Feb. 7, 2006

Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams
Opening statement:
"Virginia came out and played at a very high level. We had to really dig deep to find a way to play against Virginia because they're a very good team. Before we started to play decently offensively, our defense picked it up. That's what allowed us to keep it a reasonable score at halftime. In the second half, we became a very good offensive team and kept our defense where it was. Our passing was excellent in the second half and we really executed. Parrish came in played great. He really sparked us in the second half. At the end, everyone sunk their free-throws. I was really proud of our team play, and we have to play that way down the stretch."

On emotions in tonight's game:
"It was easy coaching because the game was so hard. It sounds funny, but when you have to coach in a game like that, and you do whatever it takes to try to win the game. It was tough at the end of the game because you really think about how lucky you are. When I left here, I was a junior varsity coach at Woodrow High School in Camden (New Jersey). I realize where I've been and how great it is to coach here."

On the play of Parrish Brown:
"Parrish is pretty quick on his feet and he recognizes things really quickly. He's a little undersized, but he matched up with them tonight so I thought he felt very comfortable out there. I told him tonight just go in there and win the game for us. Don't worry about anything else. Just try and help us win it. He was great."

On the play of Sterling Ledbetter:
"Without Sterling we would have been down big at half time. I really believe that. He's a lot bigger than people think so he's a good match for the other team when he's out there.

On the play of D.J. Strawberry:
"I keep telling him to shoot when he's open. He'll be a much better driver when he shoots when he's open because people will have to guard him. He got a lot of shots in this summer when he got back from knee surgery and has become a much better shooter. As a shooter, you have to believe you can make it, and tonight there was no hesitation on his part and he was great."

On Ekene Ibekwe:
"Ekene had a career high in rebounds. We keep telling him how good he is and what he's capable of doing and he showed that tonight."

Virginia Head Coach Dave Leitao
Opening statement:
"My congratulations go out to the Maryland basketball program and especially out to head Coach Gary Williams. There are only a few storied and tradition-laden programs in America. When you can call yourself the best coach at one of those schools in the history of basketball, that is not something that is handed out very often. He coaches with the same level of energy and passion that I like to think we play with in our program, and I admire him."

On the final ten minutes of the game:
"They started to go high-low and we tried to counter it. We've been talking about it for two days. We got stagnant and started standing in our zone. We weren't guarding people in our area. They were attacking and we weren't responding to that challenge. We turned it over but only a few times in their full court pressure. It took more of a toll that we were sitting in that zone. We paid a price for not boxing out. We thought that if we could make them beat us over the top it would be to our advantage."

On Virginia's strong start:
"We played with collective focus and energy. We talked about getting off to a good start, and to our credit we did. We gave ourselves a cushion that we could play with knowing that starting out 13-0, the game may not end up with us winning by 13 because we're on the road and we're playing against a very good team. We were just trying to execute and maintain what we had done to get the lead."

Maryland Forward Ekene Ibekwe
On the comeback:
"We had a lot of intensity. We came out too slow and Virginia came out very strong. They're a good team, but we wanted this win for Coach on the home court. We came on strong and in the second half we were able to make our shots and get rebounds and blocks that we needed."

On regaining his starting spot:
"I feel like I'm a big part of this team, but I want to give it up for my teammates. They're like my brothers. I wanted to come out here and do it for my team. We're a good team and we're looking to accomplish some big things this year."

On Gary Williams' milestone win:
"It's not surprising that he was emotional. It was a long time coming for him. You have to look up to someone like that. He told us never to second guess ourselves, and not to believe what outsiders were saying about us. We want to go out and play hard the rest of the season for him."

Maryland Guard D.J. Strawberry
On the game:
"We needed this win badly, and it felt great. We know that if we want to accomplish our goals, we have to go out there and win games. It's all about us, and everybody did their job today. I feel great."

On his big shots down the stretch:
"That was emotion. I hit a couple of big shots for us today, and that was just emotion going through me. I went all out, and tried to give everything I had to win this game."

On Gary Williams' milestone win:
"He's always emotional, and we play off him. He goes through me so that I can bring that emotion to the floor. I tried to do that today and let it all out. It was definitely great to win this game for him."

Maryland Forward Nik Caner-Medley
On the game:
"It was definitely a huge win for us. It was a team win. We did a lot of good things tonight and we were persistent in what we were trying to do. We got the ball inside and we wanted D.J. [Strawberry] to be really aggressive, and he did that for us. We're happy to get this win for Coach, and now we have to get ready for Duke."

Virginia Guard Sean Singletary
On Maryland's defense:
"We definitely didn't think our defense was lapsing. They outworked us in terms of rebounds. They just wanted it more than we did. I'm disappointed, but they played well in the end. "

Virginia Guard J.R. Reynolds
On Maryland:
"We're disappointed. Road games are real important. We were ready to come out to play. Especially in the second half, they came out with a lot of energy. We just didn't have it in the second half. I had two quick fouls in the first five or six minutes, and that can make it tough to go out and try and get back in the groove. My teammates did a great job in the first half keeping the lead, but Maryland came out too strong in the second."