March 9, 2010
Head coach Gary Williams
Opening Statement:
"I've looked forward to this week for a long time during the season, especially the way things got bunched up once the Virginia game was postponed. We really haven't had a chance to practice like you'd like to in terms of reviewing everything you think is necessary for the next game. In our situation now, we have that opportunity and today is going to be a great day in practice because we can just work on the things we have to work on to get better. The characteristic of this team all year is their willingness to work in practice to get better. There has never been a time where I felt they resisted trying to improve or trying to work on some things that could take us to another level as a team. So here we are in the situation of the ACC Tournament and I think we're ready to go in terms of being rested. We took two days off which I know for me, it really helped. Hopefully the players feel the same way I do about getting back on the practice floor."
On Greivis Vasquez's journey to where he is now:
"I just think if you look at his whole deal, where he came from, making the commitment to come to the United States; I always look at that as if I was a high school player in the United States and made the commitment to go to Venezuela to play, how would that be for me? Well, I would be on a boat home in about two weeks probably. So what he did, just to learn a language to get in a position where he could go to college, and his career at Montrose playing with a guy like [Kevin] Durant so he kind of got overlooked in that situation. I just think it has been a great story to see him progress to what he has done this year as a college basketball player and to see him last summer, to have the maturity to come back to school. A lot of that when guys don't come back to school, it's an ego thing. Then they wind up not making the NBA. Greivis has put himself in a completely different situation for that as well as being a great team player for us. His defense this year has been overlooked but he's been a high quality defensive player along with the other things that he does on the court."
On being named ACC Coach of the Year:
"I could be the best college basketball coach in the history of mankind but if I didn't have good enough players, it wouldn't matter. So ACC Coach of the Year always means that you have good players. Then it's your assistant coaches and your ability to communicate throughout the program. A lot of times, players open up to assistants quicker than they will a head coach. It's very important that you have good communication with your staff, which we do, and then the players have to feel comfortable around all the coaches. But they have to understand if they don't meet certain requirements that they are going to hear about it. I think discipline is important with any program and some players handle it well, some players don't handle it well. We've had a bunch of guys and there are bad days just like anything else. There's a group of people together and it's your ability to put that aside, come back the next day and move on from there that I think determines how good teams are. We've been able to do that this year. I defer a lot to the three seniors this year because I trust them. They have great leadership characteristics, all in different ways. It's a good situation to coach in."
On Vasquez's emotions on the court:
"I think Greivis has been different than some players but I think he has also matured every year in the way he's played and in the way he's not done anything to hurt the team. I think you grow into that and his freshman year, he had to play quite a bit for us and play well for us and he did. He might do some things that people don't like but you don't take away from a person what makes them great. That's the one thing I know in coaching. If a guy has to do certain things to be a great player, then he has to go with that."
On how it feels to have three seniors leading the team:
"It has given us comfort all year and I look at it the same way. All three guys have experienced the NCAA Tournament and the ACC Tournament, so there is nothing new out there for them. Every year is a different situation and because we have experience, that doesn't guarantee us anything. We still have to work really hard these next couple of days and get ourselves ready to play. Tournament play is funny because it's one game. If you play poorly, you go home.
Maryland senior Greivis Vasquez
On how it feels to be ACC Player of the Year:
"It's unbelievable. It's a great feeling. I'm just proud of my team. They're all my ACC Players of the Year. They played a huge role in everything I did during the regular season. I have to give them a lot of credit, as well as our coaches. It's just unbelievable. I don't want to lose my focus, though. I was telling Jordan Williams just now, I would trade this for an ACC championship in the tournament. I want to win championships. That's more important. I just want to continue to work and I want to continue to lead my team to get more wins."
On his relationship with Gary Williams:
"Maybe if somebody asked me this question 12 years from now I would be able to answer it the right way, but I just have no words to describe how happy and how thankful I am of being here. Just to go into the office and talk to him every day is unbelievable. To me it means more than winning any award, more than being first team All-ACC or first team All-American. I'm just more thankful for being here at Maryland. After we went through so much, being where we are now is an unbelievable feeling."
On the team's confidence level entering the ACC Tournament:
"We have a great amount of confidence because we're playing great as a team right now. But the good thing about our team is we're humble. We're willing to pay the price to win games. I remember my freshman year we won seven games straight and we ended up losing our first ACC Tournament game. So we're humble. We know what's coming ahead of us is unbelievably tough. We have to earn every win and we have to continue to work hard. We're going to do it starting today in practice. It's going to be a huge week for us and we just have to continue to work hard."
