Nov. 2, 1998
On the suspension for Myron Anthony, Ryan Hogan and Jamaal Magloire
“Myron, Ryan and Jamaal will not be playing in the first four games of the season. That includes the two exhibition games and the first two regular season games. That’s where it ends right now. Once they have completed that, they will have fulfilled the requirements of disciplinary action. Myron’s situation is a little bit different because of his academic shortcomings. He will not be playing in away games that would require him to miss class. This is in accordance with the university academic policy. That’s the extent of the situation right now. Enough has been written about it and talked about it, and I think they have been punished enough. You won’t get anymore about it from them or from me.”
On the team’s performance in the Blue/White scrimmage
“They have all played extremely well. I was pleased with the Blue/White game on Saturday. After watching the tape, I thought Tayshaun Prince did an excellent job and proved he is very capable of being a starter in our program. Whether he’ll start or not, I’m not sure. I liked the play of our veterans, Heshimu Evans, Scott Padgett and Wayne Turner. Mike Bradley will probably start at the center spot because he deserves it and he has done a good job. If we had to play today, he would probably start at center. At the two-guard spot, I’m still not sure. Saul has done a good job. But having to play both the point and the two-guard position might take away from his endurance. Desmond Allison played well, and Ryan Hogan will play a lot at shooting guard.”
On the freshmen
“All the freshmen are very capable of starting. But the only spot open right now is shooting guard. Desmond played well in the scrimmage, but based on Tayshaun’s performance Saturday, I would say he has the upper hand.”
On how the suspensions will affect the team
“Obviously, you want a full complement of your players there to perform so everyone is meshing together. This didn’t happen at all last year. This is a first, so I’ll be wondering how we will respond. I think the kids are ready to step up. That’s why I,ve been so pleased with the freshmen, because they have shown they’re capable of stepping in. I’m a little concerned about the chemistry. We,ve been working together since October 17. But we,ve been making those adjustments during practice and playing guys a lot with different lineups and matchups. But it hurts the team when you don’t have everybody there.”
On the exhibition against the California All-Stars
“I’m going to give a lot of people the chance to play. I don’t worry about chemistry. There will be times when something happens and someone will have to be ready to go in the game. We look at the long-term. You have to have people ready to step in and get better. When we recruit these young men, we bring them in under the pretense that they are here to play and help our program get better and help themselves get better. Because we have individual workouts and a great coaching staff that works closely with the kids, they do get better and consequentley, they are able to contribute. This will be a good time to see how they respond and it will give us a chance to measure and see what they need to improve on. It will be interesting to see how they perform against a quality group of players. They have Kris Johnson, who we just played against at UCLA; Jelani McCoy, who is a great player; and Charles O’Bannon, who just played in the NBA last year. It will be quite a test for us tomorrow.”
On exhibition games
“I’m just looking at my team, to see how we respond and to measure where we are. This being an all-star team will raise our evaluation of our team. I’ll be looking at what we do and what we have to improve on. I don’t put a lot of stock in exhibition games. I’ve won some and lost some.”
On the height of this year’s team
“We’re a pretty tall team. We have Mike Bradley at 6-10, Scott Padgett at 6-9, Tayshaun Prince at 6-8. Tayshaun is still growing, and he has put on about 25 pounds since he,s been here. He’s really looking good. Then you have Heshimu Evans at 6-6 on one wing. That makes this one of the tallest teams I’ve ever coached.”
On what he’ll be looking for in the exhibition
“I’ll look at our effort and how hard we play. Other things we,ll watch will be our ball pressure, whether we play unselfishly, our screening, making good decisions and just basic fundamentals. We’ll check our stamina and see where we are physically. We’ll see how our guys respond to coming off the bench, coming in and out. The freshmen are used to being on the court the whole time. We’ll see how they respond playing in 3-5 minute spurts.”
On the backup positions
“At this point in time, Jules Camara would be the backup center. Scott Padgett could play some center as well. At shooting guard, Todd Tackett has done a very good job. He played extremely well in the Blue/White. Saul could play there. Even Wayne could play at two. That position allows him to bring the ball up, run the lane and use his penetration off the wing.”
On freshman Desmond Allison
“Desmond is very athletic. He is the best defender of the freshmen coming in. He’s got the size, strength and quickness to be a real stopper defensively. He has started to get a real feel for the game. He is a much better passer and he has gotten confidence in his shot. I could see him playing an awful lot at the shooting guard or the wing. He is very mature physically, and that has put him ahead in that area. He has a good understanding coming in. Playing football in high school also has been a big help and has helped his development.”
On the team,s rebounding
“One area that concerns me is rebounding. We think we’re athletic enough where we can just go in there and jump. We need to work on the basic fundamentals of rebounding boxing out and using two hands. Those fundamentals can make a difference in winning or losing. Take Jules Camara. He,s 6-11 and can jump over the rim. But you get boxed out by people who are a lot bigger and stronger at this level, so you need to grab with two hands. He’s used to only using one hand.”
On living up to expectations after a national championship season
“Last year was last year. I’m more concerned with today and tomorrow, and what we need to do to get better. It’s a new day. You can,t get too high or too low. Balance is important, and the key to life is moderation. You can’t spend too much time celebrating over last year.”
