Gary Williams Teams Quotations

There are so many teams in the ACC that can go .500. You'd better be .500 (in the league). Nobody's backing into the NCAA Tournament. That isn't going to happen because of the expansion of the big conferences.

But we'll have to see how that plays out. I say that with the idea that there will be a couple of teams that play well these last three weeks of the regular season.

Historically, if you get to .500 in league play, you're in a pretty good position. Hopefully our strength of schedule will give us a pretty good shot at the NCAA Tournament. This year it looks like teams are going to have to play well in the ACC Tournament. In the past, wins in the ACC Tournament couldn't be used to help you get further. Now, you have to play well there to help your chances.

Starting games teams are more aware of him. We have to find ways to score, then the game comes to him. I was very proud of him. He was very mature.

I was very pleased the way we came out and the way we played. A lot of good teams don't do that.

It doesn't matter how you do it or how it looks, but you just have to win. As a home game, it was probably a necessary win. The NCAA is probably going to take six teams from the ACC, so we just have to stay in the mix.

Just to get that thing to six at halftime took a lot of effort. I've seen that before. You're almost in a trap in a situation, where their best scorer (Grier) doesn't play, they lose a game probably everybody in Minnesota thought they should have won. ... Good teams come back after a situation like that, and we happened to be the next game.

We didn't do it tonight, but it doesn't mean we are a bad basketball team because a lot of teams that were ranked higher than us couldn't get it done.

We're like a lot of teams this year on the road, and hopefully we'll have a good performance. A lot of that comes from your defense. You can't get into a scoring contest on the road and expect to win very often. Most teams play better offensively at home.

Every team that gets into the NIT has different feelings. Some teams are very excited. Other teams are trying to get over the disappointment of the regular season. I'm sure our guys are disappointed; I'm disappointed. But I don't let that affect the way I coach.

During the season, there are different teams that get hot and for Carolina, it looks that way.

There's more good teams out there now, so you have to do everything right to make sure you're one of those good teams. If you slip a little bit, you're not going to be one of those good teams. We have to do a better job of making sure we do everything right so when it comes time to play you earn the right to be a good team.

The players, they're responsible for the way we're playing right now. It's their attitude, their effort in practice that allows us to play like this at this point in the season. You look around and see some teams that have gone through some tough things that aren't necessarily playing as well right now.

I think all of the first-round games in the ACC tournament are going to be really difficult. Those will be some great games on Thursday. If you're a basketball fan, that may be the best day. Teams are playing for a lot on Thursday.

You don't gloat about it. You just feel good because you beat a good program. They never let you win. You have to win the game. Some teams give it to you once in a while ? not Duke.