Dec. 28, 2013

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Akron Head Coach Keith Dambrot
On South Carolina’s defensive play and forcing turnovers…
They’re good defensively. They amped up, got in our passing lanes and we really couldn’t run anything because of that. It’s a weak area for us and they really took advantage of it.

On the play of Brenton Williams and South Carolina’s offense…
When you look at South Carolina’s statistics, he’s the main guy that shoots the ball for them. We have to be able to do a better job of covering the guys that can shoot it. South Carolina is big, strong, physical, and they screen well. I thought they had a good energy level tonight and they’re going to beat some people if they can consistently shoot the ball.

South Carolina Head Coach Frank Martin
Opening Statement
I’m happy for our kids. I think they have a better understanding of the effort, enthusiasm and discipline it takes to be a team. Hats off to the kids and to my assistants for the job that they’ve continued to do. When you’ve got a young team like we’ve got, which is not an excuse it’s just fact, in today’s day and age with social media it’s easy to get kids to listen to the loud noise especially when maybe you don’t win some games. Credit our staff and our kids for keeping all that outside noise shutout and believing in one another and what we’re trying to do to grow. I tell them in the locker room, understand what you’ve done that’s allowed you to feel good and build on that, don’t relax and take a step back. That’s a good team that we just beat back-to-back.

On the perimeter defense…
Three of our last four games, even USC Upstate, I thought we guarded pretty well. The games in Hawaii and this one, those four games, Boise State just got after us and we didn’t have the right mindset. We kind of reverted a little bit and they’re too good to compete with when you’re confused and we were confused. In these last four games our defense has really grown. You’re not seeing guys beat us off the dribble and get all the way to the rim like you did a few weeks ago. It happens every once in a while because that’s how we play. One of the few times we got beat from the perimeter today was the last possession of the first half and we were in our sagging defense there, we were not pressuring and we got beat.

Senior Guard Brenton Williams
On how he’s played in the last few games and what he attributes that to…
I think it was a mentality thing first of all; I just triggered myself to not start games off as comfortable and be as assertive as I can. I didn’t know that Coach Martin was going to start me in the tournament in Hawaii, I just practiced as well as I could and he put me in the starting lineup. My teammates gave me confidence and they need me to be aggressive so that’s what I’m trying to do each and every night.

Sophomore Forward Michael Carrera
On the confidence they’ve gotten from winning two straight…
I think we understand the game and we’re doing a good job of listening to the plays that Coach calls. We’re getting better in defense and I think that will help us.