Dec. 8, 2010

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Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams

Opening statement:
"That was a big game for us to play well. I know we were favored going in to the game but I wanted to play well. That was important. I thought we had good energy. I thought the guys that started did a good job getting us started at both halves and our bench was still very positive, they really did some good things.

"We gave Jordan [Williams] some help in terms of rebounding in the second half, which is important. He kind of dominated the first half for us.

"The second half more guys got involved on the glass. I think James Padgett finished up with nine rebounds and he had three at halftime, so that was good to see. (We had) a good field-goal percentage. I thought we were unselfish throughout the whole night. Sometimes that doesn't happen when you get a lead like that and it was good to see. We approached this game very well after the Temple game and we put away a lot of distractions and speculation. We were tough enough not to deal with that, came out and played well. It was good to see."

On the play of Adrian Bowie and Cliff Tucker:
"I really believe in them. They've been loyal, four-year players. That means a lot to me. I don't know if it means a lot to everyone else but it means a lot to me. I'll go to the wall for guys like that, (ones who) have stuck with the program, played behind some good players, and now it's their turn. They struggled a bit the last couple of games, but that doesn't mean they can't be outstanding players for us this year. With the ACC starting on Sunday, it's very important that they play well because they have the most experience on the team. And sometimes it's different when you get in to conference play in terms of how everything is, and they've been through it before so it's important that they did play well tonight. I thought they both did great jobs."

On this week's practice:
"We tried to stay pretty basic in practice and work on the things that we took from the Temple game. That game was painful in that we came back and put ourselves in a position to win and didn't. That hurts as much as any way to lose a game. So we had to regroup pretty quick and stay positive about what we're trying to do this year because Temple's a good team. They've been picked pretty high, but we have to learn how to win those games. I think that was the message in practice. We should be able to do that. We should be able to win those games. But we have to get better to be able to do that and tonight was a step and we'll find out more on Sunday."

On Terrell Stoglin:
"I was impressed when we recruited him, I thought he could do that, and he hasn't been disappointing. He still makes some mistakes, and he knows it. He's tough enough to fight you. I kind of like that. In other words he really believes in himself and you can't shake him. He doesn't like criticism, but at the same time he listens. I think he has a chance to be an outstanding player along with a lot of our freshmen. Mychal Parker got a chance to play a little bit. He's got some skills. He's starting to learn the offense now and get comfortable. He's a very good passer for a guy who's 6-foot-6, in addition to being able to score."

Sophomore Forward Jordan Williams

On rebounding after a tough loss:
"I think these past two days of practice the older guys have really stepped up and shown their leadership. Coach Williams put everyone up to the challenge. I'm really excited for the older guys, Sean [Mosley] and all the younger guys to step up. I'm really happy with the outcome of tonight."

On starting ACC play:
"It's really starting at the perfect time for us. The first ACC game is what we look forward to all season. There is nothing like playing in the toughest conference in the country."

On the offensive progression:
"We are being a lot more patient with each other. We are bringing everything together and not being selfish. We are playing great team basketball right now."

Senior Guard/Forward Cliff Tucker

On tonight's performance:
"The last few games I haven't been playing to my potential. Tonight I stopped thinking about things and let the game come to me. I was much more aggressive and did the little things well like going after loose balls and rebounds. I think my game improved from not thinking so much."

On preparing for Sunday's game against Boston College:
"This is a good game for us to see where we are as a team. We all played hard and it's a good confidence booster for Boston College. It's going to be a tough game, but we are all excited to play the first ACC game of the year. We want to have good practices on Friday and Saturday so we can get ready to compete for another ACC Championship."

Senior Guard Adrian Bowie

On playing both guard positions:
"It really depends on who is on the court. If Terrell [Stoglin] is on the court, then I have to move over to the 2, but if Pe'Shon [Howard] is on the court, then it depends on our defensive matchups. Once the first [shot] went in, I knew I could be more aggressive. It's really a confidence thing with me."

On starting ACC play:
"I love the ACC. It is the best conference in the country. I can't wait to play Boston College. We are definitely ready. We always have things to improve on, but at this point in the season, we are ready."

On practice after the Temple game:
"We really needed a challenge after Temple. We didn't step up to our potential, and Coach Williams saw that. I never thought I was playing for my starting position, but I was worried about my play and how it was affecting the team."

On tonight's offensive distribution:
"We were very unselfish and it really helped us out. They couldn't key in on one guy, so we could drive it in and kick it out. We were able to spread the floor and open up a lot of passing avenues."

UNC Greensboro Head Coach Mike Dement

On the loss:
"We battled early and we had a stretch where we had a chance to cut it in the middle of the first half. We've been down a lot to a lot of good teams. I think that Williams was tough inside and [Terrell] Stoglin was really good as well. We missed a lot of shots and I think that it was difficult to keep our spirits up. We kept missing them and missing them, it really took the wind out of our sails. It was a tough loss. We played Monday night, an emotional loss, and had exams this morning, those are excuses but they certainly are conducive. It was difficult to compete against such an ACC team with 24 hours of preparation."

On half-time adjustments:
"The half-time adjustments weren't very good ones, they came out and scored five in a row. We talked about defensive ends and right away they came out and got an inside basket. They also got an outside three right away, right after the half. We didn't do very well in any kind of adjustments."

On Kyle Randall's game:
"Kyle came out and was aggressive. He really tried to attack the basket. We had some guys struggling to make some baskets and Randall helped us through without [Trevis] Simpson being able to play."

On practice adjustments:
We'll have a couple days off and start back up Saturday. We'll be doing a lot of work on the defensive end, working on zones and man-to-man. We were giving up a lot of easy shots. We need to get back to blocking out; they got a lot of offensive rebounds. We got a problem, we need to play defensively."