March 4, 2010

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Head coach Gary Williams

Opening Statement:
"Defensively, we won the game. No one scores a lot of points against Duke, but what we did early, we were really hot and made some great plays. You'd like to think that you can do that for 40 minutes, but you're not because they're going to find the ways to shut you down and they did. At halftime, we had to come out and fight, and for the first eight minutes (of the second half), no one was scoring and it was two really good teams fighting each other. I say fighting in a very positive way. That's what you do when you compete in any sport, you fight.

"I thought Adrian Bowie tonight in the second half was a great player, he might have been the difference for us. He got us through. Greivis Vasquez, the great player that he is, made a couple shots, just some incredible shots. Jordan Williams was really picking it up a notch as the game went on. That was a courageous performance for Jordan. He really got schooled down at Duke and they have a way of doing that with their size. I thought Jordan really learned from that game. When you coach a freshman with the potential that Jordan has, that is really an encouraging sign to me as a coach. You want players to learn. You don't mind that they get beat early in their careers, you want them to learn. You don't want them to get beat the same way. He came out tonight and I think he was determined to show that he can play with the big guys and he did a very good job for us.

"I'm really proud of this team. Everyone stayed tough. We wouldn't let them get away from us. It was stuck there for a while because things weren't going real well for us, but we fought through it and I'm just proud of these guys."

On tonight's crowd:
"The crowds have been great. We've been able to sell [tickets] on a consistent basis. We've really had great crowds here. Hopefully that will continue as the years go on. We really appreciate that from our fans. This isn't easy, being in an area with all these pro teams and other really good college teams in the area. I'm proud of getting 18,000 in here most nights."

On Maryland's seniors:
"We have four seniors. Jerome Burney has been an important part of our team. He's been hurt and hasn't been able to play. But [Hayes, Milbourne and Vasquez] are special because they all have come through some things. They all heard, especially last year, that they weren't good enough. It's nice to see that they were good enough to be pretty good players here at Maryland."

On Eric Hayes:
"It's amazing on Senior Night. He's probably the one guy that is not excited. Maybe he is deep down but he just goes out and plays and practices, it doesn't matter. He just plays his game. It is great to have a guy out there who you know how he is going to play just about every time he is on the court."

On Landon Milbourne:
"Landon has been struggling a little bit. But he keeps fighting it and I think he is going to have a great end of the season for us. I think he was better tonight. I think he was quicker."

On Greivis Vasquez:
"What he has done for himself, as a person, for his family, what lies ahead for him and his family, it is a great story. It is tremendous to see. That's the part of coaching that I enjoy and get a lot of satisfaction from, even at this point. To see the guy that comes over here and can barely speak English at all and now he is going to graduate with the other three seniors."

Senior guard Eric Hayes

On his last game at Comcast:
"It's kind of sad because like you see tonight it's a great place to play. It was amazing tonight. It's sad we won't be able to play here again but we've got a lot of season ahead of us."

On the last few minutes of the game:
"I think we all kept our composure pretty well. [Jon] Scheyer was scoring a lot late, so was [Nolan] Smith. We did a good job on offense getting buckets, Greivis [Vasquez] had one, I had one. We all did a great job of staying composed down the stretch."

On being tied for first in the ACC:
"Preseason rankings don't mean much. If you work hard and believe in the guys on your team you can do anything. So it's one of those things where we're working hard and it's been paying off."

On junior guard Adrian Bowie:
"Adrian really saved us in the second half. We were struggling to score and he came in there when Greivis [Vasquez] and I were on the bench and he provided us a nice spark of scoring, playing good defense, getting out on the break. He really stepped up for us."

Senior forward Landon Milbourne

On Duke's rally:
"I think in the first half they were in a zone and that kind of threw us off a little bit and we took a couple of tough shots. But in the second half we came out there and we just had it in our minds that we were going to take it at them every time, every opportunity we got. We were going to run our offense well, try and get to the line and get some free throws, just do what it takes.

On senior night:
"It was big. I was thinking about it all night. Once it started to get going though it wasn't a big thing. My focus was on getting this win. That was the most important thing for me, Eric [Hayes] and Greivis [Vasquez]. We just wanted to come out here and play as hard as we could for our last time on this court and show everyone what Maryland basketball is all about."

On Maryland basketball:
"We've just have to make sure we go out there and get another win. That's one of the things Coach was talking about was for this group right here, to get another banner put up and that's a big goal and that's something we can get."

Senior guard Greivis Vasquez

On the shot to put Maryland up two baskets at the end of the game:
"I work on those shots. I'm going to be honest, it went in and I thank God for that. I was an unbelievable shot and it went in. I was going to take the shot and the credit if I made it, and the hit if I missed it. I was going to go for it. I was going to take that risk and I got it in and we won the game."

On his final game at Comcast:
"I'm thankful. I'm so happy I came back to school. I want to thank the whole Maryland institution for having me here. I'm sure my family is so thankful too, and my whole country as well. We don't have any words as to how we can thank everybody at Maryland, every professor, every student, everybody that works with us."

On celebrating after the game:
"It was just great. It's an unbelievable feeling. I'm just proud of my team and I'm so thankful to be here enjoying this moment."

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski

Opening statement:
"It was a heck of game. I thought both teams played their hearts out. There was a lot of emotion in this building and they fed off of it early on and almost knocked us out of the building. Our kids responded really well. With six minutes to go in the half I thought we controlled the game. We started out the second half the same way and we did not put the ball in the basket. When we were fouled on the drive, instead of getting three points we'd hit one free throw

"It was just a one shot game. Both teams played so hard and I'm proud of my guys. I thought we played winning basketball. I tell them all the time, if we miss shots, you take your swings and they're good swings, and you lose, you lose. Just make sure you play your butts off and play to win and I thought that's what we did tonight. We just came up short. They are to be congratulated; they are playing lights-out basketball, but I thought both teams played really hard. I don't think one team played better than the other, it was a one possession game and they won."

On Maryland's seniors:
"Congratulations to them and their seniors. They are great kids and Gary [Williams] does an unbelievable job with them. I think both of our clubs are playing very well right now."

"I think their kids are really good competitors. I mean really good. They are an extension of their coach, and Gary does such a good job with them."

On last game in Durham:
"Well they didn't play as well against us. They just had a bad game against us and we played with a lot of emotion. Maryland's played well the whole conference, the whole season, and they probably played their worst half against us in the first half."

On game's importance:
"Being in a big-time game like this is good for both teams. Our guys responded in this atmosphere and they were in a position to win and I'm proud of that."

On Duke players' blank stares:
"It wasn't like we didn't play hard or we played stupid, it wasn't anything like that. We did smart things, they played hard, we had courage to shoot and take it, but it didn't go in. Those stares aren't blank. We're ready to fight."

On the ACC tournament:
"I'm not even thinking about the ACC tournament, I'm thinking about North Carolina and whatever happens in the ACC tournament happens. That's ten days from now. If anyone in our conference is thinking about that then they're probably going to get beat."

On the end of the game:
"Their shots were made without as much game pressure. That's the key at the end of a ballgame, to get a shot, a stop, and then another shot, and we were not able to...we'd hit some and then we'd miss and they got the shot. They made tough, good shots. Shots they've made all year."

On Smith, Singler and Scheyer shooting often:
"I encourage all three of those guys. They have the proverbial green light."

Senior Guard Jon Scheyer

On the difference in the game:
"It came down to a possession or two at the end. They made their shots. We missed some layups; we missed some shots."

On Greivis Vasquez:
"He's a good player and he plays with a lot of emotion and makes their team go. He's the guy for their team."

On the team's slow start:
"They made every shot and we missed every shot, but we knew that was their best punch. We thought we were in good shape going in to halftime after taking their best punch."

On 3-point shooting:
"I thought we took good shots for the most part, we just didn't hit them. That's all you can say. We'll keep taking them, though, because we're confident in that shot."

On the opposing fans:
"At this point, I don't even hear anything, to be honest. They've done the same thing for four years and we've gotten wins. I'm just disappointed we couldn't come out with a win this time."

Junior Guard Nolan Smith

On his performance:
"I grew up a lot tonight. I've been growing up a lot all year, gaining confidence, and in an atmosphere like this, this is where players are made. I've really become confident in myself for the future."

On being affected by the atmosphere:
"They were at home, it was their senior night, so they were excited to play. Once we actually settled down, we were able to make this a great game."