November 22, 2004
Following are excerpts from Billy Gillispie's weekly luncheon with media members on Monday at Cain Hall:
Talk about building off the big win against North Carolina A&T?
"It was good to win. The players are extremely excited about winning, so we will definitely build upon that. Our practice Thursday of last week was the best we had all year, and then Friday, the day of the game, was better. We were off on Saturday, then yesterday was the absolute best practice. So, I think they are excited about winning. They're excited about playing. They're excited about getting into a routine of playing. You take the defensive positioning, and defensive transition that we had for the most part, and we only made a couple of mistakes. Against a team like them, that was going to be a big test for us. Our defensive positioning, for the most part, has been really good, and I think it will continue to get better. We just need to be more alert, and aware, make more plays and be in the right position. Being in the right position is a very good start. I think the teams are definitely going to get better as we go. The team we will be facing tomorrow night is a real smart team, a very experienced team, even thought they are a Division III team. They are among the top 10 in the country in Division III, and they have so much experience. That's what really scares me because of our lack of experience. But we'll definitely build upon that. I think you just see guys gain a little more confidence with winning. Winning is a lot more fun than losing is, and you just start feeling better about yourself. You feel better about how hard you are practicing when you see the positive results on the scoreboard. It just snowballs. Hopefully, We'll continue to get better."
Are you more concerned about your team, than the teams you are playing, at this point in the season?
"I'm always concerned about our opponent, but it makes no difference about our opponent if we don't play to the best of our ability. We have to take care of ourselves first but we definitely have a great deal of respect for everyone that we play."
Have you seen any guys that have stepped forward when the lights come on? I know you want guys who practice hard to be able to play, but have you seen any of that at all?
"I'm not a big believer in that. There's no magic in the games. You can see what we do at practice by coming to games. The same mistakes are made in games that are made in practice so I'm not really a big believer in that. When you play really, really, really, tough opponents, it is just execution of the fundamental skills that you gain through repetition in practice, that your abilities will allow you to perform. So, I'm not really big on seeing guys shine during the game. They do exactly what they've done every single day."
Evidently worked hard to attract a big crowd to the first game and was successful...
"They were great. It was really nice and it was rewarding for us to have a good crowd. It's really gratifying for the people to come and watch us play because it wasn't against a household name or a Big 12 opponent or anything like that. We feel really fortunate that they would come out and support us. Hopefully, they liked what they saw and they're going to go tell some of their friends, we'll continue to grow and continue to build on that. But we're going to continue doing what we have. We're going to beat the pavement. We're going to get out there and try to meet every single person on campus and in the community, try to make contact with every former student here, and try to get them to come and give us a shot one time. If they like what they see, they will come back. I think that our guys really appreciated the crowd. I know that I did as a coach, and I know that our guys were talking about it after the game and yesterday before and after practice. We just have to continue to do our part. I think that we're a hustling group. I think that we're going to be a blue-collar group that's going to be fun to watch. Hopefully, people will appreciate that and continue to support us. They were great on Friday."
Do you talk to the kids about how to handle yourself after a win and how to enjoy it? Is that a part of the learning experience at all?
"It is. This group here, I love them. They're very eager to learn but you have to tell them everything. They've been on the other side of some of those scores. Some of the inexperienced guys have not at Texas A&M, but those other guys have. You always want to respect all your opponents and know that they try hard, too. I think that our guys are learning to say the right things, do the right things, and respect everyone in the right way, and that's something that we definitely talk about all the time. We try to teach life through basketball, and hopefully they'll gain some things along the way about respect, about doing things the right way, about caring about other people more so than we care about ourselves. Hopefully, we'll be good basketball players along the way, too, but we are also teaching them the right things as far as being a productive citizen."
Will you talk at all about what happened in the NBA at all with these guys?
"I think everybody is talking about it but I don't have all the details so I can't specifically talk about it. I know that it's something that everybody is going to have to deal with who is involved with basketball and sports in general -- professional, college and high school. We talked about it a little yesterday while we were watching tape. I don't know all the details, but I don't know why the players had to go into the stands and I don't know why the fans had to go onto the court. I think that's a dangerous thing. At one time, basketball players were considered to be 'cagers.' They used to play the game in a cage. I think it was because of the fan behavior and because of the interaction that was not very positive. I think it's going to be one incident that was an ugly incident and we'll move on and all learn from it and get better, but that was not good for our game."
Have you ever had a situation like that?
"No, but I think a couple players probably wanted to come after me. I'm just kidding. We had a situation one time at Illinois where we went to Michigan State for a big game. They were pretty tough on us after the game. They came to our hotel before the game. There weren't any physical altercations or any of those types of things. You always have to be aware. Security has to do their job. Universities have to do their job. That was a real scary thing on Friday night to watch."
What do you know about Trinity?
"I expect them to make all their shots if they're open. If we give them open shots, they'll make them. They have a tall team. It will be the most disciplined group that we've played so far. I think they have to most ability of any team that we've played so far. They are very experienced. Seven out of their top 10 players are back. We don't fear anyone, but we respect everyone. Believe me, they're coming here for a reason. We're going to play them for a reason. We're both going to be trying to win the game. If we're not playing at our best it will be a very, very, very tight game. They'll definitely have a chance to beat us if we don't play our absolute best. We have to continue to get better. Hopefully, that's what will happen tomorrow."
Man coverage or zone coverage against a taller team?
"I don't know. We'll mix it up some. I don't know how we will tomorrow night. We're still trying to learn how to play pressure man-to-man defense. I think it will be a while before we see much zone. Maybe tomorrow. I really believe in man-to-man defense."
Have the young guys who didn't have to go through last year's losses helped out?
"Without question. We talk about a lack of experience, but we only have four or five guys who had a not-so-great experience here last year. So, I do think that's a positive. Joseph Jones thinks we're going to win every game. He thinks we're going to win the national championship. That's the way Dominique Kirk and Kenneth White and Edjuan Green see it, because that's all that they've ever seen. That is refreshing and that's what you want them to think. You never know what can happen. There are negatives to not having a great deal of experience, but there are positives as well, especially in college basketball today. These guys play so much. Freshmen are a lot more seasoned because of the amount of basketball they play in the summer and spring."
In high school, Edjuan Green was one of the top rebounders in Houston along with Emeka Okafor and Lawrence Roberts. Can he rebound like them at this level?
"I don't think so, no. Those guys are pretty good. I think Edjuan is a good player, too, but there's a reason those guys are in the NBA. I think he's going to be a really good player for us, but you're talking about the first or second player taken in the draft. I wouldn't get carried away on that deal. He is going to be a really good player for us. Right now, he's struggling because I'm making him think way too much, but he has really improved in the last week. It usually takes a year for a junior college transfer to really give as much as you think that they can. We don't have that much time, so hopefully we're accelerating that process for him."
Does Edjuan display some of that blue-collar team attitude you want?
"He's a tough guy but when you're thinking instead of reacting, not much is comfortable. He is a guy that just plays basketball but right now he's not playing, he's thinking too much because if he doesn't do what he is supposed to, I correct him every single play. It has to become natural and he'll get there very shortly. He always plays hard, though. He tries hard."
How much have you emphasized offense?
"We'll always be pretty simple offensively and put guys in position to let them make plays and make sure we get good shots. I don't know how much, percentage wise, we've put in, or how much offense and defense. Defense is easier to teach because you don't have a ball. You can get better defensively earlier than you can offensively. The teams that I've been a part of always got pretty good in January and February offensively, but up until that time defense had to be the prevailing thing for us to have a chance to win."
With all this defense, how are the players legs holding up? Are they in the shape they need to be in?
"We're not going to slow down any. I think that we're in really good shape. I think that some guys' conditioning could be better, like Marlon Pompey. For the most part they're in pretty good condition. I never worry about legs. I don't believe in that. I believe if your mind is programmed to practice extremely hard every day, then your mind will carry your legs anywhere they need to go. I know I'm a minority as far as that thought process. We're going to work as hard as we possibly can every single day. Hopefully, they'll be so tough, so strong, that they can make it through."
How pleased were you with Joseph (Jones) and the rest of the team after their first college game?
"He did fine. He's learning and he's eager to learn. I was proud of all of them. I've been proud of all of them. I knew that they would try hard. I thought they would get excited to play and sure enough they did. The fans definitely helped that. It was fun to see them when the game started to really count. It's going to be fun to watch them grow up, because it's a good group that really likes each other. Those are fun groups to be around."