Jan. 10, 2010

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Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams

Opening statement:
"This was really a good team win tonight. In the first half, I think Greivis Vasquez really showed his maturity. He had a very tough game down at Florida State last year, and he was really looking to get the ball to other people because they were putting quite a few people on him when he drove. Landon [Milbourne] and Eric [Hayes] really had it going, and Greivis was able to get them the ball. In the second half, they made some adjustments, Greivis had some looks, and he was ready. When it was his turn, I just thought he played a terrific game along with the other two seniors, Eric and Landon."

On the defensive effort down low:
"Both James Padgett and Jordan Williams did a terrific job for us defensively. You won't see a bigger front line than [Florida State's] in college, and we were able to actually outrebound them for the game."

On the team's effort:
"We've been working hard for about three weeks to try to get to the point where we could beat a nationally ranked team like Florida State, who is a very good basketball team. They just make you work, and I respect teams like that where you have to match their intensity level. And we were able to do that tonight."

On Greivis Vasquez's performance:
"I'll put Greivis with anybody in terms of what he brings overall to a team during a game situation. I'm proud of him, but I expect him to play like this. He's that type of player."

On the team's three-point shooting:
"We went inside-out tonight, which is always the key for us. We'll get good looks if we take the ball to the basket because we're a pretty good passing team."

On the team's rebounding effort:
"We had five guys going to the glass tonight. We had good balance, and that's the only way we can expect to rebound against a team like that. We can't expect our big guys to match with their guys rebounding, but throw some guards in there, and all of a sudden, we're a pretty good rebounding team."

Senior Guard Greivis Vasquez

On knocking off the ranked Seminoles...
"Our team played Maryland basketball. That's why it feels good. We played the way we're supposed to play and we're going to take it from there."

On staving off the FSU comeback attempt:
"This is the ACC. We knew coming out of halftime they were going to make a run. You've got to give them credit. They're a pretty good team with a pretty good coach. We just stayed together and we got the win."

On overcoming the Seminoles' size advantage:
"We were trying to be aggressive. Landon [Milbourne] was being so aggressive in the paint and so was Jordan [Williams]. Everybody was just getting in there and getting second chances. We showed them that we came to play. It wasn't easy but we did what we practiced all week."

Senior Forward Landon Milbourne

On outrebounding the Seminoles...
"We did that last year and we felt we had a lot of confidence that we could do the same thing again. It was something that we'd been focusing on a lot during practice. We just tried to keep moving and not catch ourselves looking at the ball. We've been spending a lot of time on that in practice and we did a good job of that tonight."

On moving to 1-0 in the conference...
"It's good going into the ACC season with a win. We're just going to keep it moving from here."

Florida State Head Coach Leonard Hamilton

Opening Statement:
"I thought that Maryland played a lot more mature than we did tonight. I thought that they had a game plan that they stuck with. They moved the ball and made the extra pass. That accounted for many of the offensive rebounds, because they moved and reversed the ball. Before they took the shot they broke up our defensive pressure and sometimes when they would miss the shot, the ball would bounce long and it was always bouncing in their direction. We did block a shot back to them and they got an extra bucket. That's what a mature team would do and you have to give them credit because I thought that made a big difference in the game.

"They were able to stick with their game plan for the full 40 minutes and I thought that we didn't. In the first half, we took the first shot opportunity that was available and we really had not been doing that. We've been moving the ball to make the extra pass, but our team is still growing and learning and developing. I thought Maryland's consistency with the execution just demonstrated a little more maturity than what we have right now."

On Alabi's absence in the first half and its impact on the game:
"I'm sure it had something to do with the outcome of the game. We probably could have played him a little more, I was just kind of hopeful that we could keep it within six or seven points and then I thought that we'd be OK coming back in the second half. But right there at the end, they extended it to five or six points. We missed so many lay-ups I thought and the dunk, but had we been able to play with a little bit more maturity, we wouldn't have dug such a hole for ourselves. But that's what good teams will do for you. Mature teams...even when they have the lead, they kept the pace that they thought was comfortable for them to give them the best opportunity to win."

On Vasquez and Hayes:
"That's two guys that have been there enough that when the game's on the line, they make mature plays. I thought that we never got that type of rhythm. The right guys took the shots and they understood our defensive principles and we faltered. They made us fake."

On his feelings about losing this ACC road game:
"We have 14 more games. It's been a long time since anyone in the ACC has gone undefeated in this league, so unfortunately, you try to win the ones that you have an opportunity with. This is only one game. I like our team, I think we'll adjust and bounce back. Hopefully we'll learn from the miscues, but you have to give Maryland the credit for sticking with the game plan and for playing a very smart, mature game. Hopefully we'll learn from it and give the people that we're playing against a more consistent focus that we were able to do tonight."

Sophomore Center Solomon Alabi

On Florida State's second-half run
"We had a run. We should have stuck to it and just keep playing defense. We were kind of laid back a little bit after we came back. We didn't get rebounds and that's one of the {things} that killed us."

On Maryland's team:
"They move the ball a lot and try and find that wide-open shot for themselves. They did a good job with that. We have got to do a better job getting rebounds and we'll get a second chance this season."

Sophomore Guard Deividas Dulkys

On their mistakes:
"I don't think we got the defensive plan down. Coach told us exactly what they were going to do and they did it. We were just a split-second late and that's why they were shot-faking and driving the lane and kept getting open shots. They were playing really as a team."

On the loss:
"It hurts. It really does. But they were tougher than we were. That's the bottom line. They wanted it more than we did. We are going to recover back. We are going to do whatever we can to get ready for the NC State game and then when they come back, we'll be ready."