Quotebook: ACC – Big Ten Challenge
In conjunction with our three-part feature on the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, here are the notable quotes from the two-day tournament.
Wake Forest vs. Minnesota
“I feel like Tom Hanks on that island. I was starting to draw faces on the basketballs on the sideline. Somehow we survived.”
“I give them credit to Minnesota for controlling the game 37, 38 minutes. But our players showed great character.”
– Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser, on his team’s last-minute comeback to defeat Minnesota.
Illinois at Maryland
“We’re not very good yet. We were exposed. We don’t trust each other much. But give Maryland credit — that was a 13-point game that felt like it could be 25.”
– Illinois coach Bill Self after the Illini’s 13-point loss to Maryland
“Overrated!”
– the raucous Cole Field House crowd during the Maryland-Illinois game
Duke vs Iowa
“This team is not in competition with last year’s team. This team has to run its own race. This team has to go through its own process and handling the mantle of being No. 1. They have a lot of pressure on them. I believe we can become better as a result.”
– Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski after the 18-point victory over Iowa
“We came in with a big-game mindset. There was the usual anti-Duke crowd, so it was a fun game.”
– Duke forward Mike Dunleavy
“We’ve got a lot of potential, and our club has the ability to play together. You see the talent on some NBA teams, but they can’t play together like we can.”
– Duke guard Jason Williams
“We can’t allow ourselves to get down like that. We’re not at their level.”
– Iowa’s Luke Recker after the loss to Duke.
“We know we’re very good. We didn’t have one of our better nights and Duke’s very good. They had a lot to do with us not playing well.”
– Iowa coach Steve Alford
Indiana at North Carolina
“I’m excited about this team and that may sound sick to you guys because we’re 0-3.”
– North Carolina coach Matt Doherty
“Kris Lang was unstoppable. I thought I was a smart coach, but it was dumb playing man-to-man against him because we had no answer for him.”
– Indiana coach Mike Davis
“We just need to take that round thing and put it in that iron rim.”
– North Carolina’s Kris Lang, after scoring 27 in the loss to Indiana
Michigan State vs. Viginia
“It was a hard fall. They should have ended the game in the first half. A lot of people fell and there could have been injuries. When I hit the floor, it hurt. But this floor was worse earlier. I didn’t think they should play the game – period. I don’t want to ever play here again.”
– Virginia’s Travis Watson mincing words about the Richmond Coliseum court
“I was scared stiff. I was nervous that guys would rip their groins, tear a knee or break an ankle. It’s embarrassing. I wouldn’t come back here, not if I had anything to do with it. We wanted to play this game. There was a sellout crowd, the national television. We thought we could start it and get through it. We hoped the heat of the building would improve the condensation, but it didn’t. It was the right decision [to stop the game].”
– Virginia coach Pete Gillen
“You should have seen it during the day, it was brutal under the baskets. I knew we might not play this game. There were times when Al [Anagonye] looked like he was moonwalking on the court instead of running.”
– Michigan State coach Tom Izzo
“This was the most bizarre evening I’ve ever experienced. It was like Bambi on ice.”
– Pete Gillen
North Carolina State at Ohio State
“It wasn’t pretty. That’s probably an understatement. We were shaking our heads in disbelief.”
– Ohio State coach Jim O’Brien regarding the 14 missed free throws and 19 turnovers while still netting the victory
“You don’t even need to practice. You can take random shots and make that many. You could take some guys off the street and hit that many. You’ve just got to swallow hard and credit Ohio State’s defense. You never expect to shoot that kind of percentage.”
– NC State coach Herb Sendek, after his Wolfpack went 15 of 55 from the field (27 percent) and 4-of-27 from three point land.
Florida State at Northwestern
“I guess I was forced to just deal with it, but of all the years I’ve been here, I’ve never had a game called on me like that. I know they can’t make the right call every time, but it seemed like every wrong call came against me.”
– Florida State senior guard Delvon Arrington, on fouling out with six minutes remaining in the loss to Northwestern
Clemson at Penn State
“You can tell it’s hunting season because we were shooting the ball really well in the first half.”
– Penn State senior forward Tyler Smith
Wisconsin at Georgia Tech
“It took a freshman playing on a bad ankle observing Ramadan to go out there and play like that. They [Wisconsin] sliced us up tonight, they completely broke us down. They just ran out of gas over the last 12 minutes. If we get confidence out of this, we’re kidding ourselves.”
– Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt, complimenting his freshman forward Isma’il Muhammad, and giving his own team a pep talk
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