Everything From Virginia Tech HC Mike Young After Win Over Charlotte

Virginia Tech men's basketball head coach Mike Young spoke to the media after the Hokies' 84-76 victory over Charlotte. Here's the entirety of what Young had to say:

On Charlotte cutting the lead to one and the Hokies' response:

"That game will serve us well as we look ahead her going forward. Charlotte came in and played well. I take nothing away from [Charlotte head coach Aaron Fearne's] bunch I was impressed with them on uh on film. [Anton] Bonke is a load in the post. We thought the only way that they'd come in and give us problems is to get us from deep and they did that a little bit. Now, they only made seven. One in the first half. But they fought, they competed. We weren't our best offensively. Needless to say, I thought we got a little hurried. Their tempo bothered us. They slowed the game down. To his credit, we've got to be able to withstand different styles. We took some quick shots. Tobi [Lawal] had a quick shot. Neo [Avdalas] had two quick shots, but last time I checked, fellas, they want you to win. We post another one to moved to 4-0 and we get a chance to do it again on Wednesday."

On Fearne, who worked at UVa alongside last year's interim head coach Ron Sanchez for five years and whether Young calls back any previous UVa work:

"Not really. We're playing differently because of Avdalas. We're playing differently. This is the makings of a really, really good ballhandling team, passing team. They move well and that's really hard for teams to guard. So no, I haven't considered that. 16 assists on six turnovers again tonight. Those are winning numbers. [Jailen] Bedford was really good. They looked sad in the locker room and I told him, I said, 'Hey, man, winning's hard.' And we'll celebrate them all. We weren't our best. Charlotte had something to do with that. Get that smile on your face and let's come back and get better tomorrow in practice."

On Tobi Lawal's 18 points and career-high 15 points and what Young liked about Lawal's rebounding effort:

"A lot. Not a lot to not like. He catches a couple, so help me goodness, it looks to me from my vantage point that he's up around the top of the board. And we needed some of those. Bonke is huge. And that was a real concern coming into the game. But Tobi's work around the glass. Tyler Johnson, Amani Hansberry and Tobi, all of them keeping those balls alive and giving us second and third opportunities. I think we had another spray out onto the perimeter for a made three tonight. Those are real momentum shifters in the course of any game."

On if the crowd getting fired up by dunks from Lawal and Avdalas amped up Young and the players:

"Been doing it a long time, my friend. 40 years' worth. I don't get a whole lot of amped up anymore. I like seeing that damn thing go into the basket. I'll tell you that. I like seeing our team play with positive emotion. There's nothing wrong with that. Great pass from Jaden [Schutt] to Tobi. We'll take him any way we can get him."

On Avdalas taking seven shots from the field and what Charlotte did to limit him:

"He didn't have a very good rhythm today. I still thought he played a great game. It was good to see him make the six threes going down the stretch. He looked like he pressed a little bit. But still, he was good. You know what, fellas? He's not going to be Superman. He's really, really good. But if you think, for a second, the kid's going to kick in 22 points and hand out 12 assists every night, you're wrong. Other teams do a good job. And there's some film out now. Neo will continue to improve and continue to make adjustments as we go along. Neo Avdalas played well. We won and that's all that matters to me."

On Jailen Bedford tallying 21 points and what Young liked on his playmaking ability:

"Just picking his spots. I hated the turnover and I think Amani gave him the ball too quick. It surprised him. That wasn't how we execute that play, but he did walk with it. But man, he's making all the open jumpers. Pardon me. Jailen Bedford is playing really, really well for us. and I am certainly pleased with what he's bringing to our program."

On Jaden Schutt, who tallied four three-pointers for 12 points:

"Great punch coming off the bench. I consider Schutt a starter. I consider Ben Hammond a starter, but he didn't start off very well. He had a couple of wide-open shots. He missed it and I almost fell out of my shoes. It was so out-of-character for him. But he responds well. He knows I don't want him to ever turn a good one down and he takes me up on that offer."

On the 16-assist performance, where no player tallied more than three but all eight Hokies that saw the floor logged a dish:

"Yeah, we're seeing it night in, night out. If that's who we're becoming, I'm excited by that. That's how the game's supposed to be played, to share. Turning down a good shot for a great shot. And that's the way people expect our team to play. That's good players making the right basketball play."

On how important it was to have Tobi Lawal returning:

"Incredibly. And it was very important to me to have Tyler Johnson and Ben Hammond and Jaden Schutt back. That continuity and they know what it looks like. Consequently, those four guys have been around and they've got a such a an incredible understanding of what it's supposed to look like and how we want to play. All four of those kids are playing very, very well and I am beyond pleased with their performance night in, night out. They're practicing great but Lawal and that athleticism, he's a unicorn and he's a special human being."

Q: What did you guys work with him on in in the offseason?

"Everything. His understanding of the game. His footwork. He's doing a much better job of decision-making. Making the right basketball play. I thought he took a really a quick shot, opposite our bench in front of Mike [Burnop] and Zach [Mackey] in the second half. They were on a bit of a run. We weren't playing very well. And I think they cut it to four and he took a quick three. It's like, 'Come on, man.' Let's have another ball reversal, better rhythm and, later in the clock. That's a good shot, but a little quick, but not saying a whole lot to him. He makes the right play. He's such a extraordinary teammate. And we'll take a look at that one and may say something to him tomorrow before practice."

On Jailen Bedford and his experience around college basketball allowing for a seamless transition:

"Yeah, he's been to 17 places. The new surroundings aren't aren't new to him. He's played a lot of basketball. He's seen a lot of different levels and leagues. That league last year [the Mountain West] is a really well-coached league, a good players league. It's his fifth year in college basketball, maybe six. Nothing surprises him. He's got a great approach to the game. He was really really, good again. Really, really good again. I'm pleased with JB."

On whether Young has changed his sentiment regarding his assessment of the team's shooting:

"Yeah, I have. That was a poor assessment, a premature assessment. I've got a good shooting team and I've got lineups where I've got five out there that can make a shot. And you better come out of there and guard them."

Q: We talked about Neo being shut down against Charlotte today. [Editor's note: Young then interrupted.]

"He wasn't shut down, fellas. He wasn't shut down. All right, there's a better way to communicate that. All right, he didn't have his best stuff, but he played his ass off. Charlotte did a nice job. The tempo of Charlotte affected Neo a little bit. Neo played a really good basketball game. He didn't have 33 points and nine assists tonight and he's not going to do that every night. But he played another really good ball game and I'm proud of Avdalas."

On the gameplan moving forward with Colorado State, a similar team to Charlotte:

"I've got Bryant on Wednesday. That man that starts looking ahead to Colorado State in two weeks or 10 days gets a baseball bat across his kneecaps. You ever had that? I have. All right. In 24 years a head coach, the only game that the only thing that matters is tomorrow's practice. The only game that matters is Bryant. All right. I don't give a damn what I might see two weeks from now, three weeks from now."

On what Young liked about his team's play in the final eight minutes:

"That game is going to serve us well. Would I like to have won [by] 30? You bet, you sign me up. But we had to make some plays down the stretch. We had some full-court off out-of-bounds under plays that we had to execute. We had to go to the foul line and make foul shots. We did that at a very high clip. We got some things out of that game that maybe we didn't against St. Joe's. But again, I credit Aaron and the 49ers. He's got a good-look outfit. I think they've got a formidable team in the American. I think they're going to go on and have a good year. I hope they do. I'll be pulling for them. Thanks, guys. Have a nice night."