December 06, 1999
After a slow start this season, did your young team finally find a rhythm in Sunday's win against Virginia Commonwealth?
"That's what we wanted to see. Once again, you go back to trying to bring those young kids along. But the big key for us against VCU was having Jerald Brown back, although the things he did didn't show up on the stat sheet. Just having him on the floor gave us some level of stability. Every time we play, I think we should see improvement."
Is there anything in particular you are working on as you head into a tough week of games against Tulane and Rice?
"It's been mainly our defense, but the problem we have is that when we tend to emphasize one thing, we realize we have something else jumping up and biting us a little bit. But we have been concerned with our defense. As we look back on our first three games, we've been able to score but we weren't able to stop people, especially A&T and North Texas. That became a main focus for us. We went back and addressed some things there and we've actually seem some improvement in that area. But then again, against VCU, we got a little sluggish offensively. So we've got to continue to work on a number of areas."
After really struggling on the boards in the first two games, do you think the team has begun to show improvement in that area?
"That's another area where we struggled. We went back and addressed that and it's always good when you put emphasis on something to see some improvement. We've talked about just boxing out and putting a body on people and I've seen some improvement there. Carlton Brown really stepped up against Virginia Commonwealth with 14 rebounds. Our kids have responded and it's surely helped us out."
You play six straight road games before playing again at home on Jan. 5. Is that something you planned?
"It wasn't something we planned. It just worked out that way this year. With this young bunch, we need to be playing all home games to be honest. Hopefully, it won't be something that just tears us apart because you can't allow yourself to get beat up on the road. That could cause a young team to lose confidence and that's something you surely don't want going into conference play. The schedule will challenge us but we will grow and learn something from being on the road."
How important was it for you to win these last two home games before you go out on the road? "It was really critical because now, hopefully, we can build some momentum and gain some confidence. I know it makes our practices easier. Now we can go in and talk in terms of winning games, yet still understanding we've got to get better, and the kids are not dropping their heads and not feeling down because we didn't win. We've always said protecting your home court is something you've got to do if you hope to be a good basketball team. It's tough for anyone to win on the road. We hope the two wins give us some momentum as we go on the road."
How much does getting Jerald Brown back affect your plans for this team? Will Carlton Brown now play more at small forward? "Not having Jerald sure set us back some, and it set him back personally with all the missed practices. But we were dealt that hand and handled it the best way we could. In terms of Carlton, we've made a decision to play him a little differently that what we had initially planned. Initially, we thought about keeping him totally on the perimeter but we've since identified that he can work both inside and out. We want to take advantage of what he's learned all these years with his back to the basket and not just totally go away from that. So, our original plans have changed a little but we think in the long run it will make us a better basketball team."
What are your thoughts about playing Tulane on Wednesday?
"Tulane is playing the best basketball they've played in the last three or four years. They are playing as a team and playing as hard as any team you want to see play right now. What's happened is that those kids are seniors now. I know Coach Clark is probably seeing what he thought he would see when he recruited those kids. They've played together a long time now and they definitely will be the best team we've played so far. It'll be a big challenge to go on the road and try to win there."
What about the Rice game in the Houston Charity Classic on Saturday at the Compaq Center?
"We are honored to be a part of what this event represents. As far as basketball, it gives us a chance to go into Houston, an area we want to recruit and an area in which we have a lot of former students. We're excited about that. Looking at the history of the Southwest Conference, I think some people will identify with and enjoy the match up with Rice. This event brings a lot of different things to the table. For me as a coach, it just means another game we need to prepare for and know it will be a tough game. It's a neutral site, but it's still on the road for us so hopefully our fans will come out and make us feel a little more at home. I haven't had much time to look at any Rice tape yet, but I know coach Wilson always does an outstanding job of having his team prepared. They tend to want to play a control game, whereas we want to go up and down the court. It'll be a battle of wits as to who can control the tempo."