Oct. 18, 2010
Selected quotes are available below. A full audio clip is available in MP3 format to the right.
On the excitement of starting practice... "As a coach you don't get to coach much, so to get out there and coach was fun. The guys have worked hard, so that's good. It seems like summer goes by faster and faster every year. I think we're ready. They were tired of individual work and were ready to put some team stuff in. It was a good weekend, a busy weekend with a lot of things going on. The players were excited, the coaches were excited. We've had a good four days."
On Dash Harris' comeback after off-season wrist surgery... "It's been slow. The wrist is healthy as far as the ligament. It's weak from surgery, and with some of the cartilage he gets sore a little bit with that. I think for the most part he's done really well. He's really in pretty good shape. He hadn't done a lot of shooting. I noticed when he does shoot he's kind of afraid to flick the wrist all the way through. He kind of pulls his hand back. That's something we're going to have to fight through. But he looks good out there for a kid that really hasn't played for about six months."
On the importance of Dash and B.J. Holmes to step up at the guard position... "In the first four practices they've been great leaders. We had a lot of people in town this weekend watching practice, and a lot of people commented on what great leaders those two were. But yeah, they need to step up. And I expect them to. I expect Dash to be better than he was last year, and he was pretty good last year. I expect BJ to be better than he was before, and he's been pretty good for us. I expect them to play well. They've proven themselves. I need the sophomore guards, Khris Middleton and Naji Hibbert, to get a lot better. They're important. And we have Derrek Lewis, who hasn't played a lot but is a senior and has been through a lot. Andrew Darko is a senior who hasn't played a lot but has been through a lot too. They're going to add some depth at the guard too. We're also going to maybe look at moving Nate (Walkup) some to the three. Daniel Alexander can also play the three. Nate has primarily played the four for us but he's been practicing at the three quite a bit in practice to give us some more depth."
On his general assessment of the team's improvement through the summer... "I think everyone's improved. Across the board. It's hard to judge Dash (Harris) because he was hurt. B.J. (Holmes) is quicker than he was, a better leader. You can go all the way down. Nate Walkup's improved. (David) Loubeau has come a long ways again, and I thought he came a long way last year. (Khris) Middleton had a great summer, although it hasn't transformed into early season practices yet. But from the different camps he went to and in the weight room I thought he had a great summer. I think they've all improved. Naji (Hibbert) is a completely different player today than he was a year ago at this time, so we're so much further along with him. And he's an important piece. Right now we're out there just beating each other up, and it's really kind of hard to see who is playing well. I know they're all trying hard."
On Ray Turner... "Ray's really improved. All the individual work stuff we were able to do with him in the fall we weren't able to do last year, so I think that's helped. We've had four days, and two days he's been a basketball player and two he's been an athlete. I need him to be a basketball player every day. He's a great athlete. He's really improved. He's got to give us a little more on low-post scoring, which I know he can and he will. But Ray's going to have a good year for us. He's really improved.
On his freshman inside players... "I'm really impressed with our two freshman bigs. Kourtney (Roberson) is very skilled, very unselfish and very coachable. He's got a chance to be really good. He makes a lot of plays when we're working up and down the court, which is exciting. He's much further along offensively right now than he is defensively, but he had a great practice yesterday defensively and is starting to understand the concepts. He's not in great shape but will get better. Keith Davis, same thing. He's got a huge upside. He's still growing. I know he's grown since we've signed him. He's almost a legit 6-10 now. He plays like he's still growing. Keith has an understanding defensively that you can't teach. In time he'll be one of the best post defenders in the league. I can say that with a lot of confidence. He wants to be a great defender and a great rebounder, and he's a great teammate. Both of those guys are great teammates and both have been very coachable. I'm excited. I love working with them."