December 19, 2005
Head men's basketball coach Billy Gillispie met with members of the press Monday at his weekly media luncheon held in College Station.
Click the link to the right to listen to the press conference. A transcript is posted below.
Billy Gillispie Media Luncheon Quotes
"We are looking forward to playing against Auburn. It's going to be a real tough test for us. We have a long way to go. No disrespect to our opponents, but (Auburn is) by far the best team we've played thus far. We'll have to play better than we have in any game to have a chance to win."
Does it seem like you are catching Auburn just at the wrong time?
"It looks like it. When you beat a very, very good Temple team like they did (73-42), that doesn't happen too often. Temple's 5-3 now, and (Auburn) beat them both halves very handily. They had as much as a 35-point lead and ended up beating them by 31. (Auburn) dominated them on the boards, and dominated them in every aspect. That doesn't happen very often to the good Temple teams, and this is a good one."
Do you see some similarities between your program and Auburn's?
"When I see them I see a much more athletic, much deeper and much more talented roster. They're very young. They have a lot of talent. By the time those guys mature, and it may be this year I don't know, but when they mature and get experience they are going to be a major factor in the SEC. it may be this year, especially with them getting as much confidence as they have. It's a very, very talented and deep group of young players. They've got too many good guys."
Do you know a lot about Auburn's players?
"We know quite a bit about all of them. We've seen all the tapes, so we know quite a bit about all of those guys. Their guys weren't 'under the radar' type guys in recruiting. You've seen those guys for many summers out there, and you know what kind of talent and athletic ability they possess."
When Auburn played Temple they played against a zone defense. You're probably not playing a zone defense...do you see that as maybe an advantage for you?
"Nah. They are so athletic. They beat (Temple) by 31 on the scoreboard, and they beat them by (21) on the rebounding battle. That's a major concern for us. Man, zone, whatever--they have good players. Coach (Jeff Lebo) has done a great job. He's got a great system. They're going to attack you the right way, and you just have to hope you make them miss some shots and you can rebound the ball. And at the other end--that had nothing to do with Temple's zone defense. (Temple) shooting a poor percentage (15-57, 26 percent)--that's a percentage that was forced by Auburn's tenacity on defense. They are a very, very good team defensively. They change defenses all the time and they give you a lot of different looks. To hold (Temple) to 42 points is phenomenal."
Does Auburn play full-court defense?
"They press. They change it up all the time. They'll probably play five or six different defenses, and some of it is full-court."
Last year's Houston game was really the first big attendance jump, having that "name" team come in. Now you have Auburn coming in at about the same time...how important would it be to have a big crowd for Thursday's game?
"I think it would help. We're definitely going to need as much help as we can get, and that still may not be enough. The Big 12 teams are all really good, but (Auburn is) one of the better non-conference teams by far, maybe the best, that we've played in the last two years. Again, no disrespect to anyone else. We'll need as much help as we can get from any avenue. Hopefully we'll have a big crowd that's going to help us. It's a doubleheader, so they get two for the price of one. Hopefully they'll come out and support us as they have been, but we just need more numbers this time."
You got maybe 500 or so students for the last game (Saturday vs. Savannah State). If you were going to put the call out for the students to come back during Christmas vacation, would it be for this game?
"We put the call out for them to come out all the time, so we don't really pick games. I don't think that's smart. The thing about it is, if you really want to ever establish a basketball program, you have to have a large number of people here for every singe game you play. That's what we've got to continue working on. Every aspect of our program has to get better--players, coaches, recruiting, marketing, the fan support-- all that kind of stuff. Every single aspect is heading in the right direction, but we've got to continue to get better as we go."
What is the status of Acie Law and Joseph Jones?
"I don't know. If they can practice they'll play. If they can't, then they won't. If they do, that'll be great. If they can't, then we just have to figure out a different way to go about trying to get something done."
When you were a player did you have practice and/or games during the Christmas break, or did your coach let you go home for Christmas?
"I wasn't a good player. I was at NAIA or Division II schools, so those teams usually had a couple weeks break there--or at least at that time they did. But in Division I, a lot of people don't ever even let you go home. We'll leave after our game on Thursday night and then come back on Christmas Day, and start getting prepared for Texas Southern, Northwestern State, Pacific and then our conference play."
What's your philosophy about playing Auburn at this time of year?
"We just had to get them whenever we could. I don't think it's the best time to play them, definitely with the way they are playing right now, but we just had to get them whenever we could. I think preferably I would like to play somebody different on the game heading into our Christmas break, if you're going to be allowed to have one (a break). It didn't work out that way though. I wish that we would have already played them, or played them after Christmas, not on the game leading into Christmas break. But that's fine. One of the best deals in college basketball is Illinois-Missouri. That's two bordering states, and they have a great game every year, always on December 21 or 22, leading into both teams' breaks. Maybe we could start a tradition with somebody, having a big name opponent every single year here. We haven't thought about it like that, but we'll kind of see how the support is and how the attendance is and all that kind of stuff, and what kind of excitement is created. Maybe it'll be a yearly situation. Maybe we'll have a doubleheader every year, I don't know. I'll have to talk to Coach (Blair, head women's coach) about that, but it might be a good deal. Missouri-Illinois has always been at St. Louis, a neutral site. Everyone is down there, having a great time, and doing their Christmas shopping. It's a great tradition."
Does it bother you playing a doubleheader (Thursday), with the women's team playing first?
"No. I don't mind. I don't care. I think it has a chance to be an exciting night."
Why would you rather have the Auburn game either a week or two earlier or a week or two later? Is it just about the students, or the fact it's Christmas?
"I just would rather play them at a different time. I'd rather play somebody not as good going into the Christmas break. But, we're happy to be playing them and we're fortunate to have a home-and-home series with them. We appreciate them coming here. We don't look forward to going to their place next year, but it'll be a good test for us. Coach (Lebo) has done a really good job everywhere he's been and is really building a nice program. It'll be a good competition for us at both places."
Is this "the" test for your 94-foot defense?
"No. Every game is a test for your defense, offense...whatever. It's an important game for us and important for them (too), but it's important because it's the next game. Our success, or lack of success, is going to be determined in conference play. What you try to do (in non-conference games) is get your team ready to play in conference. We're going to play as hard as we can, and they will too. We'll see what happens and then we'll move on to the next game."
What part of Auburn's team will give you the biggest test?
"Their athletic ability. They are big, thick, athletic guys. That team looks like the kind of team I want to have, as far as the roster makeup from 1 to 12."