Members of the Duke basketball team met with the media Wednesday afternoon, where they discussed the team's preparation and mentality going into this weekend's ACC Tournament, the recent lineup shuffle, and the tournament's future. Here are the highlights of what they said:
Quinn Cook:
- "We led 14-0, they kind of made a little run back, but we stayed poised, stuck to our game plan, stayed in charge the whole game. Some slip-ups in the second half, myself a couple turnovers, some miscues on their press—we've been doing a lot of press stuff—but it's all about keeping that hunger that we have right now"—On what the team hopes to carry forward from the UNC win into postseason play
- "Defense wins championships—at Duke, defense is the biggest thing.... The biggest thing with the guards: myself, Seth, Tyler, and Rasheed—we like to keep the guy we're guarding below their average and get a lot of turnovers"—On how he measures defense
- "Tyler does the little things that don't show up in the box scores. [He's] a second point guard that helps me a lot, he communicates he echoes, he commands. [He] guards their best perimeter player, get in there with the big guys and rebound.... Our success doesn't go anywhere without him"—On the contributions of Tyler Thornton
- "Rasheed hasn't had a normal freshman year. He came on so strong. Freshmen are usually going to go through a time period where they struggle a little bit, and he's been struggling a bit the past three games. Coming off the bench, he's accepted it thus far in practice, he's been going hard with the other guys against us, making us better. His attitude has stayed great. He'll still be the scorer, the driver that he is, just from a different position now, he's okay with that"—On freshman Rasheed Sulaimon, who was replaced by Thornton in Saturday starting lineup against North Carolina
- "If it's at Madison Square Garden, that'd be fun"—On possible future sites of the ACC Tournament
- "We're getting the feel back. He was out two months, so it's not going to happen overnight.... These past two practices have been great, we're getting back to where we were before he got hurt. Still got a long way to go, but we're just taking baby steps to where we need to be" —On getting reacquainted with playing with Ryan Kelly
Tyler Thornton
- "I'm glad my coaches have confidence in me to have me out there on the floor a lot, have me be able to make plays, and just do whatever I can to help the team out,"—On being reinserted into the starting lineup
- "You're never going to shut anybody down. I measure it by making someone work harder than they want to to get the ball and score the ball. And it's not just the individual basis either, it's all about the team.... Guys start taking plays off, and that's how you know you're sort of getting into their lid and frustrating them a little bit,"—On his defensive goals
- "Tournament form is a different mindset—it's one-and-done. Our coaches do a great job of keeping us focused on the task at hand and not looking ahead past anybody. And they do a great job of scouting on the fly.... Last year we weren't focused at this time of the year, and it showed in the way we played and how we handled the situation that we were in. This year it's a totally different mentality. A lot of the guys that are on the team this year went through last year, and nobody wants that to happen again."
Mason Plumlee
- “This season we have a new group, new roles. It’s not fair to keep bringing up last year to players like Rasheed and Quinn who didn’t play much last year. Obviously it’s in the back of a lot of our heads, but if we go the NCAAs and win our first-round game, that’s not a successful season.”—On whether last year’s loss to Lehigh is a source of motivation
- “He’s had a really two good days of practice after the Carolina game. I think he’s in a good position because he knows that we need him and he knows that whenever he’s ready to go…. He’s done a great job this year but we just have to make sure he’s at his best at this point in the season. And he’s capable of that, he’s not tired, it’s not like he’s hitting a freshman wall or anything like that,”—On the recent struggles of Rasheed Sulaimon
- “It’s really impressive because whether [Thornton] comes off the bench or starts—for a lot of players, mentally they can’t handle being in and out of the lineup—and with him it doesn’t matter. Just look at some of the plays he’s made over his career. Coach was showing on film the play where he dives against Carolina, throws the ball off the other guy, falls into the bench – to me that’s symbolic of his career. He’s just going to do whatever it takes….I think that’s why shots like in Maui, I think that’s why it happens, because he’s so deserving of making those shots, because he’s really a selfless player and all about the team,”—On Tyler Thornton’s impact
Seth Curry
- “[The leg] feels a lot better. Having a few days off makes a big difference. I [played consecutive days] earlier in the season in the Bahamas. You’ve just got to manage pain. The day after games it’s been hurting less and less, so that’s improvement,”—On managing his injured leg while playing in a grinding tournament format
- “We’re clicking right now. We ended the regular season on a horrible note last year, and we had to fix a lot of things going into the tournament, and that’s when Ryan got hurt. This year we know who we are as a team, we don’t have to fix anything, we just need to fine-tune some things. We have a lot of confidence.”—On a relaxed team this year entering the postseason
Duke opens play in the ACC Tournament Friday night with a quarterfinal match-up against either Maryland or Wake Forest, who play tomorrow.
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