Dereck Whittenburg
Dereck Whittenburg
Dereck Whittenburg is a former collegiate basketball player who played for North Carolina State University, where he was a member of the 1982-83 team that won the NCAA national championship. He is currently employed by the athletic department at his alma mater, with his official title being Associate Athletic Director for Community Relations and Student Support...
control game good played players
We didn't even think about Pops. They have so many good players and they control the game with their defense. They played they way they play.
ahead although game satisfied
It's been tremendous. We're making progress. We're way ahead of our game plan. Although I'm not satisfied with the season, I am satisfied with the way things are progressing.
concerned felt four games good stretch won
We're more experienced and we've got more poise. That stretch we went through, we could have won any of those games. I felt good about those four games and that's why I wasn't concerned at all.
chances couple game half hung missed points pulled second turned
In the second half we hung in there and had our chances to make a run. It was a seven-point game there and we missed a couple of wide-open 3s that could have pulled them in. All the turnovers we had turned out to be points for them.
playing underdog
Psychologically for us, we're the underdog every game. So Xavier (today) will be like playing on the road. We're used to that.
gives opportunity regular runs
I've been a part of one of those runs before. That's what the postseason is all about. It gives you another opportunity other than the regular season.
ability chance finally gym happens home schedule
We finally get the chance to play in our gym a little bit. It's really different, really strange. I've never been through a schedule like that. That's what happens when we don't have the ability to play a lot of home games, like some other schools.
We just concentrated on getting him the ball. He was phenomenal.
good talk
We didn't even think about Pops. We didn't talk about Pops. They have so many good players.
shots tough
Three-point shots, that's why they're so dangerous. They get those three-point shots going, they can be tough to beat.
experience goes hit knock maybe shots
If we hit a 3-pointer there and it goes to four, now it's a different game. We had two shots that we usually make and some wide-open 3s, and we didn't knock them down. Maybe with experience we will knock them down.
against bit hunted last understand
(Richmond) didn't play well against us and we didn't play well that day, either, just a little bit better. This is their last hurrah, and they're going to come out psyched. We've got to understand that we're the hunted now.
bench beside chance good sitting time
The only time I thought we didn't have a chance was when No. 42 was sitting on the bench beside me. That's not a good sign.
learning maturity patience starting
We're young and we're still learning, but we're starting to show our maturity and patience and play a lot smarter.