Louisville vs. Wake Forest Postgame Quotes

Louisville Head Coach David Padgett

(Opening Statement) "We played very well offensively tonight. I thought our full court press is what got us going, got us back in the game. We came out a little flat defensively to start the game, but our bench did an unbelievable job, really gave us a huge boost. Dwayne Sutton, Darius (Perry), Ryan (McMahon), those guys played really, really well, so it was good to see that from the bench. We knew they were injury-ridden a little bit, with Mitchell Wilbekin being out, and a few other guys so we wanted to try to make it an up-tempo game and we did a good job of that. Good win, 6-2, I don't even want to talk about what we've got coming. So we will just enjoy this tonight and worry about that tomorrow."

(After the sloppy play and sloppy ball security on Wednesday, what was the biggest message going into the game tonight?) "I don't know if we had sloppy play and sloppy ball security, we only had 11 or 12 turnovers the other night. I thought the rebounding was the big issue the other night. Tonight, we get outrebounded again, and we just have got to continue to work on it. The good news is that we forced them to 20 turnovers, so that's how you can overcome getting outrebounded, but we have just got to continue to work on trying to secure more defensive rebounds as a team."
(On Darius's performance on both offense and defense) "He played really well. He, Dwayne (Sutton), and all of our guys, but those two specifically, they really thrive in that full court pressing and getting up and down because of their athleticism and their quickness. Darius (Perry) has three steals, Dwayne (Sutton) has two, they just did a really good job. When we did create turnovers, we came down and we made the right play. Twenty assists on 36 made field goals is obviously really good as well. Overall, a very good performance."

(Did V.J. need a confidence boost?) "No, He just had a tough game the other night because he got in foul trouble. He's a sophomore, almost a junior now, so he's been through it, he knows what to do. He's just trying to be aggressive. He's really buying in to trying to be our best defender. We usually try to put him on the other team's best perimeter player, and he's really taken a lot of pride in that, and he's done a very good job. I think our deflection count was near 40, and it really started with him. He got us going, and he played really well. He played aggressively, he played loose, he played without thinking, which was good to see."

(It looked like a big run in the second half when you guys started really knocking down some perimeter shots. How much better are you when you all shoot the ball like that?) "Oh yeah, there's no question. The best part about it was like I said, 20 assists. We made the extra pass, we made the right decision. We took a couple shots there at the beginning of the game that we probably a little quick, and we just said, 'Look, make the extra pass, get in the lane, and do that.' The guys did a really good job, V.J. with four assists, Q (Quentin Snider) with three, Deng (Adel) with four, Jordan(Nwora) with three, Ryan (McMahon) with two. When we share the ball like that, we seem to shoot a better percentage."

(About Anas Mahmoud's injury and asking refs about Dwayne shooting free throws) "Anas (Mahmoud) got hit in the nose and it is just painful more than anything. (About Dwayne) I guess I am not totally sure what the rule is, but I guess if he doesn't jump right up and I or the trainer have to come out the rule is technically he has to come out of the game. He said I could call a timeout to keep him in the game. I am not totally familiar with that rule. They get to pick who they want to shoot the free throws from who is left in the game. Malik Williams made them both. That was one of those weird situations."

(About players having as much fun on the court tonight during a game this year than they've had all season long) "Yeah, not only because we played well but it was just different guys. I thought our bench gave us a huge boost tonight. Even in the first half, got us back in the game by pressing and doing all of that. It's why this group is so special. Because they pull for each other to do well so much. It's nothing that surprises me to see that because that's how they are every day. They want each other to do well. It's Deng (Adel) and Q (Quentin Snider) and Ray (Spalding) who are the ones that are most excited for those other guys playing well and it's awesome to see."

(About Darius Perry's shooting was coming around) "Darius is a very, very good shooter. He's one of the better shooters on our team. He's got great form. He's got great arc. A lot of times, midway through the year maybe his shot selection was a little part of it, but that's just something freshmen have to figure out. Kind of the same thing with Malik (Williams) and Jordan (Nwora). When he gets his feet set and he's in rhythm he's a very, very good shooter. Obviously, it helps when you come in and, he was three for four from three, but make the first one and it kind of relaxes you a little bit. As long as they're open I'm fine with them taking those shots."

(About Virginia, did you watch them against Duke today) "I did, and that was actually one of the first times I've watched them. To go from unranked to where they are, it's pretty impressive. To go into Cameron to beat Duke, who's arguably the most talented team in the country says a lot. Like I said, I haven't watched a ton but they've obviously been our kryptonite in this league for the last three years. Hopefully, we can change that this year but we're just going to sit down tomorrow and take a long, hard look at it and see where we can try to hurt them. It doesn't seem like anybody's having a lot of success hurting them. We've just got to be ready because starting with next week, even though next week is January, our February schedule is pretty brutal. It gets us off to a tough stretch but we've still got some momentum going into it."

(About being in second place in the league) "Yeah, I mean we're playing well. About eight games, we have ten more. Being in second place after eight games is good but it's more so about where you finish. I'm just glad we're playing well. The one thing we've got to shore up is our rebounding. We'll continue to work at it and harp on it. Tonight turning the team over 20 times, but overall, pretty pleased because we're playing well and guys are getting better which is what you want to see this time of year."

(About wanting a flagrant on that Dwayne Sutton dunk during the game "Yeah, I mean I don't think it was flagrant. It's just like you said, it's one of those dangerous plays because he's up in the air. The guy's coming from behind. I think Dwayne's ok as far as I know. It's just one of those plays. It could be a lot scarier but luckily it didn't turn out too badly."

(About the tempo) "Our defense got us going. We got stops. We pushed it. I told the guys we wanted to just get it and go. They've had some injuries. Obviously, losing (Mitchell) Wilbekin the last couple days in practice hurts their depth. We just wanted to make it an up and down game. We did a very good job of that. It feels great to see that we generated offense from our defense."

Wake Forest Head Coach Danny Manning
(Opening statement) "I thought Louisville came out and they played, obviously, a very good ballgame if you look at the score. We didn't provide enough resistance in certain areas. There are quite a few areas where we have to get better. They took advantage of us, especially in the turnover department. We turned the ball over 20 times, which led to 28 points for them. And then transition defense, they outscored us by 15 there. So, those are two categories that jump out right away looking at the stat sheet. We didn't play well enough in those categories to give ourselves a chance throughout the ballgame."

(On player team morale and frustration after the game) "When you lose, you should be upset. You should be frustrated. The thing about it is, when you're frustrated, the energy level has to pick up individually. The energy level has to be somebody makes a hustle play and then somebody else makes a hustle play. We had some guys try to do that, but overall, we've got to continue to grind and get better. Nobody cares what our record is. Nobody cares about whatever you're going through in this league. Nobody cares. Nobody cares but the guys on your team and the people that are cheering for you. You've got to figure out a way to get out of it yourself. That's where we're at right now."

(On turning frustration into something positive) "Absolutely. As a coach, it's get bitter and get better. Get bitter, if you're bitter, but get better. The only way that you can get better is to continue to go out and play with energy and things like that will start to work in your favor. You can't hang your hat on making shots. You can't hang your hat on thinking you're going to play mistake-free basketball, because nobody's going to do that. You've just got to make sure that you continue to string together as many good plays as possible."

(What did you see the most that impressed you from Louisville?) "You watch them on tape and you look at their stats and they have a lot of wonderful attributes, but the one thing you can't mimic is their length and athleticism… contesting shots at the rim, length, athleticism and switching ball screens where they're switching out some of their bigs on guards and doing a pretty good job of staying in front."

(Mitchell (Wilbekin's) ankle injury, do you expect him back for Florida State later in the week?) "I don't know… how I deal with injuries is when the trainers tell me they're ready to go, they're ready to go. He turned it the other day and obviously today he had a crutch out there and he's slowly getting better. When he's ready, he'll be ready. I don't have an answer for you on that."

(What do you take away as learning experience for your players to propel them toward more success going forward?)
"Every game that we've played we can find something that we did well. We can find some positives. We've just got to string it all together and we can't go through lulls in games where we turn the ball over 20 times or we give up that many points off our turnovers. I thought we did a decent job rebounding the basketball, we got some second chance opportunities, which is something that we've been challenging our guys to do, but we've got to do a better job of taking care of the basketball. And a lot of times, it's not necessarily the passer's fault, it's the receivers fault because he doesn't go meet the basketball and teams are able to run through passing lane."

(How has Chaundee Brown progressed since the game against Boston College) "I think the stat line for him was pretty good in terms of shooting the basketball, getting to the free throw line. He finished with 20 points. Obviously, you'd like to not have five turnovers in that situation. But, I think this was just another game for him where he put together some good things. We still have got a lot of work to do."

(On Louisville taking control in the second half, what did you see that changed the momentum their way?) "You don't finish a defensive possession and they get an extra opportunity to try and score the basketball. Or we had a live ball turnover, and that leads to an easy opportunity for them. A couple times, we didn't get matched up and a couple guys got loose in transition, knocked down some big shots. I think those were the big plays that really hurt us. I thought we did a decent job guarding sets, but when you score as many points as they did off of turnovers, they weren't in that set offense a lot."

(On Doral Moore's performance, are you happy with the way the guards are able to find him in the paint?) "We need to get better. We missed him a few times. I'm a big guy, I recognize that. But, he's got to continue to work. But, four offensive rebounds and nine defensive - those are pretty good numbers. The one thing for him is…he's got to take his time when he makes post moves and draw some fouls, because he didn't get to the free throw line tonight."

(Moore landed awkwardly at one point – is he okay?) "The trainers haven't said anything to me. I usually speak to them on the bus ride home or when we get back."

University of Louisville Athletics

Players Mentioned

Anas Mahmoud

Darius Perry

Quentin Snider

Dwayne Sutton

Malik Williams

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