Clemson vs. Duke Coaches' Quotes

by Press Release - Fri Feb 23 00:06:51 GMT-04:00 2007

Coach Mike Krzyzewski Quotes: Clemson vs. Duke

"Obviously we were real pleased with the win. I don't think that we could have played much better than we did for about 15 minutes of the first half. I thought that the last 15 seconds of the half were an indication that they were going to make a run at us in the second half. They came out aggressive, and you knew they were going to come back. The crowd was great, their press was real good. But our kids made big plays to get the momentum back. I thought Josh's (McRoberts) full court drive was big for us. Scheyer hit some big buckets in the last three or four minutes as well. We don't win that game unless our kids step up."

"Sometimes with a young team you build a lead, and then lose your edge. You try to motivate and settle them down."

"I thought that the first eight minutes of the second half we were tentative and then the press was real good. I think that if they would have tried to press in the first half we would have been able to break it because our confidence was high and we were playing much better."

"Ever since we had those two losses in the beginning of the season, I have seen our team grow each week. They are still growing now."

"We didn't defend the drive very well in the second half. Sometimes when the defense struggles, it has a way of going over to the offense."

"I can't remember another year where the ACC is this strong top to bottom. I hope that all the teams get rewarded because there are a lot of good teams in the conference."

Coach Oliver Purnell Quotes: DUKE 2/22/07

"I don't think we took control in the first half extremely well but overall played hard throughout the game. In the last seven games it seems like we let the first half get away from what we wanted to do. We did a great job coming back in the second half and I'm proud of the way we played."

"We did not hang our heads and I told them to hang in there and give themselves a chance. I don't think we played the way we wanted tonight and we got a little impatient with some of our shots."

"Duke did a good job with their free throws at the end of the game and we had a couple of turnovers. We were very energized at the end and tried to get our wits about us. Overall I think we played with a high energy level at the end but couldn't get the win."

"We are in a very difficult spot right now as far as the NCAA tournament goes and we need to win some games. Two out of the last three games are on the road in the ACC but we've got to win them."