2005 Wake Forest University Men's Basketball Media Day

Head Coach Skip Prosser

Q: How much of a different point guard is Justin than Chris was?

A: Well, Chris Paul was unique. Chris was the best point guard in the
country last year. And, he was a point guard from the day he started
bouncing the ball, and Justin has played the off-guard for the past two
and half years. So again, from that standpoint, it will be different.
Chris was really good at creating easy baskets for himself and his
teammates. He was incredibly quick w/ the basketball. And that isn’t
Justin’s forte right now. And that isn’t going to change, at this point
in time, the way we want to play. We still want get it from one end to
the other as rapidly as possible. We’re hopeful that Justin and Joe
(Shamaine Dukes) can do that for us. I’m not going to lose any sleep
making comparisons between point guards you had in the past and point
guards you have now. That's just a reality of college basketball. These
guys don’t sign 10 year, no cut contracts. Justin and Joe are going to
have to do it, no pun attended, an assist from Harvey Hale or someone
else. Again, I don’t know who that will be at this point in time.

Q: Realistic expectations of Kyle Visser:

A: I think he has probably had, this is off said, perhaps the most
impressive pre seasons. That comes from the harshest critics of all, his
fellow players. When you ask them how the runs have been, how the pick up games have gone, his name is most often said first. So again, I think it is his time, I think he had a very good surprising freshman season. I think he was mercurial last year. And not consistent, he needs to be a productive player for us in terms of rebounds, in guarding, in terms of points. Consistently productive. He has good potential, but that
potential needs to be transformed into productivity.

Q: Does Harvey Hale (#4) have the capacity to play point guard?

A: It is so hard to tell right now. We haven’t done any 5 on 5. It is
how he performs in the cauldron of a practice session, and with pressure
defense, things like that. I have no way of predicting at this point in
time. But then again, he may have to, not as the primary ball handler,
but as the more secondary and tertiary ball handler perhaps.

Q: Did Justin start off playing a point guard at the Under 21-camp?

A: Well, they had a gaggle, 4-5, point guards, all of them except
Justin, had been the primary ball handler on their team. They gave him a
cursory glance at the position, but I think Coach Martelli understood
that was not the position he’d played for the last three years, so it is
a brief glance if you will.

Q: Are you concerned at all that some of the energy that Justin might be
using to be a leader or to score early in the season might be taken up
trying to adjust or readjust to point guard?

A: No, he’s an energetic guy. We’d all like to have the energy we had
when we were 22 years old. I’m not worried about anything. One of the
hardest things for Justin, is he’s so incredibly competitive. He really
wants to be that guy, to take that shot every single time in those
crucial situations. He’s going to have to understand and become more
trusting that sometime his job will not be to finish the play, but to
begin a play. I think a real challenge for him, I don’t mean that in a
negative connotation at all, but he’s so competitive.

Q: How comparable is his jumper off the dribble opposed to Taron Downey?

A: I think he’s pretty good at both. I’ve taken a jump shooter who’s
taken a lot of shoots, I’ve been doing this for a lot of years, he’s one
of the guys I want doing it.

Q: Defensively. You’ve had some issues the past couple of years. Without
Chris on the point, defensively how do you think the team will do?

A: I don’t think there is a reason why we can’t be better defensively as
a unit. I think we can, we have to be. We were running in the middle of
the pack last year in our conference, it is hard to guard team in our
conference. The year we won the championship… was our best defensive
team. I don’t think it’s totally by accident that that was the year we
won. That was the same record as last year, but in all frankness I think
the league was stronger last year than it was in 2002, or whenever that
was. That was our worst offensive team in terms of field goal
percentage, our lowest scoring team out of the 4 years, but it was our
best defensive team. Again, I don’t think it was entirely by accident
that that team won the ACC regular season championship.

Q: Do you anticipate doing it any differently with this team?

A: Not really. We may tweak things a little bit, but at the end of the
day I’m still going to want to play things man to man, guard them.

Q: Question about physical aspect of the team.

A: I’m ok with that. I think that our identity is meant to be a very
physical team, very good at rebounding team. I think we can be a good
shoot-it-go-get-it, offensive team. So again, we have to be a physical
team. That's the way I feel most comfortable coaching.

Q: Were you physical enough last year in hindsight?

A: Probably. It’s hard to say, we were pretty successful. But we had
Jamaal at the four, I think we’re going to be more traditional with
Eric, Chris, and Kyle. Two seniors and a junior, three men actually, I
think that line up will be more physically on paper opposing. I’m
comfortable at that.

Q: Are you worried about the team accepting Eric back after he declared
for the draft?

A: I think our team is a team that has good talent, good character,
we’ll have good chemistry. I don’t know if that's the question you are
speaking to. I think talent, chemistry, character; those are three
things that our team will have to bring to practice every day and
certainly the games. That part of it, that month or so of indecision, I
don’t think will have any bearing on the mental makeup of this team.

Q: Does it change how you recruit players? Does it change the level of
recruits?

A: Not at this point. I think, then again I’ve only been here 4 going on
5 years, that the team with the most NBA players wins our league,
traditionally. So you can back off on who you recruit. If you come to
Wake Forest, whether it is one year, two years, or in Chris’ case 3 or
4, you are going to have to be a student-athlete. You are not going to
come in here as a mercenary or a hired gun, if you will, for a year.
Chris Paul was an Academic All-American at times, and a dean’s list
student at times. So, again we will not have interest in someone who
does not want to go to class or progress towards graduation. If they
find themselves in Chris’ position, they will have a choice. We’re not
going to have anyone leave here because they have to, because they can
not handle it academically, that will not happen at wake forest.

Q: Trent Strickland has been in the middle of a lot of things. He’s
played a lot of basketball.

A: I think that is what is wonderful about college sports. You have
someone in Trent’s case who has, at times, not been a primary player in
a particular game. I would venture to say he’s been a primary player in
terms of the three successful seasons he’s played at Wake Forest. But
now he’s going to be counted upon to be a consistently good player. And
it’s not like if Trent doesn’t play well we have several other options.
I think that's a good thing, again, I think that is the nature of
college sports. We’ll see how Trent, Kyle, and Chris respond to that
kind of pressure. As long as they don’t become stressed, there is
nothing wrong with pressure.

Q: What do you expect for David Weaver?

A: I’ve really been pleased with his progress in the individual
improvement sessions. His high school coach did a really good job
developing him, he’s continuing to blossom. He’s still a young player,
still physically maturing. He’s a sponge, he really soaks in everything
you tell him, he really is a bright kid. I think he’s going to be a good
player for us. Because Eric’s returning, he doesn’t have that increased
pressure of having to do it in October. That is probably a good thing,
he can continue to progress, or continue to blossom.

Q: Is he strictly a center?

A: Well, I don’t know. He’s a forward. Our forwards and centers do
pretty much the same thing. He’s got a pretty touch and I think he’s
going to get better and better.

Q: Does pre-season ranking impact you?

A: No, not me. I think it really was a rarified air to what I’m used to,
with the number of people around, paying attention, and the spotlight. I
would hope that didn’t impact what went on nuts and bolts wise in the
gym, but I really wouldn’t know that. Because there will be less than
that, maybe that's a good thing. But I don’t think it was a bad thing,
we strive to be highly rated, so when it happens its not bad. That's
just part of it. We’re proud; it's hard to get to the NCAA Tournament. I
was looking at the 12 teams in our league; only 3 have ended up in the
NCAA Tournament all four years I have been here. 3 out of 12, I think
that's right. It’s not easy to get to the tournament every year, and
we’re proud of it. We’re proud of that and hoping to build on it. Is the
glare going to be off of us a little bit? Yes. But that is just the way
it is, we’ll be ok. As a coach, 3-6 every day in the gym is what you
look for. You and the kids between the black line, who’s around and on
the outside really doesn’t affect you.

Q: What are your early impressions of Ken Swinton?

A: Very athletic. He has gotten better and better in individual
improvement. He has to have a tremendous tenacity around him every time
he steps across the line and he is consistently tenacious. And if that
happens he can really help us this year. I think he can be a ferocious
rebounder, I think he can be an excellent defender. Right I think his
offensive might be a bit behind is ability to rebound and his
athleticism, but I think that is going to come.

Senior Center Eric Williams

On deciding to come back for a final year:

“I was capable enough, so I wanted to test my situation. I did really well in the workouts. It wasn’t until the Chicago trip that I got to play against seniors like Jawad Williams and seniors from different schools. I felt the need to come back to school and finish my senior year. I feel I have a lot of unfinished business with this school and this program as well as my teammates – Trent (Strickland), Justin Gray, Chris Ellis – we’ve been through a lot together. It felt right to come back at this time.”

On his slimmer stature:

“I haven’t felt this good in a long time. Coming in weighing 320 pounds, now I’m down to 270. It’s almost like a transformation. It helps. I’m hitting the gym hard, I’m hitting the weight room hard, and I’m trying to keep this figure. It’s a proven fact at this weight, I’m playing my best.”

On the excitement surrounding the opening of the season:

“I’m extremely excited. It’s been a long time. I can’t wait for this first exhibition game to get back in the Joel and have that feeling of the fans, my family, and the team’s family. It’s a feeling that I can’t wait to get to.”

On improvements in his game:

“A lot of the scouts and coaches said that I was going to be a power forward/center. I got really good looks. Speculation that I was going to be a first round guarantee that was what my goal was. I still felt that I should come back. They told me that everyone knows I can score, but to work on the things that you’re weak on. Whether it’s jump shots or left hand or facing the basket, so in this off season and preseason, that’s what I’ve worked on. In the open gym, I did very, very little back to the basket moves. I did all face up moves, took jump shots, drove to the basket, and I’ll work on it until our first game.”

Senior Guard Justin Gray

On opening of practice:

“It’s like a kid before Christmas. You never know what to expect. I just try and tell the younger guys to be ready. That’s what I’m here for, to lead those guys and set a good example.”

On the last go around:

“It’s a little bit different because I’m playing a different position.  But like I said, I’m a player. Coach will put me out there, and it
doesn’t matter if I’m a shooter or a passer, I’m going to try to win games. That’s what my role is here, to help everyone get better and to win games. As far as my last year, I want to go out with a bang, that’s
what I’m going to do.”

On being a team leader:

“That’s up to desire. All I can do is come out and do my job, night in and night out. Not only in games but in practices and off the court. We have four young guys that are going to be the next generation at Wake Forest, and I’m just trying to set an example for them.”

On playing for Team USA over the summer:

“The summer was a great opportunity. Each year when you get an opportunity to try out for the USA team and represent your country, you have to do it well. We did part of our job winning one of the tournaments that we played in. You get to play with so many good players everyday in practice and in games, it benefits your game all around.”

On the senior leadership:

“Its not only Eric and me, there are the other seniors – Chris Ellis, Trent Strickland and John Buck – those guys will play a big role for us.  It’s up to the five seniors to really lead this team.”