Everything From Virginia Tech HC Mike Young After Duke Loss

Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young addressed the media after the Hokies' loss to No. 4 Duke Saturday. Here's the entirety of what Young had to say:

Opening statement:

"Credit Duke. They came in here and played a good ball game. We had a good plan. Cut it to six on a couple of occasions, and we couldn't get a timely shot down. We had good shot after good shot. You've got to step to the plate. You got to get a big one down and we couldn't do that today. Duke certainly had something to do with it. They're good defensively, and Jon [Scheyer] started switching everything. We still had good shots but couldn't make the big one to cut it to four, three, whatever. We had our chances and we let it off the hook."

On Duke's defense on Neoklis Avdalas (1-for-8, five points) and what went into the decision to take him out late in the second half:

"Thought his passing, you know, such a difference maker with uh, with his passing. Had a bad one to Tobi [Lawal] down on the baseline, I think, down six. Needed a good possession there. He had the mismatch. The ball's got to find the mismatch. You can't try to thread the needle with it. He's throwing it from this side, back over there down to the short corner. And Tobi can struggle with that catch. Amani catches everything and we mishandled it and that was a turnover we could ill afford."

On the impact of missing Tyler Johnson:

"Missed Tyler Johnson for an extended period since before the new year. He'll be back in the lineup on Saturday next week. We need a break. I think us and Clemson [are] the last two teams to have their bye week. We needed to get healthy and improve some things Monday, Tuesday, turn our attention to NC State on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and head down to Raleigh. But it'll be good to have the guy back in uniform."

On Duke being 26-for-38 on two-point shots:

"They shoot 62% on the year from two. They're good. All right. I know his name. I don't know his number. Cameron [Boozer], 12. Golly day, what a good basketball player."

On what made Duke's size so difficult to contend with:

"Yeah, their size and they got good players, Eric. They got good players and good passing and they put you in some actions that give you heartburn. Not often do you see an inverted ball screen at guard onto a post player, boozer, and we had worked on it. But it's difficult. It's not something you see very often. So, that's a credit to Cameron Boozer. And when you put [Isaiah] Evans into that, a kid that can come out of there and make uh make that shot at such a high clip. Didn't shoot it great today, but man, he's good. And that's really hard to defend."

On the positives from the team reducing Duke's 16-point lead down to an eventual six-point gap:

"We had some great possessions. We cut it to nine, thank goodness, we cut it to nine at the half. Had the ball coming out. Had a good shot and missed. I've got a really good team. They fight like hell. I thought we could find our way back. We did. I thought we could get over the hump. We did not. I thought we'd find a way to win. Obviously, we did not."

On Amani Hansberry (8-for-13, 20 points) and what allowed him to be so effective:

"Well, I hope my pleading, begging, beseeching him to please stop fouling unnecessarily resonated with him over the last couple of days. I told you after Tuesday's game, he's saddled with fouls all the time. Him stepping out and making four threes, he's a very capable [shooter], he had four against Iowa State last year. Really gives Duke, they want to sit back in the paint with the opposite big and take away any back cuts in lobs. And Ammani stepping out there and getting those four down was critical. We got to get some other guys ringing the bell from three. I know we will."

On what Young wants to see improve from his team's play in the final six minutes of the game:

"Move the ball and get the damn thing in the basket."

On what improved defensively in the second half:

"I don't think we did anything differently, Mark. We didn't do anything differently. We had some good fortune. Evans missed a couple that he doesn't miss. [Dame] Sarr missed one over there. I think 14 [Nikolas Khamenia] missed one. Such heartburn with Cameron and Patrick [Ngongba]. So, we wanted to really shrink. Ben Hammond got a couple knocked down in the first half. Just give you a lot, there's a lot on your plate. I thought our team just fought their guts out in an attempt to disrupt them. Quite proud of our effort and our attention to detail. Holding them to 72 points or whatever they scored is good. Obviously not good enough. Got to score more than 58."

On Boozer's distribution:

"The best thing I can say about Cameron Boozer, I was texting with his dad two days ago. The best thing I can say about that kid is he plays the right way. He plays the game the right way. He is a master of the obvious that I am. He is an elite basketball player, but by gosh, if he sees a double team, he's going to make the right pass. He does an exceptional job of recognizing double teams, catch the ball off the block a lot. Turns and faces or looks over that top shoulder to see how he's going to be defended and right down the chute he comes or back to the other side. So, yes, he is an elite passer and he throws lasers. Those aren't lollipops he's putting back there. They're on a frozen rope to the other side. I think that's as complimentary as one can be about a really, really special player. The kid plays the game the right way."

On Avdalas' struggles in conference play:

"You need to see a couple go in, a couple of things mechanically that we're working with him. We're not backing away. We've all seen the kid be really, really good. He's in a dark place here a bit. Still passing the ball great. Still in some very good places offensively. His passing and his ball handling are terrific. We'll get through it with him."