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| Tim Buckley |
| On Kent State's program |
| "I think when Gary Waters took over
way back when, I think he had a plan. I think he carried the plan out, Stan
Heath refined it, Jim Christian refined it, and they found a way to pass it
on to each group that has gone through that locker room. It's a prideful
group, and they want to continue to keep that thing going, and obviously
they've had the greatest run in Mid-American Conference history." |
| |
| On Kent State's consistency even
through all of the coaching changes |
| "I think that the coaches have done
a great job. The players have done a great job. I think they've stayed
healthy. They've had a lot of fifth-year guys, whether they were guys who
sat out for academic reasons or they were guys that transferred. I think
they've been able to have continuity with those kinds of things. I think
that helps. For us, with the injuries we've had over the past couple of
years, this is the first year that we've really had an opportunity to sit
some guys that we brought in. I think we've had success with the guys that
we've brought in that have been fifth-year guys, like Chris Williams and
Dennis Trammell. I think those guys have done well for us too. I really
think there is something to having guys who are 22, 23 years old playing
against 18 year olds." |
| |
| On having more fifth-year players
being a key to success |
| "I think there's a fine line. I
think it's something that we're going to get across here. That is, every
time you play, whether it's in practice, or a game, or you go to the weight
room, you've got to play to win. That doesn't mean what the scoreboard says.
That means the way you carry yourself. I think there are many teams that
play to play. That means they go out and play. They don't play with any
purpose. They don't play to get the loose balls and every rebound - to play
to not let each other down. Those are the qualities that I really see this
team starting to gather here at Ball State, and it's my job to push them
across to get that to happen." |
| |
| On Kent being a standard to follow in
the MAC |
| "I would think they would be the
standard for teams across the country. You have your perennial powers, but
Kent was able to do it when things weren't going well, and then they've been
able to...keep it going. You know, the other program that had the ability to
do that was Butler, but it also took Coach Collier eight to ten years to get
it going like that, so I think the consistency in the program does help to
make it that way. And I do think, to some degree, there's a little bit of
luck involved. I do think that injuries play a part in every sport, and I
think sometimes you have to be fortunate with those things." |
| |
| On whether or not his team is heading
in the right direction |
| "Oh, there's no question...The one
area that we're really trying to attack right now, and the players are
embracing it, is that no longer is it acceptable to play to play. We can
only play to win and we've got to play for each other. We can't let each
other down. You can't check into the game and say, 'wow, I'm in.' You've got
to say, 'what can I do to help our basketball team and to play for those
other guys that are out there?' That's what the whole thing is. I think it's
all about playing for each other, caring about each other, doing things the
right way, and then winning is the byproduct of those things. And I think
we're really close with all of that stuff." |
| |
| On the players buying into that
philosophy |
| "Without a question. It's part of
the learning process. It's one of those things where you're delivering a
message and you're delivering a message, and eventually they'll get the
message. This team has always done a great job of doing the things that
we've emphasized, and obviously this is something right now that we need to
emphasize. And again, I said playing to win, and it doesn't mean what the
scoreboard says. It means how you carry yourself and how you play." |
| |
| On the plusses and minuses of his team
to this point |
| "Improvement. I think we've got some
players who have really improved their games - Peyton Stovall, Terrance
Chapman, Dennis Trammell, Skip Mills. I think those guys have really
improved. Michael Bennett has done a great job of improving. I think we've
got to play with more consistency. We've got to get production from our
bench on a consistent basis. And I don't mean necessarily points, I mean
defense and rebounding - giving the team a lift when they check in. Those
are things we fully expect from our guys, and I think they're trying to do
it, and they're trying to grasp those concepts." |
| |
| On what Jesse McClung needs to do to
get more playing time |
| "Defend and take care of the
basketball." |
| |
| On the injury status of Adler and Bass |
| "(Adler) probably won't play this
year. He has practiced three times. We've had 50 practices. (Charles is) day-to-day. I really wish I could tell you, but I don't know." |
| |
| On reconsidering red shirting Newell
if Adler red shirts and the status of the front court |
| "No, I think with what we're trying
to do with Anthony Newell and how we're trying to develop him as a player,
we feel like it's in his best interest to red shirt. What we would like to
continue to do is make him a perimeter player, which would give us great
length and a big-time rebounder from that small forward position. I think
that as long as you stay injury-free, you can make those things happen.
Right now we've got Michael, Terrance, Tom, and Anthony Kent up front." |
| |
| On Anthony Kent |
| "Anthony Kent is going to produce for us.
You can put that in the headline if you want. He is going to produce for us,
because I believe in him. You know, I believe in all of them, but I really
think he's getting there. He's just got to figure out what it takes on a day-to-day basis, and he's starting to." "There's no question (that he is
seeing things in practice that the general public is not seeing). Yeah, it's
not even close. Not even close. That's why, when you come to a game once or
twice a week, it's very easy, and I understand it, to be critical. But when
you see it every single day...when you see what the possibilities are, then
I think you can say those things. I wish that everyone could see Anthony
Kent practice. But I do think it's going to carry over to games, because it
can't help but not. When you go like that and do those things in practice,
it's going to come. It's just a matter of when it's going to come. I want
everybody to see how good he is. And I don't mean how good he is from the
standpoint of Kevin Garnett. I mean how good he is at helping our team win
basketball games." |
| |
| On "over talking" things, such as the
slow starts and individual player weaknesses |
| "Well, there's a point where you go
to them and say, 'you figure it out.' I think one of the things that we have
going on right now, and we're all guilty of it as parents, sometimes we
problem solve too much for our children and don't let them figure it out on
their own. Sometimes I think you have to take a step back and say, 'ok, you
guys figure it out.' I think we have a good group in that way, because they
do try to figure those things out when we present it to them like that." |
| |
| On the team watching a Navy Seals
training video |
| "The group, (Wednesday) we watched a
training video on the Navy Seals, because I want them to start to see how
other factions in society do things. Think about it. The Navy Seals are here
to protect our country. They teach teamwork. If they thought individualism
was the key to protecting the country, that's what they would teach, right?
So there's a reason for it. The smaller the numbers get in the Seals, the
more they rely on the teamwork. I think when they see those things, they can
relate it to what they're trying to do and how they're trying to do it, even
though it isn't necessarily the same thing."
"You know, the other thing too, to be quite honest with you, is I think
when you see something like that, it's the reason why you put your hand over
your heart and take your hat off when they play the national anthem. And I
don't know that everyone realizes what those guys do for us. So not to only
help your team, but maybe help educate them about other things besides just
basketball." |
| |
| On having a team that has at least
stuck with the game plan and kept fighting through big runs and large
deficits |
| "You know, if you watch a lot of
basketball, you would find that our games aren't the only ones like that.
They're all like that, because we're all dealing with 18 to 22, 23 year
olds. Consistency is something we always strive for. Kent State has gotten
off to some very poor starts in their games, and they happen to be one of
the better teams in our conference. That doesn't mean you accept it. It
means it's part of what you're doing and you've got to keep trying to
improve on it, because all of those teams are as well. But they've (BSU)
never given up, and I think anyone who has seen them play could attest to
that. We may not like the outcome, but you cannot say that basketball team
just gave up." |
| |
| On the starting lineup |
| "To be quite honest with you, Mike
likes to come off the bench and I like for Mike to come off the bench. I
think he sees the game differently when he comes off the bench as opposed to
when he starts." |
| |
| Skip Mills |
| On what the team learned from the non
conference slate to take into the MAC season |
| "Just to compete harder. Obviously
we've gotten off to rough starts every time we've gone out, so I think the
key is just getting off to a good start and then finishing off the game
strong like we've done in the past. I think if we get off to a good start
we'll be fine." |
| |
| On whether or not the film indicates
any reasons for the slow starts |
| "I would say ball pressure and just
coming out flat. Like almost waiting until we get down and then saying, 'ok,
we're ready to play.' We've just got to get ready to play for the conference." |
| |
| On the frustration of the slow starts
affecting the team's overall record |
| "Right, clearly we should easily be
about 8-1 right now. Just getting off to rough starts has really hurt our
record. Our 5-4 record really doesn't show how talented we are." |
| |
| On still feeling good about heading
into the MAC season |
| "Yeah, because teams will probably
look past us. So that could kind of give us an advantage if you're just
going to overlook us. We're going to start coming out and playing - just
take it one game at a time and come out and play." |
| |
| On his game |
| "From a personal standpoint, I'd say
that I just need to be a little more intense and everything else will take
care of itself. I think if everybody plays intense, then we're all good ball
players, so everything will pick up from there." |
| |
| On playing against a former high
school teammate in AJ Ratliff of Indiana |
| "Yeah, it was nice, but I mean it
wasn't in the type of situation that I would have liked to be in. It was a
good experience, though." |
| |
| On he and Peyton Stovall only being
sophomores and still learning what it takes to win at this level |
| "Yeah, definitely. I think there are
still some things that I'm seeing now that I have to work on that happens in
the game, because the game moves faster. The game has slowed down a lot
since last year, so I'm starting to see more stuff and be able to do more
stuff that I do in practice. I think with each game that I play I'm going to
get a lot better." |
