|
| Tim Buckley |
| On Matt McCollom's play
against Anderson |
| "I think Matt always
responds. IT was a game, obviously, where he could take advantage of his
strength and his ability to play with force, and he went and got the
basketball, which is what we need for him to do. That's what the most
successful teams in the Mid American Conference do, is come up with loose
balls and come up with rebounds." |
| |
| On seeing hard work from
practice pay off in the games |
| "I think it definitely helps.
I think it boosts your confidence, although I don't think anybody can take
your confidence and I don't think anybody can give you confidence, but I
think those kinds of things say, 'yeah, the effort is worth it.' You know, I
think one of the things we talk about with our guys all the time is, 'are
you willing to sacrifice for the unknown? Are you willing to late it out
there everyday, all the time, and it might not work out for you? Are you
willing to do that?' I think that's a part of living. I think that's what
Matt really exemplifies for our basketball team." |
| |
| On the fast-paced game
with Anderson being kind of a warm-up for IUPUI |
| "Yeah. After the first four
games it's kind of like being let out of jail. Those teams really like to
slow the tempo and walk the ball up the floor. We'd like to play at a
quicker pace, quicker tempo, and obviously that will be a continuation of
it. Anderson is one of those teams, you know, they get it up the floor
pretty quick. I'm glad (Lloyd) DeLoatch
wasn't able to make any of those shots, because he got down the floor. I
think they cause situations for you to try to match-up with your man when
you really needed to just do a better job of just loading to the ball and
you might not be matched-up with the guy you were assigned to." |
| |
| On what he expects out of
IUPUI |
| "Lots of threes, transition
style basketball, a multitude of changing defenses. I think they'll switch
things up a lot. They'll press. They'll play zone. They'll play man. They'll
switch in their man. They'll go triangle and two. It's way too complicated
for me to try to figure out, so we're going to just go try to play. |
| |
| On IUPUI having its
program to a point where they can compete with most teams on any given night |
| "There's no question. I think
Ron (Hunter) has done a terrific job. I also think the university did it the
right way. They didn't just say, 'ok, you're division one, go play.' They
said, 'ok, we're going to go NAIA, then we're going to go division two, then
we're going to find a league, and when we get in a league we feel that we
can be competitive in, then we're going to get into this division one
thing.' I think they've done a great job of balancing their schedule against
some high-powered teams as well as some teams that are like them. Then they
play in a very good league in the Mid-Con, but it's also a league that they
can really fit in." |
| |
| On the students having a
major impact on the games |
| "I'll be honest with you. I
don't know if your fans, and our fans included in that, I don't know if they
fully understand the impact that they have on our basketball team. It's
tremendous. It's the reason why you're usually better at home than you are
on the road. They have just as much to do with the outcome - they have more
to do with the outcome - than I do, certainly. We have to have them. I think
they've been into the games. I think they're people that understand the game
of basketball. We'd like for them to cheer just as much as they understand
it, because it's very important to the adrenaline, the momentum, and our
players can feel it. Sometimes you need them to cheer when things aren't
going your way. You know, to get you back into the ball game. When they do
that for us, it really gives us a tremendous lift. I know our guys talk
about that stuff all the time amongst themselves - how important that is." |
| |
| On the possibility of pace
of the game being fast Saturday against IUPUI |
| "I hope so, but I hope they
have to slow down a little bit with the ball going through the net from our
end. Yeah, I think there is an opportunity to see transition basketball,
fast break type basketball in our arena on Saturday." |
| |
| On possibly sticking with
the same starting lineup as in the Anderson game |
| "We'll see how it goes. We're
still having tryouts. We probably will throughout the entire year. I felt
like we got off to a good start (against Anderson). I also feel like if we
started with that lineup again this Saturday it would bode well for us
match-up wise. But I do think there are opportunities for other guys, and I
would like to see them try to come out and try to seize them. No matter who
it is, I really don't want anybody to feel like they're locked in to a
certain position or rotation, because we want them ti feel like they have an
opportunity every time out." |
| |
| On the cohesiveness of the
group that started against Anderson |
| "I think that helps. I do
think this - I really think that Anthony Kent is going to come. I really do.
I think all of us would have liked for it to have happened two-three games
ago, but I think it's one of those things. It just takes a little bit of
time. When the time is right, it's going to happen. I feel like Tom has come
a long way. He played pretty well last night, made a nice play inside and
scored, and I think he's doing a lot better job this year playing
against guys that are a little bit more athletic. It was kind of nice to see
Charles work out before the game. I don't know if I've ever seen anybody
score on Wade Russell (strength and conditioning trainer) like that
(laugh)." |
| |
| On Ball State being the
only program in the country after the semester break to have three
post-graduate players on its team (Bennett, McCollom, and Trammell) |
| "Well, the university has
made an unbelievable commitment to the education of our students as well as
our student-athletes. Our guys have an opportunity every summer to go to
summer school. We don't allow them to take summer school to catch-up,
because if they're catching-up, they're not playing. What they do is they
get a chance to get ahead. Ninety-five percent of it is the student-athlete,
about four percent of it is the support that they get from the academic
support people, who do a tremendous job at that, and about one percent is
that thing hanging over them called playing time. I think we recruit the
right guys and education is important to them. We talked about it when I
took the job. I said, 'we're not going to tell you what we're going to do
graduation rate-wise, you're going to see it.' We've proven that, and
obviously that's the ultimate for those guys." |
| |
| On the team's 7-27
three-point shooting performance against Anderson |
| "It is not a concern, only
because we weren't ready to shoot the ball the way we needed to be. We'll go
over that in film and we'll go over that in skill development and we'll get
that corrected. The right guys were taking them and they were the right
shots. They just weren't taken the right way." |
| |
| On the best team he's seen
on tape and/ or TV this season |
| "Pittsburgh. I think they
take your heart. I think they play great defense. I think they rebound the
ball. Illinois is not bad. I've seen them practice. |
| Tracy Webster (former BSU
assistant) hasn't screwed them up yet (laugh)." |
| |
| Michael Bennett |
| On playing so many
positions over his career and how it has helped his game |
| "I think it helps me in
the sense that I know what's going on on the court - like all over the
court. As far as like on the offense, I can't help a guy out - what
position he's in, what coach expects. I think just overall it's the senior
leadership. I've been here for five years and been with coach for five
years. I just feel like I have a good grasp on what he wants and what he
expects out of his players. I just like to help people out with that." |
| |
| On not paying much
attention to statistics |
| "I think that I just want to
be on the court, so I don't care about how many points I score. I'm not
really worried about how many assists I get, how many rebounds I get. I'm
just worried about the little stuff - just doing the little things - getting
those extra possession - just doing the little things that don't necessarily
show up in the media, but the coaches take notice of and my teammates take
notice of. I think I just pride myself on being the hustle guy - getting the
loose balls, coming up with the charges coming up with long rebounds, and
stuff like that." |
| |
| On playing against IUPUI
given that he is from Indianapolis |
| "This is my fifth time
playing IUPUI. It's special every year. I don't think that I look at it as
any more special than any other game. I look at it as the next game. But,
you know, you do have sentimental value for the Butler's and IUPUI's,
because they're from Indianapolis and you don't want to come out and lay an
egg against them, because you might see them in the summer or something like
that. As far as it being a big game, you know, it's the next game. The big
game is the next game, and that's how I look at it." |
| |
| On the three game home
stand |
| "That's what we're looking at
also. You always want to protect your home court. We don't ever want anybody
to come in here and think that we're just going to lay down and that it's
going to be an easy win. We want people to know that we're going to come out
every time and play hard. It's just all the more special just to protect
your home court." |
| |
| On Ball State being the
only program in the country after the semester break to have three
post-graduate players on its team (Bennett, McCollom, and Trammell) |
| "I think it shows that we pay
attention to grades. We're not just here to play basketball. I think it
shows younger kids in the community and younger kids on the team that
college is not just about playing basketball and going to the NBA. If that
is there for you, then take that opportunity, but if it's not there for you,
then get your education. My parents told me that my freshman year. We kind
of realized that I wasn't going to be able to play beyond college. I think
that just brings a sense of knowing to younger kids." |
| |
| On defending players
ranging from 6 feet to 6-8 or 6-9 or even taller |
| "It's definitely a challenge.
It's different, going from having to bang down low with big 6-8 and 6-9 guys
and then sometimes having to switch out on the perimeter. That's what I
would have to say. It's a challenge, but it's a challenge that I look
forward to. I kind of pride myself on being able to guard most positions.
Like for the utility reasons, you've got to be able to do everything. That's
what I pride myself on." |
| |
| Matt McCollom |
| On what the Anderson game
meant to his confidence |
| "I means a lot, I guess. I
started hitting a couple of shots down low and stuff. I just got some easy
buckets, I guess. I got a little bit of rebounding. I think it probably help
out on everybody's confidence a little bit. We competed the whole game,
which we don't normally do that all the time. We usually have a slip-up
somewhere, but we always have a couple of plays where we slip-up, but didn't
let any come back to back. I think it will help out a lot coming into
Saturday (against IUPUI). As far as my aspect, I'm just going to give it
everything I've got every time I go out and when I get a chance. Yeah, it
definitely helps out, hitting shots and stuff, to get a little more
confidence. It was fun and stuff." |
| |
| On not playing well in
stretches or not getting as much playing time and how that affects what he
does in practice |
| "Yeah, in a way, but I don't
think it's so much (about) playing harder - being smarter, thinking of
things I need to try to do better than the last time. I'm going to give it
everything I've got every time. It's just keeping that positive attitude and
thinking of ways I can get better and improve on things I'm not doing well
in practice and improve on those. Those are some of the biggest things that
I have to do right now to help this team get better more than anything.
That's all I want to do this year, is make it to that NCAA tournament."
|
| |
| On what he was most
pleased with about the Anderson game |
| "I think just being able to
keep my head in there the whole time. Sometimes it is difficult when you
don't get to play a whole lot, just to keep your head. That's just sort of
what I've been trying to concentrate on - I'm just trying to keep my head
when I do get the chance and make the best of it. I was just happy that I
got some time (against Anderson), got to play, and had a good time. That's
just all I can really say." |
| |
| On the fast-paced game
with Anderson being kind of a warm-up for IUPUI |
| "Yeah. It definitely shows
that we run it right back into somebody. They kept subbing in five-in and
five-out. It got us a little tired, but I don't think anybody is going to
run back and forth like that game was. I don't know if I've ever seen it
before. We definitely run people pretty hard, and then when they try to do
the same thing it makes that game pretty quick. We'll be ready for it. We
were ready for it (against Anderson). We'll be ready for it Saturday
(against IUPUI). They forced quick shots, and I think that helped us out a
lot. We're used to that game, and I guess they are too, but we were just
smart and we were able to adjust and get back on them. At first they were
coming down real quick and we weren't getting back on them and they were
getting some shots. Then we adjusted and we got back. That was the biggest
thing - getting back on IUPUI, I guess." |
| |
| On there being a revenge
factor against IUPUI |
| "Definitely. We definitely
want to get this game, because that wasn't good last year going in to there
and getting beat the way we got beat. I mean the score showed it too.
Definitely, we want to get this game. You have to bring a cause every game,
so last year was definitely a cause to come back and get them back. We want
to win this game at home." |
| |
| On the four-game in-state
stretch with IUPUI, Indiana State, Butler, and Indiana |
| "It means everything. I don't
think we wanted to lose that last game that we lost (Miami), but I think
everybody is focused that we want to win the rest of these games going into
the conference season. That's going to boost all of the confidence we have
if we can win the next four or five games. So that's our concentration,
definitely, by getting this next game on Saturday." |
