Nov. 13, 2009
– On what the team has worked on in practice since exhibition game vs. IUP – “Just general court awareness. I think some of the younger guys had stage fright. We have to react quicker on defense. I think a lot of times we got caught ball-watching. That is something that I seem to expect early in the season and in preseason. When I when back and watch the tape, it seemed like a lot of the guys were in a trance.”
On what he would like to establish in the Florida A&M game – “Just the alertness that we showed early on. We were in a good rhythm and were playing really hard. This team has a chance to average 85 to 90 points a game, I really believe that. But, it’s got to start in the defensive end and getting out into transition. We can’t get to 90 points a game if we’re playing the half court all game.”
On rotations in lineups throughout the season – “Rotations change as the year goes on. Guys are going to play better. I always point to guys like D’Andre Bell who in the middle of his sophomore year was nowhere in the rotation and by the end of the season, he was our sixth man and started as a junior. So, guys can improve the longer they’re out on the court.”
On injury situation at the moment – “Everyone is fine. We’re going to be at 100 percent in Saturday’s game.”
On the decision to redshirt Daniel Miller – “We talked about it and looked at minutes. I spoke to he and his family and it was his decision. I only make recommendations; I don’t tell them that you have to do this or that. Over the years, I recommended it to Luke Schenscher, and he didn’t do it. I recommended it to Mario West, and he decided to do it. Ultimately it was Daniel’s decision.”
On expectations coming into the season – “I think you have to remind the players of their preseason ranking. Other than that, this is a very talented team and I’m really excited about what we can possibly accomplish.”
