March 11, 2001

Box Score | Photo Gallery | Recap

North Carolina head coach Matt Doherty:
"First of all, I take my hat off to Duke and Coach Krzyzewski. They're a great team, and they performed really well. You have to admire what they've done. It was a frustrating day. I thought we came and were playing a pretty sound basketball game, but then they forced us into some turnovers and got layups and wide-open threes. You have to try to make them score against a set defense. I thought we did a decent job against them when we were set, but you can't turn the ball against them 20 times and give them 20 offensive rebounds. It's a frustrating day. I hope that Jason Williams is okay so they can make a run in the Tournament.

Now we've got to look at the pairings and get ready for the NCAA Tournament. We're in better position that the team was in last year at this time. Now we've just got to take advantage of it.

"They forced us into some turnovers. They trapped a little bit and we didn't handle it real well. We kicked it around and they ended up getting some easy shots. I felt comfortable controlling the tempo a little bit and getting the ball inside, but then we didn't handle the double-teams real well. I thought we got good shots. Brendan gets the ball inside and goes 4-for-10, that's unusual for him. I thought Capel got a couple of good looks, Joe had some good looks. I really can't complain about the shot selection. Every shot you take is not going to be the ideal shot, but I thought for the most part we some pretty good shots. It was frustrating because they weren't going down.

"I thought we still tried to play hard. I don't feel like we quit, but Duke is a tough team to chase. When they've got a 20-point lead, they're really tough to chase. They've basically got four really good ball-handlers, four really good shooters, four guys who have really good quickness. If you start double-teaming them, they can break it and score.

[Defense on Forte] "Nate James does a good job and is committed to being assigned to one guy. They don't help off. When there's penetration, they're not helping off of Joe, so they're making life tough for him. It was Nate James' job to keep the ball out of Joe's hands, and once he caught it, he's got size, good strength and good quickness.

"I think we've shown that we deserve a one or a two seed. With what we've accomplished and what's happened with other teams the last couple of days, I could see us as a one seed, but I can't control that."

"After the game, I told the team that I was disappointed and this is difficult, but we've got to learn from it and move on quickly. Everyone's got to get better, players and coaches, and get ready for a game Thursday or Friday. I told them we're in better position that last year, and you guys about won a national championship. Duke's got a lot of firepower and they've done this to some pretty good teams."

Jason Capel, North Carolina:
"Duke played a great game. They're a tough team to play against. They have a lot of quickness and a lot of shooters. They're a good team, and hopefully they'll do well, as we will, in the NCAA Tournament.

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski:
"Our team was amazing today. I know they were tired but they played with great heart and we beat an outstanding team. Our defensive rebounding in the first half, but Mike Dunleavy and Jason Williams, led to some fast break baskets for us. We trapped a few times and we got 10, 12, 14 points that were easier baskets. That just broke the game open. It gave us energy and it picked up our defense even more. We lost it a little bit with a couple of minutes to go in the first half and then regained a 20-point lead. I thought that was big how we ended the first half and then started the second half. We got the first five points and pretty much kept control of the game. When Jason went out, of course I was concerned, especially since Chris Duhon had three fouls. We started massaging the game and tried to just drive the ball, take some time off and try to play smart basketball. I'm very proud of these guys. This last week has been probably as gratifying a week as I've had as a coach because of Boozer going out and what our kids have done from Sunday to Sunday. Those three kids that played center for us, Sanders, Love and Christensen, have been unbelievable. I don't understand how they're not nervous and they actually look like they know what they're doing. They haven't had many minutes, and all of sudden they're playing in front of 40,000 people against some of the best competition in the country. Our guys never have to worry about them. They're doing their job. I'm very proud of those guys.

"Jason turned his ankle. It rolled over. He didn't step on anybody. It's the same foot he's had problems with the last six or eight weeks. I think the early prognosis is that he'll be fine by Thursday, but we don't know how much practice he'll have between now and then.

Duke Forward Shane Battier
"This was a great effort by a team. When the tournament started, I don't know how many people gave us a fighting chance to win this. People were talking about how hot Maryland was, how big Carolina has been playing, even upstarts like Wake and Virginia. To come here with Carlos out, with sometimes a 6-4 center in there, no one really gave us a chance. It was a very gratifying win for our guys. I'm just really proud of the way we fought.

"Those guys [Sanders, Christensen, Love] mean a lot to our team. I think it got to the point where people wrote all three of those guys off at one point or another and didn't really expect them to contribute to this team this year. We had seen flashes from Casey, Matt and Reggie, but not the sustained basketball that we saw this weekend. We knew that we had it in them to play like they did this weekend. I'll tell you what, those guys fight. Reggie is undersized. Against Haywood he's giving up about 80 pounds and seven inches but he fought him. When Casey and Matt get in there, they fight and give us a lot of emotion. It's great to see them receive dividends for all the hard work they've put in.

"It was a very special day for me. Very special. I've had a lot of success in this league and a lot of great battles. I don't think I could have ended it any better way than to beat Carolina in the ACC championship and receive the MVP. I was surprised. I usually don't play well in the ACC Tournament. I'm very excited.

"A situation like this doesn't sink in until you're an old man. Right now there's so much going on with us winning the ACC tournament, probably getting a number one seed, looking forward to the NCAA Tournament, stuff like this doesn't fully sink in until you're done playing. It wasn't easy to win three, especially in this league. This tournament is three days of grueling basketball. This is one of my best achievements I can share with my teammates.

Duke Forward Mike Dunleavy
"I was more aggressive than I have been this weekend. It was a progressive think for me, just getting into the flow of the tournament. Finally today I was able to connect on some shots and get some rebounds. It's nice when you have two guys like Jason and Shane who draw a lot of attention because you get some open looks.