Pregame Quotes: Georgia Tech At Maryland
1/29/2005 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 29, 2005
Head Coach Gary Williams
On Will Bowers:
"He's really improved. A lot of it is confidence, he feels like he belongs on the court. A player has to get to that point, no matter what your skills are, before you can be a good basketball player. Will had to feel his way last year and now he understands that with his size, if he goes really hard he can be pretty successful."
On Georgia Tech center Luke Schenscher:
"Schenscher's got experience. He was a good player on a team that played in the championship game last year."
On coming off a big win at Duke:
"We haven't been consistent at the start of some games. Hopefully we will take that Duke game, where we did start really well, and continue to be like that the rest of the year. Whether we can do it or not, that's what we have to prove tomorrow."
On his team's work ethic:
"I try to get guys to work hard even when things aren't going the way you'd like them to go. A lot of guys, they'll put in extra work at the gym when things are going well, but only the great ones are the same in terms of how hard they work all the time."
Sophomore center Will Bowers
On his first career start against Duke:
"I'm happy to be out there on the court helping my team. I just tried to relax and treat it like any other game. I feel like I belong out there. I've gotten a lot of confidence from my teammates and coaches. It's easier to play when you feel like you belong on the court with everyone else. I've been working really hard in practice and hard work pays off. I've always felt that if I worked hard and showed the coaches that I could contribute that it would work out well for me. I got some opportunities last year and I didn't always take advantage of them. This year, I try to take advantage of every opportunity that I'm out on the court."
On coming off a big win against Duke and facing Georgia Tech at home on Sunday:
"We're very excited as a team. It was a great win for us and we feel if we can get another one tomorrow we'll be in good shape. We're excited about the opportunity to play Georgia Tech at home."
On Georgia Tech 7-1 center Luke Schenscher:
"He's a really important part of their offense, both as a scorer in the post and as a passer. So I'll try to play really hard against him."
On his strengths:
"I try to come in and play good defense on the opposing team's big man. I rebound and play hard and try to take advantage of opportunities I have to score. There are so many great big men in the ACC, so if you don't come out focused on defense you're going to get eaten alive."
Junior forward Travis Garrison
On coming off the bench against Duke:
"It was something different for me. I used it to my advantage; saw how guys were playing defense and I saw some things I could do when I got in there."
On converting key free throws at the end of the game vs. the Blue Devils:
"I'm happy I got a chance to contribute in a great win at Duke. The guys were playing so well, to the point that I was sitting on the bench watching my teammates play and I was so proud."
On teammate Will Bowers:
"I know how good Will is. I know the things he can do and I have confidence in him. He made me proud and the way he went out and played was great for the team. He is more confident in his game now."
Junior guard Nik Caner-Medley
On his stellar performance despite the hostile environment of Cameron Indoor Stadium:
"Anywhere you go on the road people are going to say stuff to you. As a player, you can't let it affect your game. You understand that they do it to every player who walks into their gym, so you don't take it personally or get upset. You just play the game and it's never something I've had a problem with."
On the season so far:
"When you're an athlete, you have ups and downs. You're not going to have a season where everything goes perfect. You have good things that happen and bad things that happen. It's how you respond to them that's going to decide how your season goes."
On how well he has been playing:
"I've tried to be aggressive. I've scored more lately and I think it's due to being aggressive and taking the ball to the basket. I've tried to find ways to score and help my team."
On coming back home to play Georgia Tech:
"It's an important game at home against a good team. In terms of how important the game is to us, we're preparing for it. The most important thing that coach talks to us about is that after you lose a game at home like the game against NC State, you can't get too down on yourself. You still have to come in and practice hard and get ready to go to Duke, which is not an easy thing to do. We did well with that and got that big win, but then he also told us that you can't get too hyped up and overexcited about the win. You have to stay in the middle and not react to either situation too high or too low."
