Bobby Hurley:
"I thought it was a tale of two halves for us, just how we started we were pretty sluggish out there. Just loose with the ball, thought they did a good job of taking away some passing lanes and disrupting our half-court offense. But I think at the end, we just had ourselves to blame with how we started, but I did really like the efforts of our team in the second half to really gain control of the game and make the run the way we did. It was surprising-- the final score I don't think is indicative, really, of how well we played necessarily in the game overall, and we're certainly going to have to play a lot better tomorrow."
On the difference between Remy Martin's first and second-half performances
"I think sometimes it's a matter of time with Remy, and I haven't had many halves like the first half with him, it was very uncharacteristic, you know, he's one of the best point guards in the country. So, it's a testament to him, sometimes when you're really struggling in a half it's hard to even put together a reasonably good second half, and he really ignited what we were doing. And then the guy to my left, Elias, I thought was also just a really good all-around player, made some really good plays for us. The block he had in transition I thought was a key defensive play as we were expanding our lead."
On managing how much to use the press defense throughout a game
"They were the aggressor in the first half, and their pressure affected us more than our pressure did, so it was, you know, we have to be prepared tomorrow to play two halves. You can't play a team like Virginia and have the kind of first half that we had tonight. But yeah, with our ball pressure, when Remy’s locked in on it and (freshman guard Jaelen) House is, we have some guys that can get after it on the perimeter. And I liked what Romello White and Jalen Graham did around the basket with some blocks, just being active around the basket.”
On playing a team like Virginia, who plays a contrasting style to ASU's up-tempo deal
“You go into the game and you play your style, you try and be who you are. I’m sure that we’re going to have to play late shot-clock defense tomorrow. It’s not like we’re going to rattle them and force them into shooting quick, and they’re very disciplined and they have a successful plan that’s worked. We give our guys a little more leash, a little more freedom to shoot early and play quicker, and we’re going to have to make shots, we can’t afford to leave—if we shoot early, we better make it because they’re going to make you pay. They’re one of the best defensive teams in the country, and their pace of play—it’ll be a real contrast tomorrow in style, obviously."
Remy Martin:
On adjustments made at halftime
"For me, it was going into halftime trying to figure out that we got to play better. Coach came in there and let us know, motivated us to get better, and for me, as a point guard and a leader of this team, I knew that I needed to pick it up. You know, I did it with the whole team, guys like Elias that's on the defensive end, blocking shots and getting rebounds. House with the defense, and our bigs with the rebounds, got me the ball, and we started to push the ball, play more our game and we started to hit more shots."
On the feeling inside of him at halftime and how he used that to fuel him going off in the second-half
"I just wanted to win, and I had to do whatever it took to win, and I think that me being more vocal and having more energy and scoring the ball and making the right plays was the best way to do that. I think I also need to do better putting two halves together, but at the end of the day I got through adversity with the help of my teammates and coach (Bobby Hurley), and they push me to lead this team. So, we got the win and we're focused on tomorrow."
Hurley
On the technical foul on Jaelen House for "flopping," what happened and how did it affect you?
"Well I didn't get one, if that's what your question is *laughs*. I know everyone would assume it was me, right? Yeah, but no, there's a new point of emphasis with the officiating with the flop call, and so you get a warning on a flop, and then the next one is going to be a technical. So, there were subsequent flops, according to the officials. So, yeah we'll have to look at that **reporter laughs, then causing Hurley to laugh**. You think it's funny, right?....Yeah, I didn't think it was funny at the time. But yeah...*conversing back-and-fourth, some chuckling ensues*. See, now you and however many other people think probably the same thing, but it's me, right?...so yeah, but that's really what happened, so everyone, we're on the record with that now, so it's all good. I'm still at 0 (technical fouls) this year, so it's going well for me."
Elias Valtonen
On how he's improved from last season to this one
"Just everything; feel for the game, defense. I think this Summer I really got a lot better."
Hurley
On if the start of this season has been tougher because of the China trip
"Yeah, I'm not into making a lot of excuses, but we have a lot of miles under our belt right now. So, just loosing that practice time, it's hard to always gauge what the impact is on that. I know how I felt trying to transition in and out of time zones, and those sort of things, and trying to feel normal again. But it was a great experience, I think top to bottom our guys enjoyed the opportunity of going there, but it's a-- we're playing a little bit of catch-up, just with maybe some missed time. Teams are trying to develop this time of year on the practice floor and trying to build and create through that. So, the way our schedule is set up we're going to be home basically the whole month of December, so that'll give us more of a chance to, I think, take another step as a team."
"I thought it was a tale of two halves for us, just how we started we were pretty sluggish out there. Just loose with the ball, thought they did a good job of taking away some passing lanes and disrupting our half-court offense. But I think at the end, we just had ourselves to blame with how we started, but I did really like the efforts of our team in the second half to really gain control of the game and make the run the way we did. It was surprising-- the final score I don't think is indicative, really, of how well we played necessarily in the game overall, and we're certainly going to have to play a lot better tomorrow."
On the difference between Remy Martin's first and second-half performances
"I think sometimes it's a matter of time with Remy, and I haven't had many halves like the first half with him, it was very uncharacteristic, you know, he's one of the best point guards in the country. So, it's a testament to him, sometimes when you're really struggling in a half it's hard to even put together a reasonably good second half, and he really ignited what we were doing. And then the guy to my left, Elias, I thought was also just a really good all-around player, made some really good plays for us. The block he had in transition I thought was a key defensive play as we were expanding our lead."
On managing how much to use the press defense throughout a game
"They were the aggressor in the first half, and their pressure affected us more than our pressure did, so it was, you know, we have to be prepared tomorrow to play two halves. You can't play a team like Virginia and have the kind of first half that we had tonight. But yeah, with our ball pressure, when Remy’s locked in on it and (freshman guard Jaelen) House is, we have some guys that can get after it on the perimeter. And I liked what Romello White and Jalen Graham did around the basket with some blocks, just being active around the basket.”
On playing a team like Virginia, who plays a contrasting style to ASU's up-tempo deal
“You go into the game and you play your style, you try and be who you are. I’m sure that we’re going to have to play late shot-clock defense tomorrow. It’s not like we’re going to rattle them and force them into shooting quick, and they’re very disciplined and they have a successful plan that’s worked. We give our guys a little more leash, a little more freedom to shoot early and play quicker, and we’re going to have to make shots, we can’t afford to leave—if we shoot early, we better make it because they’re going to make you pay. They’re one of the best defensive teams in the country, and their pace of play—it’ll be a real contrast tomorrow in style, obviously."
Remy Martin:
On adjustments made at halftime
"For me, it was going into halftime trying to figure out that we got to play better. Coach came in there and let us know, motivated us to get better, and for me, as a point guard and a leader of this team, I knew that I needed to pick it up. You know, I did it with the whole team, guys like Elias that's on the defensive end, blocking shots and getting rebounds. House with the defense, and our bigs with the rebounds, got me the ball, and we started to push the ball, play more our game and we started to hit more shots."
On the feeling inside of him at halftime and how he used that to fuel him going off in the second-half
"I just wanted to win, and I had to do whatever it took to win, and I think that me being more vocal and having more energy and scoring the ball and making the right plays was the best way to do that. I think I also need to do better putting two halves together, but at the end of the day I got through adversity with the help of my teammates and coach (Bobby Hurley), and they push me to lead this team. So, we got the win and we're focused on tomorrow."
Hurley
On the technical foul on Jaelen House for "flopping," what happened and how did it affect you?
"Well I didn't get one, if that's what your question is *laughs*. I know everyone would assume it was me, right? Yeah, but no, there's a new point of emphasis with the officiating with the flop call, and so you get a warning on a flop, and then the next one is going to be a technical. So, there were subsequent flops, according to the officials. So, yeah we'll have to look at that **reporter laughs, then causing Hurley to laugh**. You think it's funny, right?....Yeah, I didn't think it was funny at the time. But yeah...*conversing back-and-fourth, some chuckling ensues*. See, now you and however many other people think probably the same thing, but it's me, right?...so yeah, but that's really what happened, so everyone, we're on the record with that now, so it's all good. I'm still at 0 (technical fouls) this year, so it's going well for me."
Elias Valtonen
On how he's improved from last season to this one
"Just everything; feel for the game, defense. I think this Summer I really got a lot better."
Hurley
On if the start of this season has been tougher because of the China trip
"Yeah, I'm not into making a lot of excuses, but we have a lot of miles under our belt right now. So, just loosing that practice time, it's hard to always gauge what the impact is on that. I know how I felt trying to transition in and out of time zones, and those sort of things, and trying to feel normal again. But it was a great experience, I think top to bottom our guys enjoyed the opportunity of going there, but it's a-- we're playing a little bit of catch-up, just with maybe some missed time. Teams are trying to develop this time of year on the practice floor and trying to build and create through that. So, the way our schedule is set up we're going to be home basically the whole month of December, so that'll give us more of a chance to, I think, take another step as a team."
