Jim Larrañaga, Mike Krzyzewski Postgame Quotes

Coach K was extremely complimentary to UM and Coach L.

The UM Coach was thrilled with the play of his PG, and much more.

Full transcripts below:

Jim Larrañaga Postgame Press Conference

Opening Statement…

“This has been quite a 72 hours, playing Wake Forest on Saturday. All we could do was walk through. We could go through the mental part of preparing for Duke, but there was no way we could do the physical [part] because of how much energy we expelled on Saturday. The guys did a great job. They really understood the gameplan, they understood that Duke had changed their defensive strategies - we knew they could play man [defense], we knew they could play a 2-3 zone, a 1-3-1, a 3-2, combinations, press us, three-quarter court. In a very short period of time, we were able to communicate to the guys and they absorbed it, interpreted it and then executed it tonight. I though our defense was terrific from start to finish. We didn’t rebound quite as well as I expected, but our defense was great.

“What was the whole key to the game offensively was that we had 24 assists and seven turnovers. That was fantastic. Angel [Rodriguez] had 11 assists himself and Ja’Quan [Newton] had five. Those two point guards playing a lot together, getting everybody involved, leads to a team victory. I told the team before the game that this is not about the individual matchup. You all have individual matchups that are very, very challenging, but this is about the team. This is not about the name on the back of the jersey; it’s about the name on the front of the jersey. This is Miami versus Duke. I thought our guys really played as a team - high energy, lots of enthusiasm. The crowd was great. I want to thank our students who overslept on Saturday and missed the 12 o’clock start, but were here in large, large numbers. I’m inviting them back for our next home game, because they make a huge different in the atmosphere of the arena. They really help us.”

On what kind of difference senior Angel Rodriguez can make for the Hurricanes…

“Here’s happened in my mind: when we opened up conference play, we played against teams that are  a little more conservative. Virginia, Clemson, with those teams, the game is a little slower. It’s not as fast. Today and Saturday, when you play Wake Forest or Duke, it gets up and down. Angel and our entire team is much better we’re able to get into the open court and make plays. It’s not ‘run an offense,’ it’s play together, find the open man and score - whether you’re using a ball screen to beat your man and find an open man or against their zone. What we did so well midway through the first half was get it into the middle of the zone, then kick it out or shoot it. I’m very, very proud of the guys and I thought Angel was sensational tonight.”

On what it means to beat Duke…

“I know you guys don’t believe this, but I’m telling you – to me, in the ACC, you have 15 very good teams you have to battle. You have to battle…you have to play 18 games and every game counts as one. You beat Duke and that counts as one. You beat Wake Forest and that counts as one. We lose to Virginia and that counts as one. At the end of the year, when all of the regular season is over, then you can determine how good you were. You win one game and lose to somebody else, that’s a 1-1. We like when we win.”

Duke Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski quotes

Opening Statement…

“We lost to a really good basketball team tonight. They’re old, experienced, obviously extremely well-coached and deep. They’re one of the better teams. I was really proud of our guys. Our guys fought like crazy. They competed, and put themselves in a position…we haven’t played in a game like that all year, [a game] that physical. It was really physical. For our guys hung in there really well, and played through [being] tired.

“We can’t practice that, because we don’t have the guys, but that was the most physical game we’ve been involved in, by far. They played their butts off. They played really well. [Angel] Rodriguez was a great leader for them - distributing the ball, hitting big shots. They’re better than we are. They’re one of the best teams. They’re one of the best teams. I thought we put ourselves in a position where we gave ourselves a chance to win during this game. I’m proud of our guys for being able to do that.”

On the mindset dealing with a young team, balancing good effort and results…

“It’s because we’re always truthful with them. They know. They know we’ve been undermanned for about six weeks, and they’re growing up as a result of it. We’ve gotten better. We’ve competed in every darn game since Amile [Jefferson] has been gone, and had a chance in every game. That’s all I’m looking for. Hopefully the wins will be there. But the winning effort has been there the entire time, the preparation, the attitude - it’s terrific. Brandon [Ingram] has got to keep going. As he’s going, he should have a game where he has 12 or 15 free throws because of all the stuff he’s doing. He has to learn the game better, I guess, because he’s playing so damn hard and not necessarily getting rewarded for some of his strong efforts.”

On the team shooting 41 percent and what he thought of the team’s shot selection…

“I think [Miami] is pretty good. I have no fault with our shots. This is not so much a technique game. This is a different game, man. I don’t know how you all see it, but to me, that was by far the most physical game we’ve been a part of this season.”

On his perception of the Miami Hurricanes basketball team…

“They’re terrific. Jim [Larranaga] is one of the best coaches in the country. It’s not like this is the first year. They’re really good. They’re usually old, with the transfers, that they’ve been able to get. Smart. They’ve done it smart. They’re as respected as anybody in the league, and throughout the country, I think, because they’re that good. People respect talent and certainly they respect Jim. He knows what to do with the talent.”