LOCKER ROOM REPORT: Moore, Funderburk on win over Boston College
In NC State men’s basketball’s 81-65 win over Boston College Saturday, both Shakeel Moore (career high 19 point, 8-of-12 shooting, two steals, two assists, block) and D.J. Funderburk (14 points, seven rebounds) played critical roles.
Both players spoke to the media after the game, here’s a full breakdown of everything they had to say:
D.J. Funderburk
Was getting the ball inside the game plan?
Yeah for the most part. Leading into the game, I think coach Keatts did a good job just burning it into our guards’ heads that we need to look into the post. We looked at film probably like five or six times in two days to figure out where we can get the ball to me, Cole and Manny and kind of put the team on our back as far as us three. And Keatts thought as far as us three it was just better for us to get the ball inside just because it was a size difference.
What did it mean to go out there today and do what you did out there and put up 14 points and seven rebounds alongside Manny?
To be honest, me personally, I’ve just been trying to be as consistent as possible. Obviously like you said it’s been up and down but for me and Manny both to finish with 14 and seven it just goes to show we were both productive and equal at that same time.
What did it mean to go 4-of-4 from the free throw line after having a rough time at the stripe against Virginia?
I honestly think I beat myself up more on free throws than on missed layups, just because I rarely miss those. To get back and go 4-for-4 today, I just wanted to make sure I got back on my wagon and locked in on my free throws and I made them.
Was it evident that you were going up against a Boston College team that had five games postponed due to COVID-19, having gone through something similar?
I didn’t even know they had five but you can definitely tell. It was points in the game where they obviously didn’t want to get back to conserve their energy, I can see why they played zone the whole game. I didn’t know until the jump ball that they only had five scholarship players playing so that was even more of an emphasis and more motivation for me and Manny to just sit in there and take advantage of the mismatches as much as we could.
Does that show how difficult it is to recover from a temporary pause in the season?
Yes, definitely. When you don’t play for a while and even if I don’t know if they’ve practiced or not, when you don’t get those game reps it kind of throws off your game rhythm when you come in and play a team that’s been playing for a while and they’re hitting their shots and they’re in rhythm. So it’s definitely way harder to come in and try to stop a team that’s been playing when you haven’t had any game reps in a while.
How important was Shakeel Moore today and how impressive has what he’s done in his freshman season been?
Shak has been a big help to our team as a whole. So prior to I think two games ago or a game ago, Keatts told us our guards needed to step up more, with losing Devon, everyone counting us out more but as a collective, as a guard collective he wanted them to step up and help the bigs way more than what we were doing before in those previous losses. So it just goes to show he stays in the gym and it’s paying off for him.
Keatts talked about how team identity has changed after losing Devon Daniels for the season, is feeding the post going to be the new identity and working from the inside out?
Yeah to be honest I think that’s going to be our game plan throughout the rest of the season. If something changes you obviously see it but for right now that’s pretty much bread and butter to let me, Cole and Manny to produce as much as we can and then everybody else support around it.
Shakeel Moore
What was the difference for you Saturday?
As coach would say, I was just playing to my strengths; seeing the ball go in first, attacking, being aggressive from the beginning, which opens up shots for me as well as the game goes by.
How do you balance finding your own offense and getting the bigs involved?
I don’t find it hard. For me, the game is slowing down a bit. I just feel like if we don’t have that lane or that drive, we can easily feed it to our big men and they do our work for us.
How much confidence does it give you to see shots falling early?
A lot of confidence. I’d seen the first two or three go in. I was just playing to my strengths, as I said, and that just built that confidence in me to keep going.
How much emphasis was there on finding the big men inside?
That’s just our job, to feed the big men, to get it to them and reward them. It’s just very important for us to do that.
How hard is it coming back from a long break like the Eagles were?
It definitely can be damaging. I feel like when you’re on a pause, it’s easy to become out of shape. It’s easy to not have that chemistry from not practicing. I think it all ties in together. I had seen it early that they weren’t able to keep up with us too much. These pauses are really hard.
Is passing up a shot and passing to Funderburk instead a mark of your maturity and growth?
Definitely some maturity and growth there. Shot selection is very important at this level, and that’s a higher-percentage shot. I feel like swinging the ball around and getting it down low, if I don’t have an immediate catch and shoot, then I feel like that’s the higher-percentage shot. I do feel like maturity plays a big role here.
What was your reaction to having a big block in the second half?
I’m just having fun. It’s just enjoying the moment and embracing everything. It’s just fun getting out there. I just take a lot of passion doing it.
How much fun will it be to get ice cream after this one?
It’ll be fun. As coach says, we’ve got to get well. Tonight, we definitely got well. We are better than we were. We’ve been playing hard. I think we’re well deserving of this ice cream, for sure.
What flavor ice cream will you be getting?
Most likely chocolate chip cookie dough.