Postgame Quotes: Michigan 81, #4 Duke 73
Michigan Head Coach John Beilein
On the game... "Great atmosphere wasn't it. I think we were very fortunate against a very good team. Duke is a much better shooting team than that. I thought we forced them into some guarded shots. They also got some pretty good looks and just lost rhythm and couldn't make them like they did at the end. That allowed us to really get into some transition points because it is so hard to score on them. Playing from ahead in the second half was helpful for us. I was mad at DeShawn (Sims) for his defense and yet he kept scoring, rebounding and doing everything. I'm just proud of our team."
On Duke making three-point shots late... "You knew that was going to come. They are just too good of a shooting team. If you look at their stats through eight games last year versus right now, they have the exact same stats except they were shooting 42 percent (three-pointers) and now they are shooting 32 percent. We knew that wasn't going to last forever, but that (deeper three-point) line is affecting everyone just a little bit more."
On learning to win close games... "I think our poise has grown in every game, from the Savannah State comeback to the Maryland learning experience. We did come back and take a lead in the Maryland game, but it was on the road and it was too much to do that. I think that we are gaining poise; we still had three timeouts at the end of the game. The players kept their composure anytime Duke would make a run. (Duke) had a poor shooting night and that helped us keep our composure."
On DeShawn Sims... "About 10 days into the season, we made a decision that he was more comfortable playing in the middle of the floor, a little on the wing, but more in the middle of the floor. Just play smaller and let him play more of a 15-foot game and space out for three. As opposed to last year we tried to make him a perimeter four-man. It was helpful because he has more skill than before, but he really loves that middle of the floor. He's getting more comfortable with what he has to do."
On the difference between today's game and the first meeting with Duke... "Zack Novak made a few shots. I thought we rebounded the ball. Sometimes it's an effort area, sometimes its technique, sometimes the ball just bounces your way. We were able to get in transition and score some points. They are very difficult to score against in the half court. They lock you up, they make you go back door, they make you dribble drive and we were a little better at that this time. Kelvin Grady was exceptional using his quickness. Manny was exceptional at just waiting for his opportunities. He's looking for when there is a gap, not just putting his head down and saying I'll find a gap."
U-M Junior Forward DeShawn Sims
On the game... "It definitely is the biggest game in my career, biggest game I ever played. It was just a great win, a great experience."
On Duke making clutch shots, but U-M not allowing it to effect them... "That's great coaching. We look to the bench for answers, coach Beilein, coach Jackson, coach Mahoney were definitely able to provide us with answers."
On what this win says about where the team is... "The team is definitely on the up-rise even without this win. I think you can see it in our guys' play. They're more persistent the first eight games of the season. This is just a journey that we're enjoying, it's hard, it's painful and we're looking to get somewhere the end of the year."
Freshman Guard Zack Novak
On this year's team... "We believe that we can play with anybody and that's attitude you gotta have going into a game like this."
On deferring shots to some of the veteran players earlier in the season... "It had nothing to do with them. They were always telling me, 'Shoot it when you're open, shoot it when you're open.' I was still a little hesitant at first, but once I started to hit a few they kept telling me, 'Shoot the ball, shoot the ball,' and it's paying off.
On how big this win is for Michigan... "It's a really big win, I mean, to get all our fans at home like this, be able to come in and beat Duke on our home court, that's huge. It's definitely a good step in the right direction."
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Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski
On the game... "The crowd was fantastic. It was a game we were really worried about. Coming off Purdue late, it's a tough week for us and we didn't handle it in a mature way. We didn't have energy. For us, it's a tough academic week; it's not an excuse. We should be better. We didn't talk. We didn't have expressions on our faces, and the kids from Michigan were very animated and were good. They were really, really good. They deserve to win. We have to play better than that no matter what's happening. So again, congratulations to them.
"I don't want to take away from their great effort. They played a fabulous game. They made pressure shots. Those kids played their hearts out. I think they played harder than we did. We wanted it, I'm not saying our kids didn't want it, but they really played hard and well, and they deserved the victory."
On not handling a tough week maturely with a veteran team... "This is an unusual situation in that you have two really tough road games in that week before exams. The week before exams for us is harder than exam week just because of all the stuff they have to do with their papers and projects, and we talked about that. We limited practice time and things like that. We were tired. This is not the Duke team that we've had and Michigan had a lot do with that because they were ready to play. If the other team doesn't come ready to play you can get by, but those kids from Michigan played really hard. (DeShawn) Sims had a heck of a game, and (Kelvin) Grady in the second half was very good with the ball. They have good players. They're well-coached. You gotta play well to win and we didn't play as well as we think we could have."
On their second-half runs... "Playing at home helps I really think. We're up 44-40, and we missed the defensive assignments and threw the ball away. And we were up 53-50. We did switch twice in the first half and we scored six points, and at that point, it was an easy switch and we didn't switch because we didn't talk. And (Zack) Novak hit a three and we lost in the transition. To me, those two three's really turned. When you're playing like we are, when you get a lead, that's where I'm talking about maturity. No matter what's happened you say, 'That's it. We got it. We got the lead. We need a stop.' There wasn't that type of energy in our group. This was a team effort by Michigan with their coaching staff, their players and their fans. They combined to have a great afternoon."
On DeShawn Sims' game... "He just played really well. He played with a lot of maturity. I thought a couple of his rebounds in the first half were huge for them. He scored, and that was obvious, but he came up with some big-time rebounds and a couple really nice passes, which is not something he's been doing as well. He played a heck of a game."
On their 7-of-33 three-point shooting... "I just think it's nine games into the season. It's December 6 and overall we've played really well, but we didn't play well today. So let's take exams, come back in about 10 days, play two more games. This is a long season. It's a long, long season and these games help, win or lose. These two games we played this week really helped us."
Michigan Head Coach John Beilein
On the game... "Great atmosphere wasn't it. I think we were very fortunate against a very good team. Duke is a much better shooting team than that. I thought we forced them into some guarded shots. They also got some pretty good looks and just lost rhythm and couldn't make them like they did at the end. That allowed us to really get into some transition points because it is so hard to score on them. Playing from ahead in the second half was helpful for us. I was mad at DeShawn (Sims) for his defense and yet he kept scoring, rebounding and doing everything. I'm just proud of our team."
On Duke making three-point shots late... "You knew that was going to come. They are just too good of a shooting team. If you look at their stats through eight games last year versus right now, they have the exact same stats except they were shooting 42 percent (three-pointers) and now they are shooting 32 percent. We knew that wasn't going to last forever, but that (deeper three-point) line is affecting everyone just a little bit more."
On learning to win close games... "I think our poise has grown in every game, from the Savannah State comeback to the Maryland learning experience. We did come back and take a lead in the Maryland game, but it was on the road and it was too much to do that. I think that we are gaining poise; we still had three timeouts at the end of the game. The players kept their composure anytime Duke would make a run. (Duke) had a poor shooting night and that helped us keep our composure."
On DeShawn Sims... "About 10 days into the season, we made a decision that he was more comfortable playing in the middle of the floor, a little on the wing, but more in the middle of the floor. Just play smaller and let him play more of a 15-foot game and space out for three. As opposed to last year we tried to make him a perimeter four-man. It was helpful because he has more skill than before, but he really loves that middle of the floor. He's getting more comfortable with what he has to do."
On the difference between today's game and the first meeting with Duke... "Zack Novak made a few shots. I thought we rebounded the ball. Sometimes it's an effort area, sometimes its technique, sometimes the ball just bounces your way. We were able to get in transition and score some points. They are very difficult to score against in the half court. They lock you up, they make you go back door, they make you dribble drive and we were a little better at that this time. Kelvin Grady was exceptional using his quickness. Manny was exceptional at just waiting for his opportunities. He's looking for when there is a gap, not just putting his head down and saying I'll find a gap."
U-M Junior Forward DeShawn Sims
On the game... "It definitely is the biggest game in my career, biggest game I ever played. It was just a great win, a great experience."
On Duke making clutch shots, but U-M not allowing it to effect them... "That's great coaching. We look to the bench for answers, coach Beilein, coach Jackson, coach Mahoney were definitely able to provide us with answers."
On what this win says about where the team is... "The team is definitely on the up-rise even without this win. I think you can see it in our guys' play. They're more persistent the first eight games of the season. This is just a journey that we're enjoying, it's hard, it's painful and we're looking to get somewhere the end of the year."
Freshman Guard Zack Novak
On this year's team... "We believe that we can play with anybody and that's attitude you gotta have going into a game like this."
On deferring shots to some of the veteran players earlier in the season... "It had nothing to do with them. They were always telling me, 'Shoot it when you're open, shoot it when you're open.' I was still a little hesitant at first, but once I started to hit a few they kept telling me, 'Shoot the ball, shoot the ball,' and it's paying off.
On how big this win is for Michigan... "It's a really big win, I mean, to get all our fans at home like this, be able to come in and beat Duke on our home court, that's huge. It's definitely a good step in the right direction."
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Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski
On the game... "The crowd was fantastic. It was a game we were really worried about. Coming off Purdue late, it's a tough week for us and we didn't handle it in a mature way. We didn't have energy. For us, it's a tough academic week; it's not an excuse. We should be better. We didn't talk. We didn't have expressions on our faces, and the kids from Michigan were very animated and were good. They were really, really good. They deserve to win. We have to play better than that no matter what's happening. So again, congratulations to them.
"I don't want to take away from their great effort. They played a fabulous game. They made pressure shots. Those kids played their hearts out. I think they played harder than we did. We wanted it, I'm not saying our kids didn't want it, but they really played hard and well, and they deserved the victory."
On not handling a tough week maturely with a veteran team... "This is an unusual situation in that you have two really tough road games in that week before exams. The week before exams for us is harder than exam week just because of all the stuff they have to do with their papers and projects, and we talked about that. We limited practice time and things like that. We were tired. This is not the Duke team that we've had and Michigan had a lot do with that because they were ready to play. If the other team doesn't come ready to play you can get by, but those kids from Michigan played really hard. (DeShawn) Sims had a heck of a game, and (Kelvin) Grady in the second half was very good with the ball. They have good players. They're well-coached. You gotta play well to win and we didn't play as well as we think we could have."
On their second-half runs... "Playing at home helps I really think. We're up 44-40, and we missed the defensive assignments and threw the ball away. And we were up 53-50. We did switch twice in the first half and we scored six points, and at that point, it was an easy switch and we didn't switch because we didn't talk. And (Zack) Novak hit a three and we lost in the transition. To me, those two three's really turned. When you're playing like we are, when you get a lead, that's where I'm talking about maturity. No matter what's happened you say, 'That's it. We got it. We got the lead. We need a stop.' There wasn't that type of energy in our group. This was a team effort by Michigan with their coaching staff, their players and their fans. They combined to have a great afternoon."
On DeShawn Sims' game... "He just played really well. He played with a lot of maturity. I thought a couple of his rebounds in the first half were huge for them. He scored, and that was obvious, but he came up with some big-time rebounds and a couple really nice passes, which is not something he's been doing as well. He played a heck of a game."
On their 7-of-33 three-point shooting... "I just think it's nine games into the season. It's December 6 and overall we've played really well, but we didn't play well today. So let's take exams, come back in about 10 days, play two more games. This is a long season. It's a long, long season and these games help, win or lose. These two games we played this week really helped us."
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