Jan. 3, 2011
ATLANTA – Head coach Paul Hewitt’s remarks from the first Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball teleconference. Tech returns to the court Saturday at Boston College (4 p.m.).
Opening Remarks:
“Our team has really improved on the defensive end of the floor, and Iman Shumpert is not only playing good basketball, but he’s starting to shoot the ball well. Early in the year he kind of struggled shooting the ball, but now he’s kind of developing his confidence in his stroke and rediscovering his shot and playing very well. Like I said, I like the way our team’s coming along defensively. We had a tough loss last night, but we played well enough to win the basketball game. We just didn’t do the things we had to do to close it out. We came away from it overall encouraged with our effort as we prepare for our first game in the ACC.”
On progress of four freshmen – Daniel Miller, Jason Morris, Kammeon Holsey, and Nate Hicks:
“It’s good. There are some areas, especially with our young big guys Kammeon Holsey – we put him in the starting lineup the last couple of games – Daniel Miller, Nate Hicks. We need them to be a little bit more of a threat around the basket, asserting themselves in the low post. I think Daniel has the best chance to do that because he’s a very skilled player–an excellent passer. He’s got good touch around the rim. I think that he’s just got to understand that he’s capable of doing it each and every possession of the game.
With most young guys, they don’t understand all the parts of defense, in terms of whether you’re helping on the ball or helping somebody else out, let’s say helping on a ball screen. I think we’ve come along with that. I think our numbers reflect the improvements we’ve made defensively, especially from the three-point line. Overall, I think it’s good.”
On adjustments the team will have to make in conference play:
“I’m not sure there’s going to be a major adjustment. Obviously the talent level is going to be higher than what we’ve played in the preseason. We’ve played some very good teams, and we’ve played some teams that obviously aren’t ACC caliber teams. I guess the biggest adjustment is going to be understanding that each and every possession–it’s something we talk about all year–just how important each and every possession and each and every sequence is as you go through a game.”
On Iman Shumpert playing the point:
“He’s been playing more off the ball. He’s played some point. Last night we put him at the point a little bit. We went with a bigger lineup at some points in the game, but he’s been mostly playing off the ball. But the way we run things offensively, he does have the ball in his hands quite a bit where he can create. As we go into the ACC season, you could still see him playing some point guard.”
