Head coach Billy Kennedy marked the unofficial start to the season Tuesday as he met wtih the media on campus at the preseason men's basketball press conference.
Opening Statement…
“It's really strange, this is my 18th year being a head coach, to start basketball this early. You don't really have the midnight madness fanfare, but we were able to work out guys out in the summer. We had all our players here during the summer and pre-season, so although yesterday was technically our first day of practice we've been working guys out and practicing with different groups of them for a long time. The great news with that is we are further along than we've ever been and we're really excited about the new guys we've got and the energy and effort they've brought to us in a very short amount of time.”
On which returning player(s) has made the most progress since last season…
“Alex Caruso has made some big strides in his ability to score and his body has gotten a lot stronger. I would say him right off the bat. Really, we've made strides with all our guys. We've got a young group and seven guys back from last year. Davonte Fitzgerald, from when he tore his ACL last February to where he is today, is better than he was last year before he got injured. Those two guys come to mind right away.”
On the tough non-conference schedule…
“I think it is definitely going to help us from the standpoint of we've got more experience, are more equipped and are deeper. It's going to prepare us for the league, whereas maybe in the past I wasn't as confident in our roster, our talent level and experience to play this kind of a schedule. I think it's definitely a positive or I would not have been as excited to step out there and do it as aggressively as we did. We would have played a couple teams because the SEC has stepped in and is making teams schedule a lot tougher than in the past as a league. To play Baylor, Kansas State, Arizona State and Dayton and possibly Connecticut or Boston College or West Virginia down in Puerto Rico, I probably wouldn't have stepped out as much but I'm very confident with the group that we have. I think it's going to mature us real fast for conference play.”
On having a roster full of 'his guys'…
“For me, that has made things a lot more fun, knowing these guys, having relationships with these guys and recruiting all of these guys with the exception of Jordan and Kourtney. Having coached those guys (Kourtney & Jordan) for three years now, I consider them my guys. It has made things a lot more exciting for me and my staff because we can coach them, demand of them and they respond in the way I want them to respond. To me it's a great group of kids that is going to represent Texas A&M as great Aggies. As a coach, that is what you want. Our goal is to be productive with this group and win games. We've got the right pieces in place with the right character, now we've got to put it together and go finish it off with a great season.”
On his expectations of Kourtney Roberson…
“The great thing about Kourtney is it's his fifth year. You talk about the one-and-done's, the guys who leave after two years, all the transfers; Kourtney has been in the system for five years and that usually equates to a great year. He's a guy who's been through the process and the grind; he's had heart issues twice and missed a year with an ankle injury so his maturity and improvement at being a leader has helped us tremendously. He's got the confidence of getting an Aggie ring and his degree; that has made him a lot better for us in a lot of areas, especially off the floor.”
On bringing in two new assistant coaches…
“You do that when you need to improve your program, I thought we were doing some good things but we had the chance to do some better things. We added three new coaches {staff members}, most recently Alex Lloyd became our video coordinator after Mitch Vanya left us to go work for the Rockets full-time. I've known Alex, he was an intern for the Spurs and has been a video guy in the NBA, and we're excited about him. Amir Abdur-Rahim played for me and coached with me for nine years. I thought it was important to bring in somebody who could relate to our players who played for me. He can do things on the floor with energy and enthusiasm that I thought we lacked in our practices previously. He's been a big addition. We've also added a former head coach (Rick Stansbury), who'd been a head coach in the SEC for 14 years. He's a tremendous recruiter and a tremendous basketball coach and has had success in the SEC. I couldn't ask for a better three guys to come in and give us an upbeat and a lift to get us over the top.”
On expectations for Tonny Trocha-Morelos…
“I expect Tonny to be in our top eight. He's making the adjustment physically. He hasn't played basketball competitively in two years but we were able to get him here early in May and get him enrolled in Maymester. So he's been here the whole time. His body has gotten stronger and he's gotten more confident, but he's an international player and the adjustment might take him a little bit longer to be an impact in the fall. His length and his talent offensively is something we haven't had in this program in the last couple years.”
On what excites him most about the team heading into the season…
“Their love for each other and their love for being here. These guys love A&M and each other. They hang out off the court. We've got great leadership, Alex Caruso and Jordan Green have done a great job representing me and my staff on what we thing is important. They've communicated that and it has trickled down all the way through our roster. We haven't had that togetherness and unity since I've been here.”
On Alex Robinson's impact for the team…
“Alex Robinson is a tremendous player. I like playing him and Alex Caruso a lot at the same time already, them playing together helps us to have two ball-handlers and playmakers on the floor. He's gonna have some freshman moments, but nowadays freshman who are at his level have so much experience playing year round. That makes for an easier transition, especially because of his talent and his ability to play the point guard. That's something we really lacked last season, although Caruso had a tremendous year, I think this is gonna help our team.”
On what Avery Johnson, Jr., brings to the program…
“Avery is Avery Johnson's son, so he's gonna have a lot of personality. The best thing we like about him is that he's Avery Johnson, Jr., and that who he is. He doesn't big-time any of our guys, he's great off the court with them, he's great on the court with them and is ready to make his own niche and his own name.”