Jan. 11, 2010

Head coach Gary Williams

On Wake Forest
“Wake Forest is different this year but they're still very good, very big. They're probably quicker. With (Ishmael) Smith at the point, even though (Jeff) Teague is an NBA player, there is nobody quicker than Smith foul line to foul line with the ball. (Al-Farouq) Aminu has really stepped it up this year. I think they've asked him to do more, especially with (James) Johnson leaving. (Aminu) is really versatile. He can go from the top of the circle and he's a great offensive rebounder at the same time. So they're especially good there.”

On Maryland's veteran guards
“I think you have an advantage when you have veteran guards in college basketball. Smith, for instance is a veteran guard at Wake Forest and that really helps their team. To lose a player of Teague's ability but have a player like Smith come in is certainly an asset. Greivis (Vasquez) and Eric (Hayes) are definitely assets for us. They've allowed Adrian Bowie and Cliff Tucker to come along. We've got a pretty good bench now because of that. Adrian and Cliff playing against Greivis and Eric every day in practice, they learn. Whether you know it or not you're learning. What they do, how they get open, when to run a play, how to run a play, all those things – it takes time. You can't just say 'OK, the ball should go here when they do this,' you have to experience it, and we have good experience in the backcourt.”

On how important watching tape becomes when playing two games in three days
“(It comes down) to maturity. I always thought when I played that I could become a better basketball player by watching someone else, whether it be on television or in person. I think you can learn about another team by watching them on tape as well as being on the court trying to duplicate their plays with the second team. We have to do that in this situation.”

On carrying over the good play from UNC Greensboro to Florida State
“I think that game helped us at (UNC) Greensboro. I was hoping we would remember it because we had a week off. But it did help us. Even though we weren't playing an ACC team, we were on the road on a different court and we really moved the ball. Last night, against a better defensive team, we were able to move the ball. It certainly wasn't as easy to score, but we did get some good looks against the number one field goal percentage (defense) team in the country. So that gives us motivation to go against another good defensive team. (Wake Forest) is seventh in that same category.”