January 22, 2003
Audio and selected quotes of Texas A&M head coach Melvin Watkins' media luncheon, held Wednesday at Cain Hall:
How has the team dealt with the Andy Slocum deal?
"It's been easier than one may think because they know what type of person Slocum is. Some of the things that have been printed are not necessarily the way things are. We had one of our better practices on Monday, and even came back yesterday and had a good practice. I've always said this group is a little bit different than what we've had in the past. We're going to focus on what we need to be doing to get ready for Kansas State (on Saturday). That's what the attitude has been. The players are with Andy everyday and they know what kind of kid he is and they know about his heart. Sometimes you read things in the paper and make assumptions without knowing the kid and where his heart is and that's the advantage we have. I can tell you right now, any thing we can do for Andy Slocum we're going to do because he is a member of our and is just a good kid."
Will Slocum be back?
"We hope so. Things have to run their course and we have to sit back and allow that to happen. I didn't go to law school so all this stuff, I don't really know. I guess I'm an optimist so I think everything's going to work out and hopefully we'll have Andy back. That's about the best I can tell you."
Did Andy ever fail a drug test?
"He never flunked the test. Did I have any indications? No. His mood swings and everything has been good, so I assume that everything's gonna be okay."
Did it bother you he went out the night of a loss?
"That's something that in my career I wouldn't have done. But I'm not ready to rush to judgement on those type of things because I need to know more of what was going on. But I don't think that's right. My son (Marcus) and Antoine (Wright) said 'coach, we didn't go out that night because we got beat.' So that's the kind of attitude I want to see. Is everybody going to be like that? I would hope, but I guess not. But those kids went back and were feeling bad because we got beat and surely those are they type of kids we want in our program. That's not saying Andy is a bad kid because he went out after a loss like that, but it doesn't send the right message in my opinion."
Has this open week come at a good time?
"If you look at our schedule we've had these little spells where we've had periods off. I've always tried to make it something positive and with practice time, that's what we do. We work on some things. For instance, we haven't been shooting the ball very well so we've done a lot of shooting. From that point of view we just try to make it a positive thing and work on getting ready for Kansas State."
How important is it for you to get a win on Saturday?
"We always try to balance what we say and do with the players. But this is a game we feel like we need to get and should get at home. We're going to think about all of them that way. I think Kansas State is going to be good -- better than people think. But coming into our place, we need to surely be able to get this one. They sit over in that other division and we only get one shot at them. This is our shot. They beat us last year and we've got them coming here now, so those are some of the things we'll talk about."
You've been running a lot of different defenses. Will the loss of Slocum cause you to cut some of those?
"I don't know that one kid will cause us to cut out some things but it surely may affect the minute distributions of the players we do have. But we still want to play the way we've been playing. If we get into the game and see that things are not working out the way they should, we'll make adjustments then."
The Aggies are battling somewhat of a shooting slump the last couple of games...
"The shooting slump, if we're in one-- and I'm not ready to say we are--but our shooting has dropped off since we've gotten into Big 12 play. But you've got to look at where it's dropped off. Antoine Wright and Kevin Turner haven't played in the Big 12 before. We've talked about how when you get to Big 12 play, there's another level of play that you haven't seen. You say that to Antoine and Kevin and they look at you like, 'what are you talking about?' Well, I think they've experienced it now-- how physical it is and how refs may let some things slide. Having three games under our belt will help but there's a learning process going on with our new players. When I left the gym late last night, Antoine Wright was still in the practice gym shooting. That's a good sign. The game is a little more physical when you get into conference play. There's a little frustration because he (Antoine) obviously wants to play well. I talked to him yesterday and he said, 'coach, every shot I take I believe I can hit,' and so I like that confidence in him. But now he's taking shots off balance, he's rushing himself a little bit. That's the kind of things you try to help him with as a coach because some of it, he's not seeing. I like his confidence, but now we need to look at some tape, and show him a little of what he's doing."
Antoine seems to be putting the ball on the floor and driving more now...
"That's one of the things we've talked to him about, that in-between game as they call it, and that's an area that he's got to get better at and you know he will. The other thing is, being a freshman and with all the hype-- look at his body. Bernard (King) did a lot of the same things as a freshman. Bernard may not look big now but he's a lot stronger than people give him credit for. But he's a senior. And so Antoine is experiencing a little bit of the fact his body just is not strong enough. That's why you hope you don't depend on a freshman to do a lot for you because most of them are just not ready to do it."
Are you challenging some of your other players, like Keith Bean and Jesse King, to step up now?
"We had very good practices the last few days because I think kids understand that now. This is their time to step up and show they deserve this. I think we've got a group that's a lot different than what we've had and these kids will respond and will bounce back and know we've got to win ball games. You don't want to get yourself too deep in a hole in this conference because they'll pound on you and keep you down there. We're 1-2, and if we win Saturday we're 2-2. So this is an interesting time for us. We've just got to take care of our business."