On Jawann McClellan being declared ineligible for the fall semester?
“We’re obviously disappointed that he’s not eligible immediately. We felt
that the circumstances of last spring and summer with Jawann losing his dad
would be a factor in the NCAA decision. They declined the appeal and as a
result we just have to deal with what they say and you go from there.”
“Jawann will be able to practice, but he won’t be able to travel. It’s not
like a redshirt situation where we could take him on the road with you.
That is probably going to be the most difficult thing for Jawann to deal
with, but otherwise he will be practicing with us all time. The fact is
that he played such a key role for us down the stretch last year and he has
the game experience. So that’s not going to be a problem once he gets back
for the seven games that he will miss. I don’t think that we have a problem.
It will probably take him a couple of games to get the swing of things.”
Obviously, this creates an opportunity for other players to step up:
“The big thing is that (McClellan’s ineligibility) is going to give some
other guys opportunities to get minutes and you know in the long run it may
make our team stronger because those minutes will divided among a couple of
other guys.”
“I feel good about this team. Normally, when we have this media conference,
it’s only been after a few days of practice. The NCAA rule that was changed
that gave us the two hours with no limit on the number of guys on the court,
where it used to be four guys maximum, has been helpful because we have been
able to see the talent out there.”
“The practice situation has been great. We have the two hours a week, and we
divide it into two 40-minute secessions with the whole team, a regular
practice kind of thing. Once we leave the court the players stay and the
pick-up games have been at least ten times better. You know what my feeling
has been on pick-up games. Before, they would develop bad habits that you
had to break once you get them out there. From what we’ve seen, they have
gotten a lot out of pick-up games and we have two 20-minute individual
secessions per week.”
“The good thing is the conditioning coaches can work with them for 20
minutes, then leave the court, and the young men can continue out there on
their own. I think we have made very good use of that time, and in a couple
of instances, we’ve gone with the full two-hour practices just to give them
the feel of what is going to happen on Saturday (Oct. 15). It has really
been very helpful.”
On how Ivan Radenovic is going to be used:
“He’s worked on pick situations, where he’d set an off-ball screen and then
we popped him out because he was such a good perimeter shooter. Now, he’ll
be in the motion offence just like the point guard and the wings.”
Could Hassan be used as a forward?
“The four outside positions are identical, so that makes it easier for us
and for guys like Hassan who can play two, three, four whatever number you
want to put on him. To us, the only difference is who will be guarding each
man. Offensively, other than the obvious thing of trying to get the ball
out to the top to the point guard to run our offense, once we cross half
court and get into our offense, there’s not going to be any difference.”
On previous players and teams looking similar to this year’s team:
“Bennett (Davison) was more an inside guy than Ivan is. With Bennett, we
still kept Jason Terry and A.J. (Bramlett) on the inside and occasionally we
’d pop them out to spread the defense out (1998-99 club). But with the
quickness that we have on this team, we want to keep the court spread as
much as we can so we can take advantage of cuts to the basket and driving
the ball. In Hassan’s (Adams) case, he is very tough to handle in the post
area. He will be making very hard cuts to those positions rather than going
down there to set up, waiting for the ball. So we’ll try to utilize his
quickness on cuts to the basket. We really haven’t run in the time I have
been here a true four out position. The only time we did was when we used
Hassan and Andre (Iguodala) together two years ago.”
On possible full-court pressure:
“We’ll do more out of forward three-quarter court pressure. We have good
depth so we will be able to play a lot of people, and on offense we want a
lot of movement. Because of our depth, we can rest people, and the other
teams, unless they are in the zone defense, are going to be doing a lot of
running.”
On other potential adjustments:
“Well, I hope that it has been obvious through the years that we’ve adjusted
with the personnel. It’s not a case where the person comes in and they have
to adjust to what we are doing. We try to utilize the person as best we
can. This started as soon as the season was over last year.”
If you had Channing Frye, or a proven guy inside would you be doing this?
“Yeah, because he would be the guy inside. If you take a look at some of
the inside people that we have, and there will be situations where we will
be playing our big guys together, we have had Isaiah inside and out. The
two guys we have kept on the inside have been Mohamed (Tangara) and Kirk
(Walters).”
“As I watch Kirk’s development, he actually shoots the ball pretty well.
Channing was our second-best shooter last year and Kirk certainly isn’t to
that point, but he’s starting to feel more and more comfortable stepping out
to a good distance and shooting the ball. We want to keep Mohamed a little
bit closer to the hoop because of his strengths right now. That may change
after another year or so.”
Have you seen other teams adjust to you or you more to them?
“I think this will create problems for people that we’re going to be playing
against. If you take a look at what UCLA did last year, they used Dijon
(Thompson) in a four position, which created a problem for a lot of other
teams. It wasn’t as much a problem for us because we could put four men in
who could guard him. I’ll use Ivan as an example. He can guard inside or
out, so if it’s a big guy, he is physical enough now and he has a very high
basketball I.Q., and different from a lot of other European players, he has
really good lateral foot quickness. I think other teams will have to match
up with us more than we’ll have to match up with them.”
What needs to be worked on from last year?
“We need to have good, balanced scoring. Last year, we relied on Salim
(Stoudamire) a lot and Channing had big games for us, so we have to get good
balance. The key is going to be that every time we get the ball, we need to
get a good shot – a good shot to one player is not the same as a good shot
to another player. The key to success in any sport you want to talk about
is defense, and that will be our biggest concentration for all year, really.
It will be the first thing that has to be established.”
On Chris Rodgers and Mohamed Tangara return from injury:
“Mohamed is 100 percent. That’s not been a problem at all. In Chris’s
case, he was out shooting and running and cutting and doing some jumping.
We didn’t have him in any contact things, but I think initially (athletic
trainer) Justin (Kokoskie) thought that wouldn’t happen for a couple more
weeks. I think Chris will be ready to play in exhibition games, which I
think is important because that will get him ready for the opening games.
Chris is going to have a great year. He’s always been one of our top
defenders, and with increased minutes – he’s a good shooter –he just needs
game time to get his confidence.”
*Player Quotes*
Senior Isaiah Fox
On the makeup of the 2005-06 team:
“The team chemistry is good, we have all the pieces, and now we just have
to put it together.”
On his senior year:
“I’ve been much more focused. I want to have a big year, but I have to stay
focused and perform well.”
What is your role this year?
“ I just need to step up and help out.”
Junior Chris Rodgers
On getting the season started:
“I’m really excited for the season. All the guys have been working hard in
the offseason and now we are ready to go.”
On the freshman class:
“I really like all the freshman. They work really hard and they all have
lots of potential.”
Junior Ivan Radenovic
What are the goals for this season?
“This team has the same goal every year, and that’s to win a national
championship. This year is the same. We were so close last year, but now
it’s just an opportunity to work hard at each game.”
How will this year be different than last year?
“I was able to put on some weight, which has made me a lot stronger. I have
also worked hard to improve my inside and outside game.”
Sophomore Jawann McClellan
On the passing of his father and this season:
“Everything happens for a reason. I have had great support here from the
coaches and my teammates.”
Freshman Marcus Williams
How has the adjustment to college gone so far?
“It’s a lot different playing here. It’s a new level, and college ball is
what gets you to where you want to be. I’m here to win and do what coach
tells me.”
Junior Mustafa Shakur
“We have a great team this year. We have more of a team this year. We’re
going to be more balanced. The points are going to come from myself,
Hassan, Jawann. It’s going to be a lot of fun for the fans this year and I’
m really pumped up.”
How has your game changed from last season?
“I have improved a lot, worked on shooting, and have taken on a leadership
role as an upperclassman.”
Junior Kirk Walters
“I’m just ready to get going and start practice.”
Bring to your position
“This summer I have gotten better on my left-handed hook which makes it
easier to go both ways.”
Freshman Mohamed Tangara
Why is he the least-liked person to guard during practice?
“I learned from (Salim) Stoudamire. He pushed me to play well. We were
always helping each other to become better. If we play hard in practice, it
will be easier during the year.”
