November 15, 2004
Audio from Monday's men's basketball media luncheon at Cain Hall is available through the link to the right (in MP3 format).
BILLY GILLISPIE MEDIA LUNCHEON
Nov. 15, 2004
A lot of people have criticized your schedule. How would you defend it?
"When North Carolina A&T last came here a few years ago, they won. Last year, this team went to Oakland and lost by 32. I think we have to figure out exactly where we are and exactly where we want to go and exactly how we're going to get there. I'm not defending our schedule. I'm excited about our schedule. Is it exactly what we wanted? No, but I'm not apologizing for it at all. If you're looking for that, you've got the wrong guy. If that's who we're scheduled to play, we'll play them and we'll compete. We're playing the schedule that we have. I'm happy with that schedule. I have no defense because I don't need to defend this schedule. What we have is what we have and where we are is where we are."
Why aren't you listing positions for players this year?
"I don't really believe in putting guys in a position. We recruit basketball players and try and teach them to play the game. It's not like football. You don't specialize and play only one way. You have to be a complete player. The absolute best guys are. So what difference does it make? They determine what position they play more than me. Everybody has to do everything. It's not that important. You play five guys at a time and they play offensively and they play defensively. So, what difference does it make? We let those guys determine what position they play.
We don't say you're a "so-and-so" and then fit them into a category. Another thing, what difference does it make how tall guys are? You don't block shots with your head. In my opinion, they should record their reach. I've never seen a shot blocked with a guy's head in my entire career. It makes no difference how tall they are. More important to me is how long their arms are and how high they can jump."
Are victories as important in this non-conference schedule as just seeing your team improve?
"If victories weren't important they wouldn't keep score. We keep score every day in practice. Victories are important every single day. Victories are important in our lives. Victories are important in the classroom. That's what you're trying to do. You're trying to be the best you can absolutely be in every aspect. Yeah, it's important."
What improvements you want to see?
"Every area, just like every other coach in America at this point. Teams have a lot of work to do right now because you've only had four weeks of practice. You have to get better offensively, defensively, transition-wise, shooting, setting screens, playing together, playing smart, and all those kind of things. Everybody is a work in progress right now. Hopefully, by the time you start conference play you're going to be prepared to play against your conference foes."
What have you learned about you team in the two exhibition games?
"What I've seen everyday in practice. They play extremely hard and they play extremely well together. They're trying to do what I've asked them to do, and that's play hard, play smart and play together. Again, we're a work in progress and have a long way to go, but they're trying to do what we're asking them to do. I really do appreciate that out of the players."
Is this the toughest team you've coached?
"I've only been a head coach for two years. My first team at UTEP, well, you've got to be tough to go through a 6-24 season and keep playing every day in practice, and keep competing every night when you have a game. You've got to be extremely tough. They set the stage for what would happen for us last year. We had some teams at Tulsa and Illinois that were extremely tough, but they might have gotten tough at a different point in the season. This team is going to be the toughest I've ever been around. They have been so far and hopefully they will continue to be that way. The question on toughness is how you do when things don't go well for you. We've had some bumps and bruises and those kind of things in practice, but until you're out there in front of everybody and you have some tough times, as all teams do, you don't really know how you handle yourself and how well you keep playing over the course of a season."
Are there any things in particular from that first season at UTEP that stand out?
"They brought it every day. Luckily, I've been around teams that have always done that. Tenacity is the most important thing to me. It's hard when you go 3-15 in conference to keep practicing every single day. If you do that, you're a special breed, and those guys were definitely a special breed. I see this team being a notch above those guys as far as toughness goes, and teamwork and all those kind of things, and this team has a lot more talent than that group had. But they're playing in a more competitive conference as well. I like our team. We're not where we want to be yet, but nobody else is, either. I like our team because of all the intangibles they already possess."
Why is this team your toughest yet?
"Not anything you can really point to, just their day-to-day work ethic and attitude. They won't get down on themselves. They lack confidence in winning, but confidence in winning is coming. I've seen a great increase in that already. I think they're really hungry for success. I think they're willing to pay the price. We're all hungry for success, but are we all willing to pay the price? What I've seen so far is that they're willing to do anything they can do to give themselves the best chance to be successful as a group."
You rebounded well in the first two exhibition games. Is that a result of hustle? Obviously those teams aren't the same caliber as what you'll see in the Big 12...
"Those aren't Big 12 teams? Not to take anything away from our opponents, but they weren't very big and they shot a lot of perimeter shots, so we should have done well on the boards. A bigger test will be starting Friday when the games really count. I do think that can end up being a strength for us. When we went to Illinois, they were supposed to be the softest team in the Big Ten and that had kept them from going as far as they wanted to go. That's what the word was, and we ended up being the best rebounding team there. We'll be a good rebounding team here. It's not about size -- it's all about effort, hustle, and heart. I think we'll put the work in to get to the point where we can have the rebounding. If we do that with this team that'll give us a major boost."
How does Edjuan Green factor into that?
"He didn't play as well Friday as he could. He's a junior college transfer. He's trying really hard. He's thinking way too much instead of just reacting. As time goes on he'll be reacting more and he'll become more comfortable."
What has been you're most pleasant surprise about Texas A&M basketball?
"I'm happy about everything. You always need improvement, but I'm happy about everything. Most importantly, I'm really appreciative of the effort the players are giving. A big concern that I have is people attending games to help us establish a home court advantage. Back to your question about the schedule, when people start to come and watch our team, and don't only come to watch an opponent, then you got a chance to build a program. If you don't have a home court advantage in this league, you're not going to win enough of your home games to be competitive for championships. We have to figure out a way to do that."
What have you thought of Dominique Kirk so far?
"He's been great. He's really bouncy. He's really willing to learn, eager to learn. I excited about what the future holds for him. He's made mistakes just like everyone else. He and Joseph Jones, their disposition is unbelievable for freshmen. They've been coached extremely hard because they don't have much time to mature. They don't have a normal situation where they could watch and listen and learn for a year and then jump in the mix. They've got to do it right now. They have really, really, really done well. They will be two of the cornerstones that we will build the program around because of their attitudes and their abilities, mostly because of their attitudes. They never have a bad day. Not basketball wise, they've had bad days basketball wise as we all do, but their disposition about life is phenomenal."
Is that going to help them as the season wears on?
"Yeah, it always helps. It helps all of us in life when we always see the glass half full instead of half empty. There are so many people that see the glass half empty all the time and those guys always see it half full. That's the way we have to see it. You have to see the good things and eliminate the bad things. That'll definitely help those guys. That attitude will carry those guys. An attitude carries us all. It carries us one way or another. If we have a great attitude, it will carry us in a positive direction. If we have a poor attitude, it's going to carry us down. The bad thing about a bad attitude is that you usually takes someone with you."