University of Florida Men's Basketball Holds Annual Media Day
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 | Men's Basketball
University of Florida Men's Basketball Media Day Quotes
October 15, 2008
Head Coach Billy Donovan
Opening Statement:
“The standard line every coach uses is, 'We're excited to get started.' I think that I've seen over the last four to six week with our guys they'd had some growth and some improvement in terms of their maturity. The two areas we're trying to focus on with them are their development and their maturity. We've had, I think, some very competitive, spirited workouts. Their attitude has been good. They've tried very hard. I've definitely seen a growth in the returning players, in particular the sophomore class right now. The freshmen class, they're a group right now that comes in with a real desire to want to learn and get better. There's no question that the one thing we can see as coaches that wasn't there a year ago was there's a lot more competition out there. Competition to me is the best form of development for an individual, when there's somebody there that is challenging you and pushing you each and every day. So these next three weeks for us are going to be critical because of the way our schedule starts; opening up with Toledo, then playing Bradley, then playing Southern Utah and then going to play Kansas City to play against Syracuse and Kansas. Coming out of the box with our schedule we're being thrown into it right away. Some area's that I don't know the answers to right now are with the departure of Marreese (Speights), and you look at the year before with the departure of (Joakim) Noah, (Al) Horford, (Corey) Brewer and Chris Richard, we really have lost a lot of depth with our frontcourt. I'm excited about (Eloy) Vargas, (Kenny) Kadji, and Allan Chaney. Dan Werner starts this season in a lot better shape than he was a year ago. The biggest question right now for us is how we play that position. Is someone going to emerge out of that group that is reliable? Or is it a position that we are going to have to play a frontcourt by committee. We certainly have a lot more depth there than we did a year ago. We have a lot more options, but I don't know how much the freshmen are going to grasp and pick up. They've been pretty good so far. That's the one area, that when you look at it, Dan Werner is really the only guy there. Alex Tyus is a guy who has to prove he's gotten better. Certainly he didn't play a lot of minutes, and more than anything he backed up Speights. I think we have three freshmen that are good players. The one guy that probably is a little bit behind the pack right now is Eloy Vargas, just because he's coming off ankle surgery. He's now been in practice for the last two weeks. The biggest problem with him is that this is not an injury with him just coming here in the summertime. He had been dealing with this back in his senior year of high school. So this is something for him that he's been nagged by his ankle for about eight months. Conditioning wise and catching up to the group, he's got a ways to go. I think he can get there, but it's going to take some time. We'll find out a little bit more here as we start practice. The competitiveness of our workouts have been good and more than anything else I've been pleased with their attitude, the way they've been working and the type of humility. The respect that they have for our program and the game is a little bit better than it was a year ago.”
On team chemistry being better than last year:
“I don't know if our chemistry was non-existent (last year). In thought our perspective, what it was all about and what it took, was not very good. I thought we were a group last year that had a level of confidence that was unwarranted and was not earned during practice or deserved. I think us getting off to the start that we did last year probably played in to them not handling the success real well. Starting off 18-3 was probably a challenge for us. I think last year's group really didn't have the understanding of what it was all about. They kind of got thrown into the fire a little bit and had some success. I said this before that they got thrown into a very difficult situation. I'm hopeful that they learned, from last year, in a way that will serve them well going into this season. I said this last year that just because you're a year older does not make you a year better. I've never believed it. I think that just because after your name their grade changes to sophomore, junior, senior, it does not really do anything. In my opinion, it's how you take the experiences that you have. When I see sophomore after someone's name, all that means is you've only been in college for one year. How much have they really learned and how much have they gotten better? We could have some sophomore's that are really still freshmen. We could have a sophomore than acts and responds like a senior. Our guys' chemistry in terms of their get-along ability, them caring for one another and them working with one another, has been very good. It's been good this year so far. I've really been excited about what our returning players have done in terms of trying to help our younger guys out. One of the things that is my responsibility as a coach is that there is no leader on the team. I can't sit there and say, “This one person is the leader of our team.” What we've got to do is to try to help these guys develop into the type of leaders that I think they can become. There are guys on our team that have leadership qualities and leadership abilities, but we've got to find a way as a coaching staff to bring that out.”
On improving the practice habits from last year:
“The first thing we do is talk to them about how practice was not good enough. We didn't get better through practice like I would've liked to. Part of that is that we had nine scholarship players. Some guys were dealing with injuries and were banged up. Your numbers can go down to seven or eight very, very quickly. One of the things that is going to change the intensity level of practice is that we have five new players now that are in our program. You also add the fact that Vernon Macklin is in our program. Vernon right now is probably our most experienced, polished frontcourt player, but he can't play this year. He can provide a tremendous service to our freshmen and to Dan Werner and Alex Tyus. He can bring in the type of attitude that although this year he's not playing, this is a great year for him to get better and improve. Because of the pieces now, and having 13 bodies, we now have a situation where there's depth right now. Jai Lucas is going against an Erving Walker. Allan Chaney is going against a Dan Werner. Alex Tyus has got to go up against Vernon Macklin. There's much, much more competition on the floor, which generally leads to more spirited practices. There are certain guys that are very, very competitive. I really felt like last year, I never had a problem with Nick Calathes in terms of his effort, his energy and how hard he practiced and played. I don't know if there was ever a threat of him losing a position last year. Clearly he was probably our most consistent player; him and Marreese Speights. There was something inside of him internally that motivated him each and every day. Sometimes guys are not as motivated internally until all of a sudden they line up and play against somebody else that's in a position to take something from them. The one thing that I've talked to our guys a lot about going into the season is competition. You don't want a situation where they're competing and it breaks up your team, there's division and guys aren't getting along. You want them to understand that through competition, it is the responsibility of each player to make the next guy better. When I see Adam Allen competing against Ray Shipman, Ray Shipman has got to come to practice every day to make Adam Allen better. Adam Allen's got to come to make Ray Shipman better. If they come in with that approach, now you've got what I consider healthy competition that allows those two players to grow. That's what we're trying to create everyday for them.”
On guys getting bigger and stronger during the offseason:
I think we had a good offseason. There's no question that last year, playing those two guys that were small in the backcourt, at times rebounding-wise really hurt us. If we played against more physical guards, that caused some problems for us. I think that Erving Walker, Jai Lucas and Walter Hodge are going to have to become unbelievable defenders and be unbelievable sparkplug energy guys. If they're not going to be that way, it's going to be very difficult to play two of those guys at the same time on the floor. I have seen a difference in Jai Lucas getting after it a little bit more on defense which has been a positive. I think Walter understands what it takes, but I don't know if we're going to be able to play two of those guys on a regular basis unless they get to a point defensively where they're two guys that can create havoc. That's what we're going to need out of those three guys. That will probably, allow us as a coaching staff, decide whether we want to play two of those guys together. Or do we now have to play a little bit bigger and play with a little bit more size back there?”
On playing better defense this year:
“I'm hopeful it was a humbling experience for all of us last year. There's no way in their mind last year that they didn't see themselves competing in the NCAA Tournament. If you would've talked to them in January or February they thought it was a foregone conclusion. I just believe in life everything you get has got to be earned. I think you find out how important it is to guys on your team based on how they compete and how they play. We've talked to them a lot about the message that needs to be received about the experience they went through. If they have their own idea about what they're going to learn and figure out from last season, and it's really not in the line of what they need to be thinking about, then that's probably something that's not going to be good. We didn't shoot the ball well last year. We shot 33 percent from the three-point line. Now the three-point line is being moved back. If Chandler Parson is thinking, 'I need to improve my shooting. I want to improve my offense,' they need to know we were 10th in the league in field-goal percentage defense. We were ninth in the league in guarding the three-point line and ninth in the league in rebounding. Those are the areas we need to get better. They need to make a commitment to do those things to get better because that's going to ultimately determine us making the type of strides we want to make. We've laid it out to them pretty clearly what our deficiencies were, what we need to overcome and how they need to view coming into this year. I would say coming in they've got a lot more level and appreciation of how hard it is (to win). I don't think they really understood how hard it was.”
On replacing Marreese Speights:
“That's the question we're going to have to see as we start practice. When we start practice is there somebody consistent in our frontcourt? Is there somebody we can rely on that we know is going to give us consistent minutes? History tells me when you're dealing with big men that they're a little bit slower to develop. One night this guy could be playing well. The next night that guy could be playing well. It could be a position that we might have to play by committee. A lot is going to depend on how they respond and what type of confidence they give us coaches with regards to their level of consistency and how reliable they are. It's always hard to throw freshmen out there and expect them to be reliable night-in and night-out. There's going to be some times when we see some great high moments out of them. We're probably going to see some low moments. One of the things about developing as a player is having a level of consistency. It's hard for me with three freshmen in our frontcourt is to expect them to be consistent performers. We're going into it thinking the position is probably going to be played by committee unless we get surprised and somebody emerged. I'm not going into the season with the idea that somebody is going to emerge. We have to go into the season with the idea that based on any given night we have to play the guy that based on his level of play can help us that particular night.”
On the level of the program:
“Any time you're playing a team that's played in two national championships there's going to be a certain type of feeling. I think it's good that people will be excited to play Florida. That's a sign of respect. There's certain programs out there that regardless of what they've lost, you're playing against the name as opposed to the personnel. It's a positive thing when you can try to get your program to the point when people look at the name on your jersey and not who they're playing against. We have to realize that there's a lot we have to earn right now. There's a lot we have to try and earn back. That's going to be the challenge. I don't think we need to necessarily prove anything. We just need to get better. We need to understand the level of play, how hard we need to compete and how well we need to play here. Again, we're still battling some youthfulness. As much as I'd like to fast-forward these guys and give these guys a lot of experience, the reality is we still have 10 freshmen and sophomores. That's what we're dealing with right now. It's not an excuse. It's a reality. They also have to understand the level of expectations in terms of how they're supposed to compete and play. There is an expectation and a standard that we're trying to place on top of these guys that they need to go out there and meet.
On the three-point line changing distance:
“I'm really anxious to see (the results). I think the national average from the three-point line, the percentage, is going to go down. I've noticed just watching our guy's shoot it's definitely a deeper shot. You can really notice a difference with guy's shootings. There are certain guys out there that are not affected by the line one bit. There are certain guys that can be affected. I think when you deal with a young team like we're dealing with, strength can be an issue. I can see the three-point line having an effect on the college game right now with it being moved back. People say, “It's not that big of a deal. It's only six inches away.” It's going to make a big difference. I really think so. It's going to be important who's taking three's, the timing of the three-point shot and how we're going to go about defending the three-point line. I think all those things are very important.”
On how the job of coaching has changed:
”You're always going to have turnover and guys leaving early. I don't think the job has necessarily changed. You're dealing with different personalities and different people. I've never felt any two people are alike. You can have similar values and work ethic. Certain things you can put in a category, but I think every person is a little bit different. You're always coaching different personalities and different people. Different people respond to different things in different ways. I don't know if in practice or in games that there's much that has changed. Certainly the game has evolved, but I really think the challenge of coming into coaching has to do a lot more with the mind and the makeup of the players you're coaching. We all have certain things that you can put under an umbrella. There are certain guys that are a little bit motivated. There are certain guys that are a little bit lazy. There are certain guys that don't like physical contact. There are certain guys that aren't physically tough. All those things make up a player. Any great team has qualities of great toughness, being able to play through adversity, being physical and having mental toughness. They have all those things. I don't think the ingredients to winning in today's game are any different than they were fifty years ago. I think the qualities and the makeup of those things are exactly the same. What you try to do is get people who are really in-line with those qualities that really make up great success. The group that won two national championships, people did not respect their talent their high school or freshmen years. They didn't have a respected level of talent. They developed it as players. Where they were unique in special were their internal makeup of what was important to them, what they valued and how they competed and played. They understood what team meant. There are certain people that have absolutely no clue what that means. In a lot of cases everything revolves around them. They don't understand how to win. That was a unique group because of their makeup. It was through their makeup that people started to want and look at their talent level. It wasn't their talent level first. You're dealing with players being a little bit different, more so than it is being the game.”
On Nick Calathes improving his leadership ability:
“I really don't know. I think that's a concern I have right now just because unfortunately Nick's been out for the last five weeks. He's had a pulled hip-flexor/groin muscle right now. He hasn't done anything really since he's gotten back (from Greece). The last six weeks of the summer he was in Greece playing with their team. He's really not been an active participant for about twelve weeks right now with our team. He's there every day trying to do everything he can to help provide leadership. I think it's very difficult to turn into a leader when you're not around all the time. That's going to be something he is going to work at and something he wants to get better at. It's really been hard for him to sweat with those guys. He's trying to do the best he can from the sidelines. I know it's killing him because he wants to get back, but our main focus with him right now is trying to get him healthy. I think he's getting better and moving in the right direction, but I think there's no question he's not fully healed right now.
