Jan. 19, 2011

Opening statement:
"We're looking to continue to play defense like we've been playing. I think our defense has been very effective against some really good teams and you don't want to lose that as you start working on some other things. You want to keep that constant because that's what can keep you in games for a long time. We have to do a better job offensively finding ways to score over a 40-minute period. It's funny, you don't have to shoot a great percentage or anything like that, you just have to make the right shots a lot of times. It's when you make or miss that determines your success a lot of times. So that's what we've been working on the last couple days, just to make sure we're getting good looks every time. I still really believe we have the guys that can knock down shots; it's just a matter of getting it done. Hopefully we'll do that tomorrow night."

On how much of a concern Maryland's perimeter shooting is:
"You have to make shots. Against a good team you're not going to get a lot of open looks; when you do you have to make them, you have to make a good percentage. I think we can. You go through slumps and we need to pick it up. Against teams like Pittsburgh, Illinois, Villanova, Temple, Duke, we've had some moments where we've really run good offense. But your offense looks much better when the shots go in. There is no doubt about it. You can run the same play and not run it any better but if you make the shot it's `what a great play he ran.' You can run the same play and miss the shot and everybody says `your offense stinks.' It's about making shots and we have to step up and make them. It's not one guy; in other words, if you look at our free-throw percentage for our ACC games, Jordan Williams is shooting better than our team percentage. So it can't just be Jordan missing free throws.

On Malcolm Delaney and Virginia Tech:
"Great scorers are going to get theirs, it's just if there's a period in the game where a great scorer can miss some shots, it gives you the opportunity maybe to win the game during that period. He's a good enough player where you just can't put everything toward him. I think they have a great player in [Jeff] Allen whose really one of the top inside players in the league. He's very good. [Erick] Green has come in and relieved Delaney of some of his ball-handling, which allows him to stay fresher during a period of the game. So they have two guards that can handle the ball out there on the court all the time. [Victor] Davila is a very experienced player, strong. [They have] that type of player in [Terrell] Bell, played a significant role for them last year. It's a veteran team that they put out there on the court."

On Cliff Tucker as a perimeter player:
"I think, you know it's hard to say. I think Cliff can get points in a lot of different ways. I think he's good enough to get offensive rebounds. He's a good enough athlete to be there. I think he can score in transition on the break. I think he's a good enough shooter to score out of the offense on jump shots. I think he can bring that to a game. That's what I'd like to see him do. In other words, you're going to have a night when your jump shot is not going to go in. But if you're really running the fast break well you're going to score some there. If you're playing good defense you'll break one loose and get a steal. If you go to the offensive glass you get a couple offensive rebounds. All the sudden you get fouled a couple times you're still going to get 15, 16 points. That's what all the great scorers do, they find ways to get points. That's what we have to do. It doesn't have to be make every shot you take. There's nothing wrong with grinding it, making it look ugly. Whatever it takes to score."

On Jordan Williams' streak of double-doubles and the possibility of tying Len Elmore's school record in tomorrow's game:
"He has the numbers to back that up. I think a player earns his way for what he's done, especially this year, [it's] certainly a great thing. Like I said, knowing Jordan pretty well I don't think he goes into a game worrying about that, I think he goes into it worrying about us winning. That's just the type of person he is. If he plays hard and plays well he'll do that. He's got that kind of ability. It's like when Joe Smith was here or Keith Booth was here, you knew what you were going to get because those guys brought it every night. A Lonnie Baxter was the same way, a Tony Massenburg, people like that. A Walt Williams. They had enough pride in themselves as players that they were going to put it out there and some nights they shot it well, some nights they didn't, but they still achieved a great deal because of just their determination as athletes, as players."