| | March 11, 2000
I am not sure what it is about North Carolina State that has given us so
much trouble. I mean they are pretty physical and they come out to play when
they play us. I can't pinpoint it on one thing that makes them so tough for
us.
It was frustrating when I got two fouls early and had to go to the bench
because I always want to be on the court. But we played through it and I got
back in there.
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Inside the Locker Room
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Throughout Championship Week, ESPN.com and FANSonly.com are presenting an inside look into the ACC tournament from some of the league's top players, including Steven Blake of Maryland. For more on the ACC, visit the conference's official web site.
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I think we won because defensively we stepped it up and got a couple steals
and on offense started executing better down the stretch. That's what you've
got to do to win. If something is not working you have to step it up in some
other area and that's what we did toward the end of the game.
When Lonny (Baxter) came back in after the hard foul, he played extra hard
and made some great shots. He is a big-time player and always make some
shots for us. He is just so powerful and so wide. He gets his body into the
defender, and it's hard for them to jump and try to block the shot.
It means a lot for us to be going to the ACC final. We have worked hard this
whole year and played well in the ACC. I think it's only right because the
two best teams from the ACC are in the championship.
Sunday against Duke we
just need to go out there and play as hard as we have all year and just
execute on offense. If we do those things I think everything will be okay. I
think we are pretty even on both sides, so who ever comes out and plays
better is going to win. I think we need to get the ball down inside to Lonny
and Terence and let them go to work. If they play well and score inside,
then I think we will be in good shape.
The leadership from Terence (Morris) on this team is very important. If we
want to win and want to win it all, then Terence has to step up and show
what he can. He shows his leadership by the way he plays. He speaks up when
he has to, but he mostly shows leadership by his work ethic and stuff like
that.
(Duke point guard) Jason Williams and I know each other pretty well. I
played against him in a couple camps, and I hung out with him at the Capital
Classic. We are pretty good friends. I think it's great that there are a lot
of great young players in the ACC, it shows that we are up and coming. It's
nice to see.
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Championship Week
Atlantic Coast Conference tournament
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