The Grounds

Virginia Head Coach Tony Bennett

On the game:
“It’s nice to get a win. We established a kind of basketball for us early and even statistically, it doesn’t show, but I think Teven [Jones] gave us a great boost and a calming force as much defensively where he met the ball as the point of attack defensively and sometimes just giving him the ball and letting him bring it up. Everybody played solidly as a team and as the second half wore on itbecame more of a game as they scrambled and tried to trap us. The one good thing was I challenged those guys, I said 19 turnovers is too many, but let me see you finish the game without a turnover so I applaud those guys. This stuff matters. You’re working against pressure, at times we had five freshmen on the floor, but the best thing for them is to experience that and I’m sure we’re going to experience it a lot.”

On holding Seattle to 25% from the field:
“I think defensively we didn’t give them much. When you have Darion and Akil in there, they’re active, whether it’s off the glass rebounding or covering up, they are quick. I thought they did a good job. Evan did too, of making them earn for the most part, sure they were cold but most of those were with a hand in the face, we contested and took care of the lane. Again, we tried to prepare well in practice and as a team like ours, keep building in the areas you know you need to and not get too high and not get too low. I think that’s important when you have an inexperienced team. I repeat, having a little more of a point guard out there I thought helped us substantially.”

On Teven’s performance:
“I think unfortunately Teven was in the warm-up line going to play in the Delaware game, but he had a pinched nerve or something happened so we told him before the game to be careful in warm-ups. He’s quick and he’s more of a point guard. He can handle the ball and as I said he let’s us set our defense at half court on the floor, which is big for us. If our pick up point can be out there it helps us establish a better start to our defensive possession.”

On Akil’s performance:
“I thought Akil was very active. He’s gotten better. If you look statistically certainly, he had 12 rebounds at the half. When he understands that he can be a difference maker on the glass, that’s huge. He looked a little better, whether it was matchups or not, finishing today. Whether we got him the ball in the post, he had a couple nice post moves, and he even handled the ball in the press andmade some good decisions. When I see Darion and him out there flying around, that’s a strength of ours and that’s the athleticism needed.”

Virginia Junior Forward Akil Mitchell

On the start of the season:
“The coaches talked with us, and we addressed some things after the loss. They talked about slow starts and having the kind of energy that we really need to bring in order to be successful. They told us that we need to start games aggressively andthat we have to come out of the gate ready. The last two games against Fairfield and Delaware, we weren’t doing that. We got lucky against Fairfield, but it showed against Delaware. But, I feel like the guys really responded with this game.”

On his rebounding:
“I just try and go and get the rebound. I’m not really thinking too much about it. I see the ball, and try to get it. I worked a lot with Coach Bennett’s dad, Dick Bennett, last year. We worked on timing the rebounds, where shots are coming off, and he showed me a few things. I feel like it started in my last ACC game last year, when I had a double-double, and from there I’ve learned different things.”

On the team’s confidence:
“My role as a leader this year has helped me be confident. In order for this team to be successful, I had to be confident. To lead them, I had to believe in myselffirst. This game has been huge for us, for the guys to understand that if we play our system and we play it right, we will get wins. To build the confidence of the young guys and get them some minutes, this was a huge game for us.”

Virginia Redshirt Freshman Guard Teven Jones

On his performance:
“It was kind of obvious that we were hurting, since Jontel [Evans] and I were both out. So, we didn’t have anyone to push the ball like we can. So today when I came in, I had to make an impression and dominate. I ran the team and it felt good.”

On his collegiate debut:
“It was exciting. I can’t even explain it right now. I’m just so excited that we got the win. We were struggling, but it was really great to win. I feel very blessed. I felt very comfortable out there. I had been running it in practice, so I thought, what’s the difference? It’s just a big crowd of people. There is no difference.”

Virginia Freshman Forward/Center Mike Tobey

On playing at home:
“It felt great. It’s definitely different from playing in Europe. Everyone is good. You can’t take off one possession. Otherwise, you’re going to get beat.”

On playing at home:
“Ball-screen defense is something that I definitely have to work on. I also need to work on having better vision, and other stuff like that.”