Everything From Damon Stoudamire After Georgia Tech's Victory Over Virginia in the ACC Tournament

Damon Stoudamire led Georgia Tech to a win over Virginia today in the ACC Tournament and the Yellow Jackets will now face No. 1 Duke tomorrow

Mar 12, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Damon Stoudamire calls to his team during the first half against the Virginia Cavaliers at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Georgia Tech earned a victory over Virginia today in the second round of the ACC Tournament 66-60 and advanced to the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals to face No. 1 Duke. After the game, Yellow Jackets head coach Damon Stoudamire spoke with the media and here is everything that he had to say.

Opening Statement...

"You know, great second half by our guys. I thought we did a really good job in the first half defensively. But we didn't do a great job offensively. I thought in the second half, we spaced the floor, and we started to find some different things that we could get at on the offensive end, and I think that Nait started it. He was getting downhill, and then I think he helped everybody else. Playing in space is just so different than what we did in the first half, and sometimes you have to open the floor up, and to be honest with you, we quit calling a lot of plays, and we just played in space, and guys were just making good decisions.

When we're on our game offensively, we're tough to guard because we've got guys that can play in pockets, two on the ball and things of that nature, and then when we do switch, we do a good job of attacking close-outs and finding buy on the inside, so just really proud of our guys and things that they did.

For us, I went into the game and I wanted to downsize, so that's why I took Souare out of the lineup. I thought Duncan at the 4 was going to be really good for us because it matched up with us, and it allowed Jae Mustaf to guard a perimeter. The last time we played them, we had Duncan playing the perimeter, and that's tough to chase like that against guys that they have, and especially the way they play."

1. On his embrace with UVA head coach Ron Sanchez...

"You know, just I hope everything works out. I've known Ron a long time, and I've said this before when we played them last time. I actually knew Tony and I knew Ritchie McKay, so many people that I knew from that staff. I met Ritchie McKay a long time ago when he got his first job at Portland State. I've known Ron a long time and you're always pulling for people in the business. He's a good man. He's a good guy. Just kind of told him he did a great job, and he'll figure things out, and hopefully you're able to get the job."

2. On guarding Isaac McKneely...

"Well, I said it briefly, but I think the biggest key to the game for me is when we played them the last time, I started Duncan at the 3 because I didn't have enough perimeter bodies. So I took Souare out of the starting lineup and started Jaeden Mustaf, so it helped us stay connected, so I think that made a big difference.

The other thing is, I wanted to keep a lot of ball pressure on Rohde. He's really been playing well for Virginia, and you need ball pressure on him. He has great size, and you just can't let him play free like that. And Ames had been playing really well. And you know, it's funny because I'm a left-handed guard, and I don't get out there like I used to, obviously, but I try to tell them things that lefties like to do, and they did a good job on him tonight. Even with McKneely, he hit really tough shots. It's hard. But I thought that was big.

Lastly, I'll say I thought Baye's presence and Duncan's presence at the 4 and the 5 helped us because they wore us out last game when we played them in Charlottesville. I thought that that was really the difference when we lost to them there, and then you look at the stat sheet now, Duncan and Baye to me were the difference this afternoon."

3. On Duncan Powell's Free Throws to end the first half...

"It was big. It was really big. But to be honest with you, the offense I knew would pick up, but I was more concerned but happy all at the same time with the way we played defense because usually two months ago if shots wasn't going in, we wouldn't play D. But two months later, we did a great job defensively to keep ourselves in the game. They shot 29 percent for the half, so that was the only reason we were in the game because it definitely wasn't our offense, and I knew that I could pick up -- Duncan getting those free throws, I think it ignited us, and the first four minutes for me was so important, and I thought we established the tone, physicality on both ends of the floor, putting the ball on the ground offensively, and then on the defensive end, letting them feel us. When you're playing against teams that to me struggle to score, you've got to, I like to say, keep putting stress on the game, and I thought we did a great job of that."

4. On the Matchup With No. 1 Duke...

"Well, I think that Duke is a team that obviously they're different. They're long. They're athletic. I look forward to the game, though, to be honest with you. At the end of the day, the one thing I do know going into this game is that we're playing our best basketball of the season. If we weren't, maybe I wouldn't feel the way I do, but I feel as confident as I've ever felt about this group of guys. It's going to be a task, but we'll go in there, and we can't fear them. We've got to do the things that we need to do. It's a challenge, but I think that we're all looking forward to that."

Additional Links

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