LOCKER ROOM REPORT: Wolfpack Players
NC State redshirt senior forward D.J. Funderburk and redshirt sophomore Manny Bates met with the media following the Wolfpack's 75-61 win in the first round of the 2021 National Invitational Tournament.
NOTE: Click on each player’s thumbnail to watch each interview.
D.J. Funderburk
It seemed Davidson had no answer for the Wolfpack’s post presence. Was that intentionally targeted early on?
“Part of our game plan, more so since Devon [Daniels] went down, part of our game plan has been to emphasize getting into the post or our guards getting into the paint. We just try to emphasize paint touches, and we play inside-out from there.”
What made you guys keep playing this season?
“I don’t know about everybody else on the team, but for the seniors, it’s our last couple games. We wanted to stay together as long as possible. If there was an option to keep playing together, then we definitely took that.”
Was this the kind of game that you envisioned as a means of getting rid of the bad taste in your mouths after the Syracuse game?
“Those five games, we won, and then the sixth game, we dropped. It was a bad taste, but we just wanted to prove to ourselves more so than anybody else that we could get back to that level of play and play style. We showed that today.”
How satisfying was tonight’s win?
“It’s good. It’s always great to have a win under our belt. But in the tournament, regardless of what tournament it is, we’ve got a chance to play next week. So, it’s definitely a great feeling.”
How good was it to have one of your three-pointers fall?
“I swear I can shoot. I promise y’all. They just have not fell this season. Seeing that go in, and then they took the other one from me, but I’ll still count it. It felt good seeing them go in. It just gave me a little bit more confidence to keep going out there and scoring the ball.”
What is the process at this point with a week until your next game?
“We’re gonna go home tomorrow, probably watch the Buffalo and Colorado State game. Whoever wins that game, we’ll prepare that whole week and be ready to come back and perform.”
How sweet does this feel to be able to show what this team can do?
“It’s always good to play. There’s a lot of teams out there that are not playing right now. It’s always a great feeling to keep playing with my brothers. With this being my last couple games here, it adds an extra little emphasis to it. I’m gonna cherish these last few games with my guys.”
How tough was Davidson’s offense to defend? How would you evaluate how you did?
“Evaluation, I would give us an ‘A’. It’s super tough guarding them. I think any other team that they play it’s definitely more difficult. They have a different option for every counter. Anytime we blew up something, they would just reset the play or go to the next option and just keep moving. They never stop moving. That was a little bit new for us. I don’t think we played anybody like that. It was just good to see. If we play another team like that, we’ll be ready.”
Did the ability to switch at all five positions stifle them?
“In film, we watched a lot of teams lock and trail or just stay with their man. People get lost, and people backdoor or get open shots. With us switching and blowing up the next option, it was hard for them to think and go to the next option after that. Or even to get their shots up because we were just closing out hard trying to make them put the ball on the floor.”
When you played in the ACC Tournament and got bounced early, did you think you were going to go onto the NIT and face an in-state team like Davidson?
“No, I wasn’t even thinking NIT after we lost the Syracuse game. Honestly, I thought we would still get lucky and get in the NCAA Tournament and go as far as we could. Playing them, it’s like playing a Wake Forest or any other team from North Carolina. Obviously, they’re going to give you their best. We just weathered the storm tonight.”
With a week until the next game, what are you going to do to keep yourselves fresh?
“We’ll just practice, go to the gym, get shots up, look at film. I think the longer we’ve got the better it is for us. We can prepare more, so we’ll be all right.”
Manny Bates
Going 7-for-7 from the field certainly has to build confidence for you...
“It definitely does. Shooting for a high percentage, it definitely helps my confidence.”
Did you feel Davidson emphasized the post play in their gameplan tonight?
“Yeah, I think part of their game plan was to go at D.J. and try to get some foul trouble early. I felt like we did a pretty good job overall.”
How tough was their big man to defend?
“It was pretty different. He is a very skilled player. He’s hard to defend.”
How pleased were you with the team’s ball movement?
“I was very pleased. Coach tries to emphasize sharing the ball. One of his emphases was trying to get half our made field goals from assists. I feel like we did a pretty good job of that.”
Why was it so important for you guys to compete in the NIT?
“Personally, I wanted to end our season out on a better note. It’s never good to end on a loss. For us to have this opportunity to play, not everybody has that opportunity and I feel like we needed to take it.”
Is this tournament something where you can build momentum for the 2021-22 season?
“Yes, definitely. Absolutely.”
Are we going to see a three-point shot from you soon?
“I don’t know. You’ve got to ask Coach.”
What does this win mean after a tough ACC Tournament loss versus Syracuse?
“Survive and advance. We get to move on. Not everybody gets to move on.”