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What Chris Mack, Malik Williams Said After 67-64 Win at Georgia Tech

Read what the head coach of the Cardinals and forward/center Malik Williams said after their win over the Yellow Jackets:

ATLANTA - Playing in their first game of the new year, Louisville was able to hold off Georgia Tech long enough, escaping Atlanta with a 67-64 win to move to 3-0 in ACC play.

Here's what head coach Chris Mack and forward/center Malik Williams had to say following the win:

Head Coach Chris Mack

(Opening Statement)

Anytime we can go on the road in the ACC, we consider ourselves fortunate. We didn't play particularly well at times, but they got a couple of really, really talented players. Two of the better players in our league in (Michael) Devoe and (Jordan) Usher. Jarrod West's defense, he gave Devoe a hard way to go, but he's just a really, really good player. They had 40 of their 64, and that's what we're trying to take away. You give them a lot of credit. I thought Matt Cross made some really meaningful plays - the bucket at the end, and the and-one on the out of bounds play. Jarrod's defense down the stretch, he made some really, really good plays. Dre Davis was way better in the second half, and give him credit. It's our 13th game of the Year, first time he didn't start. He didn't hang his head, and he has a heck of a second half for us. When we started going to him, he made a couple big buckets. Just goes to show that if you stick with it, good things can happen to you if you have the right attitude. Now we have a quick turn around now that we play on Sunday, and get ready for Pitt on Wednesday. 

(On Malik Williams' growth as an offensive player)

He's definitely more confident. I think for so long, not just the beginning of this year, but just for so long, his first concerns has been his health. "Am I allowed to play? Can I play? How much am I allowed to practice? Am I allowed to go two days and then have to take a day off?" We're past that point now. He's literally an everyday guy, and has been for quite a while now. I think it's allowed him to start only thinking about basketball. Not his ankle, not his foot. I feel like - again, knock on wood - those injuries are in the past. He's only focusing right now on, "What do I need to do on both ends of the floor to help our team win?" I think because of that, he's really gained a lot of confidence. He's playing like a true senior, and I think he can continue to get better. We tried to go to him at the end, he lost the ball a couple times, and I think he's gonna continue to get better, and have a meaningful senior year.

(On the defense buying time for the offense to figure things out)

We're gonna play some teams that have even more offensive firepower than Georgia Tech. We've got to to grow and we've got to play better. We played guys a little bit heavier minutes tonight, because I felt when the first wave of subs came in, they heard our energy. The nice little lead evaporated. We didn't get a whole lot of confidence in them, and that's on them. We obviously missed Mason Faulkner. I thought he played with a ton of energy and confidence the other night against Wake. But be that as it may, guys are getting their opportunity, and they got to make more of it. When we become a little bit deeper team, and a little bit more trustworthy team 1-9, then I think we'll be better offensively and we'll be a better team because of it. But that hurt tonight, there's no doubt about it. Our defense is going to have to carry us, and we're gonna have to play some muddy games until we figure out how to take care of the ball and score.

(On Dre Davis' second half performance)

I think Dre's first half was a good one on the defensive end. He earned more opportunity to be trusted by the coaching staff in the second half. If you're a sieve defensively, and you can't get stops and you hurt our team, then you're not going to get as much opportunity to play, period. I never have to worry about Dre hanging his head. He may make mistakes, but he never hangs his head. He's an all-in type guy, he's an everyday guy. He got himself going on offensive rebounding, and then we recognized they got a smaller point guard a couple times in Deivon Smith and (Kyle) Sturdivant, so we tried to go to him in the post. He delivered. It was really good to see. He's a guy that can score around the basket, one-on-one matchup-wise.

(On if he was happy with where the ball went, and the shot selection)

Yeah, for the most part. I mean, there's one here and there. They're a little bit of a tricky team because they're changing so often, but I thought we had the right answers. I think that, especially when they were in their zone - so many teams had been really stymied, and really have a tough time getting quality shots in the half court. I thought Malik diving, I thought we got some open threes in the corners. We didn't make any of them the second half, but those were the looks we wanted. They went exclusively man-to-man in the second half. We just have to be a better team, and be able to finish, and shoot the ball better than we have.

(On the message to his team in the final few minutes of the game)

Ball doesn't go in on a free throw, you have to stand on your defense down the stretch. Obviously, everybody in the gym knew that Devoe is going to have the ball in his hands. We also knew that that Usher was going to probably play downhill and try to post us. I think Sturdivant, you give him credit, he hit a three when we were up six, but we got the ball out of the best players' hand. Then when they had a chance to tie it at the end of the game, I thought Jarrod West made a very, very heads up play. Devoe's already in the right corner to start to possession, they try to almost post him halfway up the sideline. Jarrod actually stunts at the basketball (Sturdivant), so he picks up his dribble. Then he flies back to his man and passes an open, and Sturdivant ends up shooting the ball. He's a good player, the shot could have gone in, but he was the one guy I wanted to take it. Our team executed down the stretch. Our team knows that the defensive end can win us games. We've got to be able to get better offensively. It's been a struggle.

(On the 3-0 start in ACC play)

I'm certainly pleased, but far from satisfied. In some ways, I'm a little disappointed that we didn't play better tonight, but like how can you be disappointed in a win? We just have to be able to learn from it. We have to be able to get better over the next week, two weeks, three weeks, and continue marching forward. I think our team understands the defensive end is where we're better at right now. We got a lot of work to do on the offensive end.

Forward/Center Malik Williams

(Photo of Chris Mack: Nick King - Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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