March 15, 2008

Head Coach Seth Greenberg
Opening Statement:
"I couldn't be more proud of our basketball team. The game played out basically the way we wanted it to play out. We wanted to get the game in the 60s, and we got it in the 60s. Obviously, you have to give Ellington, Hansbrough and Coach Williams credit. We basically controlled the game for 39 minutes and 59 seconds. We had the game exactly in the tempo we wanted it and I just told our guys about where we were when we got together in August and where we are today. I'm just as proud as any group I've ever been associated with. They've just grown and matured and developed in a very special way."

On the last play of the game:
"(We wanted to) throw up a prayer and hope it was answered. The game was more than that last .8 seconds. It was about our guys competing, defending, executing and then making a big shot down the stretch. That .8 seconds had nothing to do with the game."

On his team's improvement throughout the season:
"We were freshman in November. Every team we've played a second time we beat by double digits. We got drilled at North Carolina and came back and were in position to win (today). I thought this team could come together once they started to trust each other and believe in each other. Quite honestly I had to learn how to coach them. They grew but I grew with them. Maybe it took me a little bit longer to figure them out and figure out the best way to reach them. We learned how to figure out how to utilize the guys we had at hand."

A.D. Vassallo
On Hansbrough's game-winning shot:
"All I saw was the ball hitting the rim and we had a good chance of grabbing it. I think somebody on our team had the ball and it got knocked out of his hands, and all I saw was (Tyler) Hansbrough running down and he just caught it and shot the ball fading to the baseline and the ball just went in. That's pretty much it."

On playing North Carolina close the whole game:
"We had a lot more confidence in each other. Everybody played as hard as they could on the offensive and defensive side of the basket. We thought we had a legitimate chance of winning the game. Although everybody doubted it and I heard a lot of people saying that we're going to get beat by 30, we thought we had a chance to come out here and win the game. We were up there, and we were just one jumper away. We played as hard as we could and we knew we could have won the game."

Head Coach Roy Williams
Opening Statement:
"I told Seth (Greenberg) after the game - and I really meant it - that I thought they really out played us. We were very fortunate and made a couple of plays at the end. I wished him good luck in the tournament and I hope that he makes a fantastic and long run in the tournament."

On the technical foul on Wayne Ellington: "Wayne will be in better condition after the running that he gets to do with everyone clapping for him later in the week. I saw it clearly, and Wayne did start talking to the player. I have no idea if he was saying anything bad, or congratulating him on his haircut. He was talking and there was a bump, and I have no problem with what the official did. I had no problem with Wayne missing the free throw because he said that he knew Tyler (Hansbrough) was going to get the offensive rebound and put it back in. After that, Wayne made some big jump shots, but I was disappointed in it."

Tyler Hansbrough
On the game-winning shot:
"I was supposed to set a screen for Wayne (Ellington) and I was supposed to penetrate. One of our options was to look back at Wayne. I remember Ty (Lawson) going in to the lane area, and I knew he was going to put the ball up. I just ran over to where Ty was going to shoot, and luckily, the ball had a good roll out to me. I just caught it and let it fly, and I'm pretty glad it went in."

Marcus Ginyard
On Virginia Tech's defensive effort:
"We didn't really feel like we did a great job with what we wanted to do. We felt that they were being the aggressor on the court, and we didn't really get the penetration that we wanted. We weren't necessarily taking all the best shots that we felt we could have been taking. The biggest thing about today's win was that we never gave up. We might not have been fighting as hard as we needed to the whole game, but when it came down to it, we gave that extra effort."

On the possibility of facing Duke for the ACC Championship:
"Whatever comes up, it's going to be a big-time game for the ACC Championship. There is no doubt in my mind about that. I would love to play Duke again, and I would love to play Clemson again. Throughout the season, you've seen some great games with those two teams. I think it is going to be a battle either way."

Wayne Ellington
On North Carolina's defense in the game's last five minutes:
"I think in the last five minutes of the game, we decided that we were going to buckle down and make some stops. We needed them, and we showed our toughness."