January 28, 2002
You played hard against Kansas and won on the road against Texas...What kind of momentum do you have going?
"I feel like we got some momentum from that. I feel like we're playing better. I feel like we're playing with more confidence. And those are things I think are very important for any basketball team. And especially when you hit the road again as we are. We're going into the Iowa State game knowing that it's a difficult place to play. It's difficult to play on the road in the Big 12. But we're going to go in there thinking we can win that basketball game. They better do something to prove to us otherwise."
You have talked about building this program to where you want it to be. In comparison, Iowa State has been on top of the Big 12. Now you have the chance to be on top of them. Can you talk about winning these types of games?
"We need to win them all to continue our progress. But we'll take them one at a time. Iowa State is that one that is standing in between us and that win. But it would serve our program and our kids very well if we could go in there in get that win on the road. We know that Iowa State has been at the top of this conference and they're off some this year. But still they are a very dangerous team and still a very good team at home. So I think it would make some statements in the conference that A&M is arriving. We may not be there, yet. But we are surely on our way."
Can you talk about Keith Bean and how he has picked up his game?
"He really has. And that's a good sign. And it's unfortunate that Andy Slocum went out with an injury. But when that happens you hope someone else would seize the moment and opportunity to step their game up. Keith is definitely one of those players that has. He's done it for more than one game. He's beginning to do it for back-to-back games. And I know for us as coaches, you gain confidence in that. And as a player, I know he's gaining confidence in his own ability to go out and do it every night. He took a pretty nasty spill in that Kansas game after making a big-time block. And it's going to affect his game some. He's sore and didn't practice yesterday. And probably won't practice today. We'll just have to wait and see how he feels come game time. He's talking about being ready to play. And I think he handles pain pretty good. So that's a good sign. But we'll just have to make that decision at the time."
What about his aggressiveness these past few games?
"We've been challenging Keith to do some of those things such as being an enforcer in there. And I think he's starting to buy into it. He's coming out now and saying 'Hey, I can do more and I'm going to show you.' That's what we've talked about with him. He surely has stepped up to this point and we hope he continues to step up whether it's rebound or scoring. Sometimes, in some cases, what he's doing won't show up in the stat sheets."
What about the team's number of turnovers and ability to handle the ball?
"We definitely need to value the basketball better than we have. But if you look at the Texas game, and look at the Kansas game, I'm not so sure we'll see as much pressure than those teams will put on you. But even in the Kansas game, we cut them down to 17 and ended up having more assists than turnovers. We did a much better job in the second half. But still that' our challenge because those are lost opportunities in trying to score. So we do have to do a much better job of managing the ball. Teams tend to have more turnovers on the road than they do at home, so we'll have to keep our turnovers down."
Are you pleased with improvement of Bradley Jackson?
"I think Bradley is improving every time out. Any time you have a junior college transfer it takes some time to make some transition. And I think that's what you're seeing. Where he was struggling earlier in the year, he's getting into a comfort zone where he feels he can come out and be consistent. As he gains that confidence, his shots are going to get better. Against Kansas, I think he had only two turnovers in thirty-some-odd minutes. He's handled their pressure and it was a good effort. So, he's getting better and that's going to make the team better."
Does Tuesday night game make a difference?
"I don't know that it does. The only thing that might make a difference is in terms of letting some of our injured have that extra day to heal. But other than that, I don't think it's that big of a deal."
Daryl Mason was suited up against Kansas. Do you have a game in mind in which he might play again?
"I would like to see him get some minutes in the Iowa State game. Hopefully that happens. He's working hard in practice. The problem is that other guys have been here and have worked hard in practice and have earned some minutes. So he has to wait his turn."
You talked about taking things one game at a time. But you play Baylor on the road Sunday. They seem to play better at home than on the road.
"They are a better basketball team at home. They're familiar with their rims and the crowd and all that stuff adds to how they play better at home. I am probably not going out on a limb when I say that they probably feel like they should have won against us here at our place. So they are going to be anxious to get us up there and get back at us. We're going to have to be on top of our game. But our kids know that. We're playing with confidence and playing better. So that's another game where we're going to go in there and think that we can come out with a win."