November 29, 2004
Audio from Monday's men's basketball media luncheon at Cain Hall is available through the link to the right (in MP3 format).
What are your thoughts on the Oakland game?
Hopefully, we'll be a good test for them. Everybody knows what they did to us last year. I try not to bring that up too much, except about every five seconds. They went to Marquette and lost by eight on Saturday night. They lost to Xavier, an Elite Eight team last year, and they lost to Illinois. Illinois may be the best team in the country right now. They have a first round draft choice in Rawle Marshall. He's very difficult to guard. They have a Big Ten transfer who is really a good player for them in Courtney Scott. We played against him when I was at Illinois. Then, they have other players who really fill their rolls well. You know they're going to come in here with a great deal of confidence. It will be a major test for us, especially the way we've attacked zones thus far in the season. They'll play a 1-3-1 zone most of the time. They are a dangerous team. Marquette could have very easily gotten beat. It's a team comprised mostly of Detroit-area players. There are a lot of really good players in Detroit. They've always got a guy who's either an NBA player or close to being an NBA player. They're a good team and a good program, but not too many people know much about them."
What do you expect from them defensively?
"They trap a little bit. They spread it out much more than Trinity did in their 1-3-1 zone. They're long and they're athletic and they really know how to cover out of it. We'll have to execute much better than we have at anytime this year. They're also much bigger bodies, so it gives them the capability to rebound much better, too. That will be a major concern for us on Wednesday."
What is the focus of the team right now?
"Everything. We're trying to learn to pass and catch. We've got to get better rebounding. We give up way too many offensive rebounds. Our transition defense has to improve, but it's been pretty good for this part of the season. Our defensive positioning has been mostly outstanding for an inexperienced team trying to learn how to play hard-nosed, man-to-man defense. With the exception of fouling too much, I think it's been really good. I know that guys are thinking way too much. Offensively, we've been brutal, just not executing like we need to. I think it's because they're trying to think too much and because of the lack of familiarity with things. We have to improve every aspect. The biggest aspect that I really want guys to improve on is competing. We have to take it more on ourselves -- 'my man is not getting a rebound' or 'my man is not catching the basketball.' We're in the right position, but we're still just letting too much happen. When we're on defense, we've got to start shutting some guys out. I'm talking about the best player on the opponent's team. You have to listen to the scouting report and you have to be able to adjust and adapt to the scouting report and not let them get exactly what they want. Hopefully, we'll get better at it."
Is it hard to ask for a hard-nosed defense with no fouling?
"I think you have to be aware. I think you have to put yourself in position. Our biggest problem offensively and defensively is -- and we're trying really hard -- we're just not moving until after the ball is passed. It's all about positioning, offensively and defensively. We have to do a better job of moving when the ball moves. If you do those things defensively, you're not going to foul as much. I think just recognizing screens and knowing where our teammates are to help us will help us play aggressive defense and have better recognition without fouling."
Do the fouls worry you?
"It's a big deal to me. Last year, our team made more foul shots than our opponents attempted. I think we might have had a couple of games with over twenty fouls. I believe we're averaging twenty-something fouls right now. I hope it's a lack of experience, but we're fouling way too much. You just can't give away baskets. You can't do that against good teams and have a chance to win. We have to be smarter. There is a time to foul, but it's not the fouls we've been committing. They have not been very smart fouls so far."
Did you expect that because you are so defensively oriented?
"Yes, it takes some adjustment. You're trying to teach aggressiveness, aggressiveness, aggressiveness. If you come to practice, we're fouling all the time, but we have to learn to adjust. Our teams at Illinois and Tulsa always fouled way too much early on in the season, but it's time to start adjusting because free throws are such a big part if it."
Any pleasant surprises?
"Everybody has been a surprise and it's been pleasant. I'm encouraged by some things from almost everybody on our team. I'm just not encouraged by everything about everybody on our team. We don't have a player who is where they need to be yet, and you wouldn't expect it. For instance, I think Antoine has been a great player for us because he's been really unselfish and he's made open shots and he's rebounded. I think the thing that he hasn't done well for us is recognize that he needs to shoot it more after ball reversal. He's still trying to understand when I want him to shoot and when I want him to pass. Just going down the list: Acie [Law] has got to be a better leader. He's got to be a better defender. He's very capable of being a really good point guard in this league, but he's not understanding how to play the position yet. He's a guy who can change games. He can win a game for you because he can create his own shot. Joseph [Jones] has to do much better as far as understanding to play his man before he catches it, to position better so he can catch it when he's on offense. He's getting better and better everyday. Every single one of them has things they've got to work on. We have a million things to work on as a team. I think we're getting better."