Oct. 11, 2006
Joyce Center Auditorium
Head Coach Mike Brey
On the approach following so many close losses last season…
“You have to use last year as a teaching tool. For us to be tougher at key moments, getting a key loose ball, getting a key tough rebound, there’s no question that is an area that we tried to address in our off-season conditioning. We even had five one-hour sessions, thanks to the new NCAA rule. Those were things we talked about. You can’t make believe it didn’t happen. There are some positive things from it. Even when we came out of the 1-8 hole, the older guys were hardened by it and grew-up a lot by the end of the season.”
On summer conditioning…
“We made the summer tougher and harder. I was talking to some other Division 1 guys on the road about how to use this summer thing, which is relatively new, about how to use it. When you’ve got veteran guys, you maybe don’t do as much conditioning in the summer. We couldn’t have interaction with them. Also, if you have guys coming off injuries, you don’t need to push them as much. We just needed to get out there and run, make it harder, and get up early. We’re in great shape, earlier. When you’re in great shape, you get confident. The other thing is, in basketball you get better in the off-season. When you’re in great shape, and can repeat that skill for an hour instead of twenty minutes, you’ll get better.”
On the need for leadership from Colin Falls, Russell Carter, and Rob Kurz, as well as from younger players…
“Having older guys in key roles has allowed us to have some continuity in having those guys deliver the message from the coaching staff. Falls is certainly going to be very confident at that because he’s done it before. I think Carter is going to become more confident doing that, but I don’t want him doing that and taking away from his game. We found out this off-season that Kurz is really cut out for that. He’s our hardest worker; our guys really look to him, and he made himself a legitimate BIG EAST forward this year. He’s very respected by our young guys. We need some of the sophomores to do it too, though. (Kyle) McAlarney has the ball in his hands and has to be that guy. The other guy who is going to emerge for us is Hillesland. He’s got a great feel for our system. He’s kind of a dirty work guy, who does a little bit of everything. Those two become important helping those three older guys.”
On the expectations for the season…
“I told them yesterday, when we got done with our conditioning, that there is no reason we can’t dream big dreams. I don’t know if anyone has been closer than use to getting that (NCAA) bid. By dream, I mean dreaming about getting that NCAA bid. I told them that last year at this time, (2006 National Champion) Florida wasn’t being talked about and (2006 Final Four Participant) George Mason was George Mason. That is what’s great about college basketball: it’s crazy. We’ve been right there. You don’t get anything for being close. We understand that better than anybody. But that doesn’t mean you don’t come back the next year swinging. I don’t want them selling themselves short. Who knows? (The season) is so long and so crazy. You can get hot at the right time, it’s so unpredictable, and you need some good karma.”
On the outlook in the BIG EAST…
“You look at our league (last year). We had eight teams get (NCAA Tournament) bids and a ninth team, Cincinnati, had a great resume. Teams ten, eleven, and twelve that went to New York (for the BIG EAST Championship), St. John’s, Louisville, and us, didn’t have to win the tournament to steal a bid. The stat that is mind-blowing to me: 22 guys on the all-Conference team and nineteen of them are gone. That’s amazing. Things have changed. Eleven of 33 of the first draft picks were from the BIG EAST. That doesn’t include guys like (Chris) Quinn, (Syracuse’s Gerry) McNamara, (West Virginia’s Mike) Gansey, and (West Virginia’s Kevin) Pittsnogle, who were great players. The complexion has changed. It’s a little bit more open than last year.”
Senior Guard Colin Falls
On NCAA tournament goals…
“We’ve got nothing to lose. Russ [Carter] and I have never played in the tournament, and we don’t want to graduate with that. Of course I think about it. I want to get there. That’s the reason I came to play college basketball was to play in the tournament, and I haven’t done that yet. … When I got here we were talking about making it to the Final Four, and so this is like a fresh start for myself and Russ, and our one goal is to make it to the NCAA tournament.”
On preseason conditioning and the freshman class…
“Hard work will translate to good things. That was our approach from the second the freshmen got onto this campus, and that’s what we’ll do the entire year. We’ve had a harder workout regimen. Everything has been more difficult. As far as the freshmen, they fit in right away. They came in in June, and I think more than any freshman group, this group has a toughness about it.”
Sophomore Guard Kyle McAlarney
On becoming a veteran player…
“This year, I’m a lot more comfortable. There’s such a big difference between freshman and sophomore year. The presence I feel out there on the court and in the locker room, I just feel like I’m more of a leader out there. We have great seniors in Colin [Falls] and Russ [Carter], and Rob Kurz is a big leader for us too, but for us sophomores, last year was a tough year for us and it only made us stronger.”
Senior Guard Russell Carter
On his role as a senior …
“It’s not just my team, it’s everyone’s team. It’s Colin’s team, it’s Robby [Kurz]’s team. It’s not just solely on me.”
On preseason conditioning …
It was a lot harder; a whole lot harder. Fridays at the break of dawn, we’re out running on the track. It was good though, it brought our team together and we can get through anything if we can get through that. [We can be] stronger at the end of games, and more confident in each other at the end of games.
Junior Forward Rob Kurz:
On Coach Brey’s comparison with Troy Murphy’s work ethic…
“Ever since I was young, I’ve tried to be as hard of a worker as I can be. Obviously it’s a great compliment; Troy was an unbelievable worker. I just love basketball, I always have, I just try to do whatever I can to put myself in a position to succeed.”
On his leadership status as an upperclassman…
“I was just thinking the other day how quickly my time has gone by. It seems like yesterday that I was a freshman. But I’m really excited, now it’s my third year on the team, and I’ve been around a lot so I have a little bit of experience. You just try to help the younger guys as you get older to ease their transition.”