made the big steal because we were flying around. I loved that play at the end of the first half. We were down 10-0. That makes at least two times in my career that we’ve been down 10-0 to those guys in this building, and I still haven’t called a timeout, so you guys can complain what you want. It doesn’t bother me. I thought we played harder this time. I thought we came up with came up with a couple of loose balls that were big for us.”
“I think a couple of Christian’s shots were big for us, and the team had a great deal of confidence that they could get the ball to Garrison and that good things were going to happen. Cole [Anthony] made a big-time drive and layup one time where they might have had it to Garrison, but they overplayed him, and Cole took it all the way to the basket. We made some good plays.”
“I have no idea, but he shot 17 out of 18 in one game earlier in the year, too. It’s there. The only thing I said to him was three or four weeks ago prior to the Wake Forest game was to get it up in the air more. Every one he shot in the second half, as soon as it left his hands, had great spin, and that always makes me feel better.”
“I have no idea. If I did, we would be 37-4 against everybody else. I get a little fired up to play conference games, and they’re a rival. It was fun to see our guys celebrate in the locker room.”
“I’m tired of talking to you now, but it’s more of that I’m tired instead of having to talk to you.”
“Without getting emotional, it’s tough when you try really hard, focus, and try to give everything you have even though the coaching staff says that you can give more. But it’s tough on the guys, and I’m really happy for them. Yeah, I’m happy for myself and all that kind of junk, but I was really happy for them. Yesterday’s practice was ugly at the start. I chewed them out, and then we got better and better. I told them that, at shoot-around, that at the end of practice yesterday I felt a lot more comfortable.”
“Do you think I’m that damn stupid? You need to stay in college, son."