Melvin Watkins Media Luncheon Quotes and Audio
Dec 03, 2002 | Men's Basketball
December 03, 2002
Audio and selected quotes of Texas A&M head coach Melvin Watkins' media luncheon, held Tuesday at Cain Hall:
You've had a tough early schedule, already playing games against Miami and LSU and with Tennessee coming in on Wednesday. Why did you want to accomplish with this schedule?
"As we put this schedule together we wanted to test this team. You're always concerned that you don't over-schedule and get into a situation where you lose a lot of the early games and possibly hurt your confidence, but thus far its been a good thing for us. To play Miami, in Miami, although we didn't win there, we had a chance to win coming down he stretch, which I think helped us come back and get that LSU game. Tennessee is an SEC school and it's going to be one of the best teams in that conference so once again we'll get tested, but we're looking forward to that. LSU was a very good win for us. We looked at the tape and saw a lot of good things and if we continue to play and get better in some of those areas, it's going to make us be a pretty good basketball team. We hope it gives us some momentum as the season continues to progress. When you play a team like LSU that early in the season and you're not sure where you are, you're going to find out quickly. And I think we found out a lot of things about ourselves in that game. Can we win some close games? Can we compete with big 12-caliber teams? I think we answered some of those questions. Now the question has to be, can we get better, can we take it another step? And hopefully the answer is yes."
Talk about the early play of your freshman sensation, Antoine Wright...
"I've got to be pleased with Antoine and some of the things he's done out on the court. I knew he could score but his rebounding has been a plus for us so we hope he can continue to do that. And as he continues to mature, in terms of his strength training, I think you're going to see an even better Antoine Wright. I'd like to see him put on a few more pounds and some more muscle, and that's just going to come with time. The dangers you have with a freshman is that they wear down in terms of academics and then this schedule we've got this week is pretty tough with three games here. You're always concerned with wearing them down, and he's logging a lot of minutes, so we've got to watch that. But to this point, he's handled it pretty well. He weighs about 190 right now. I'd like to see him get to about 200 or 205. As he gets a little older, maybe he can handle more than that."
Since the exhibition games, your team has shown marked improvement on the defensive end...
"We've made defense a priority. We've put a lot of emphasis on that because we know that's an area where to be a good team, you've got to play well. Last night, I was not pleased with our defensive effort but it was more that our intensity not being where it needed to be. Still, coming down the stretch where we needed to get it done, this year we were able to get it done. Defense is the thing that we hope we can rest our hat on as we continue to move through the season."
You are playing a lot of players so far this season...
Depth is always important. I know I've come in here crying the blues about that a little bit in the past and how we've had injuries and not had the depth that you need on the bench, at this level particularly. So it surely helps out. For instance, Leandro (Garcia-Morales) was having an off night last night, but I can go to the bench and bring Bradley Jackson in. Those are luxuries we haven't had in the past and now that we have them I think its going to help the way this team grows and comes together."
Will the improved depth lead to a more up-tempo pace?
"We actually want to play a little faster that we're playing now. So hopefully as this season matures we will be able to play faster. But yes, we are looking to capitalize off transition buckets. And what happens is that it gives you an easier opportunity to score and higher percentages. All the good teams do that and we haven't been able to do that in the past. And another area where we can get better is our transition game."
Talk about Tennessee...
"Tennessee is a team that's got some offensive weapons. (Ron) Slay is averaging about 25 points. So they can score with the basketball. If they don't score, you're going to see us really playing some good defense to try and take some of that away. But they're pretty strong in every category -- rebounding, defense ? they are a team that's just good and solid. They are as good as LSU and will represent what some of the teams in the Big 12 will be like."
What is the latest on Andy Slocum?
"Hopefully he will be back at the end of this month or early January. Then again, we're not going to rush it. We're going to see what the doctors say. If they say it looks good, then they're going to start allowing him to do some light jogging. If he can go out and jog and it doesn't seem to be bothering him, then that will speed up the process a little bit."
