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TEXAS A&M BASKETBALL WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE
Monday, February 13, 2012 - Reed Arena - College Station, Texas
Team Snapshot
Record: 12-12, 3-9 Big 12
Streak: Lost 4
Ranking: NR
Last Week: lost to Texas (H), 70-68 (Mon.); lost to Iowa State (A), 69-46 (Sat.)
This Week: Tuesday at Texas Tech (6 p.m., ESPN2); Saturday vs #3 Missouri (1 p.m., ESPN)
You can watch/listen to the press conference later today on aggieathletics.com.
HEAD COACH BILLY KENNEDY
"First of all, I'm proud of what our guys are doing right now, the effort we're getting, the attitude we have. We just don't have enough to compete at the highest level in the Big 12 right now. If you take anybody's best player, you take Thomas Robinson away from Kansas, you take Tyshawn Taylor away, and (Jeff) Withey-it's a different team. And that's kind of how it is in our situation. Our attitude and our effort have been good. We had a good practice yesterday. I think Khris (Middleton) is getting better. We expect to play Dash (Harris) maybe on Saturday. So we just have to keep competing and pushing through it."
Is Iowa State just one of those bad matchups for you? You've hung with all of the other teams...
"Yeah. They play four guards, and Royce White-no one in the league really has a true matchup for him. Then I was concerned going up there that emotionally we were worn down from the Texas loss. We came out flat in the second half and they're too good to come out flat against. They're a tough matchup for anybody, because they play differently than anyone else in the league. They shoot a lot of threes. Royce White throws behind-the-back passes, has the freedom to just play so loose that he's able to make plays that other people in this league don't make."
How's it been trying to keep the team's attitude and spirit up?
"It hasn't been that difficult. The eight that we have and then the walk-ons have done a really good job. I think some of them are still excited to play, but I think the newness of Elston (Turner) playing the point is kind of gone. The patchwork of putting people in different positions at times catches up with you. I thought that's what we saw against Iowa State more than anything. You had two freshmen on the floor guarding Royce White and Chris Allen. Chris Allen's a high-school All-American that started at Michigan State, and Royce White is one of the best players in the league. So it just caught up with us."
At this point, what makes you think Dash would be ready for Saturday as opposed to say tomorrow?
"He did some things yesterday and he's going to try and practice today. A lot of it would be determined on how he feels after today's practice, but we're not doing a lot today so he's really not ready to just be thrown in to action."
You said last week it was the two toughest weeks you've had coaching...is it now the three toughest?
"(Laughing) Yeah, but getting Khris back helps it a little bit-although I don't think he's playing the best he can yet. It's going to take him a few games under his belt to play as well as he's capable of playing. Good things are coming, it's just going to take time. We've got to rebuild this program more so than I thought in a lot of areas, and it's going to take a couple of recruiting classes. These guys are battling and doing what they can do, it's just not championship-level at this level. That's the reality."
Talk about Texas Tech...
"I just got finished watching more of their tape. They're playing three guards now and doing a better job of taking care of the ball. Dash was a big key to why we beat Texas Tech here. He did a great job of getting them out of offense. They turned the ball over a bunch. Offensively he got us some easy buckets, so it's going to be a tough matchup. They're coming off a big win where they shot the ball extremely well, and they took care of the ball. We're going to have to play well to have a chance to win there. This is a game I wish I did have Dash, more so than maybe some of the others-not that we didn't want him in the other games, but we could have used him in this game."
So no chance of him playing Tuesday?
"It'll be a surprise if he's able to play."
Is it still the same injury, the arch?
"I really don't know to be honest with you. We thought he would be back, but the pain-he has a bruised bone in his foot, so it's a little more severe than we thought. When you play like he plays, you've got to be able to feel good about going out there on your foot on both ends of the floor. And he hasn't practiced with us the last two and a half, three weeks. It's going to take time to get him going again."
You went with a different lineup against Iowa State, will we see another one against Texas Tech with their guard play?
"We'll probably make a change. We're not sure yet, but we'll probably try to match up with them on the perimeter a little bit better. (Javarez) Willis is playing extremely well. Ty Nurse is a talent that can score points for them, so their guard play is a little bit different than Iowa State's."
What would a road win do for your group right now?
"Oh, it would be huge. Any win. We're going up there expecting to win. I want our guys to have that mentality, to expect to win and believe they can win. This is a big game for a lot of reasons."
Was rebounding maybe the biggest disappointment on Saturday?
"Yes, but we were disappointed with a lot of things in the second half. A lot of it had to with physical and mental effort. Rebounding-wise, they shoot a lot of threes and there are a lot of long rebounds. Our guards weren't able to help us rebound, which they needed to do in that game. Chris Allen had 25 points and our whole perimeter scored 23. He had a special night, and we weren't going to beat them if they had a special night."