Quote transcript by Jaden Daly (@DalyDoseOfHoops)
On Seton Hall’s versatility and depth by design:
“That was the process going into it. I wanted to get 10-11 guys that could play. I want to play a different type of style this year, kind of similar to Saint Peter’s, right? But we just haven’t been having the bodies. Guys have been out. Like I said, it was good to have Gus and DT. Manny’s been out and Garwey just got back, Zion just got back, so we’re getting there.”
On challenges with eight incoming transfers:
“I almost can’t say it on film. It’s tough. I’m sure I’m not the only coach that’s saying that it’s tough. It’s tough every year just trying to get guys to try to fit into what you’re trying to do, but I’ll tell you what: These guys have been working hard for me. That’s all I could ask for, so I’m looking forward to it.”
On incoming transfers with something to prove:
“I hope so. That, for sure. Everybody got a fresh start here. I’m not sure what happened at other schools, but everybody got a fresh start here. I just want guys to come in and compete and play and defend, and kind of go from here.”
On Seton Hall’s team leadership:
“You know what? Some days, it’s good, and some days, it’s not. I think Prince has been (a leader) really more than others, like he’s kind of been sustaining more than others, Dylan’s got his days up and down, Scotty is really vocal. But no, we haven’t picked a leader yet or captains yet. I told these guys, they gotta earn it and you gotta be consistent with it. So hopefully by our first game, we should hopefully have them, two, three, one, whatever.”
On competition for playing time:
“I was just telling Adam it’s been kind of tough because guys have been in and out of practice. Some guys, like, we haven’t had a practice yet with the whole team, which kind of sucks because I’m looking forward to what people could do. You know what they could do when you watch film, but now when you get them on your team, it’s kind of tough to see. But the guys that have kind of been steady, that have been here the whole time, they’ve been competing. Like I said, we work hard, that’s a non-negotiable. We’re gonna work hard, we’ve just gotta get everybody on the same page, which is coming. It’s coming, I’m looking forward to it. We’ve got a chance to be solid if everybody stays healthy and kind of buys in.”
On Garwey Dual and the point guard position:
“I think he has a chance. I think we’ve got a couple guys that have a chance to be floor generals, that was something I haven’t had in the past. We had, obviously, Kooks, and when Kooks went down, we kind of struggled. I wanted to make sure that didn’t happen this year. I wanted to make sure we had a couple guys that could play and be guards. I’ve got like, three guys, four guys that could play that point guard spot: Garwey, Zion, Dylan’s been playing a lot of that for us, Yacine, the freshman, has played some of it, and Chaunce played a lot of it at his old school, so we’ve got some guys that can handle the basketball.”
On players who can play multiple positions:
“Extremely important. That’s why I kind of recruited that way, guys that come in and play multiple spots. When we’re healthy, we’ve got a deep — we’ve got seven guards, right? We’ve got three centers and we’ve got three fours. I’m looking forward to some guys playing. We’re gonna play some small ball, we’re gonna play some big ball. That came off kind of crazy, but we’re gonna play with a big lineup. I’m looking forward to putting it together. I’m gonna be honest with you, it ain’t gonna be easy.”
On Scotty Middleton:
“You know what? He’s very vocal. The one thing you gotta give Scotty, he brings it, every single day. He’s been out for a while with a hamstring and he’s just getting back, but he’s been very vocal. I’ll tell you the truth: Whether it’s ten guys, eight guys, our practices have been wars. It’s been very physical and guys keep getting after it, guys are trying to prove themselves, so that’s something that I’m happy about.”
On preparation for physicality in the Big East:
“Practice. Our practices have been pretty tough. I’m not sure if you guys talked to the guys and asked them, but our practices have kind of been pretty tough. It’s either you have it or you don’t, sometimes you can’t teach it. The previous year, I was trying to teach guys how to be point guards. You can’t. We had Kooks, he was a pure point, everybody else were kind of combos. You either have it or you don’t. But the one thing this team has, I could tell you the truth, they’re gonna compete at a high level, they’re gonna defend, and we’ve got bodies. We’re gonna put guys in there, and I hope — I’m gonna say this — I hope I don’t have to play somebody 35 minutes. I hope I can play the minutes I want to play certain guys and keep guys fresh.”
On defense being a requisite for playing time:
“That’s been my MO since I’ve been a head coach, brother. It’s been my MO since I was the associate head coach. If you ain’t defending, you ain’t playing. I don’t care how much you can score.”
On Gus Yalden contributing:
“You know what? I want him to, Adam. I really want him to because I watched him in high school, man, and he’s very skilled, extremely skilled. He’s got some things that you just can’t teach. He can shoot the basketball, he’s got a good feel for the game, he just hasn’t been on the court. He can’t stay healthy, and that’s something that we’re working really hard with him on now. He had mono in the summertime and coming back from mono screwed him up a bit, but I need him to be on the court because he brings a different element to our team.”
On Chaunce Jenkins:
“Chaunce had a good journey. He went to Wichita State and had a chance to play on the team that went to the tournament, and then his first year at Old Dominion, they had a good season and last year, obviously, the wheels kind of fell off a little bit. He’s a guy that can score the basketball, got good size, he can play a lot of spots, multiple spots, he could shoot it. He’s athletic, so he was somebody I was happy to get.”
On Yacine Toumi:
“Yacine is skilled. He’s 6-foot-10, he’s very skilled. We’re giving him a shot to be a little more consistent. He’s very good 18 feet and in, and I'm trying to push it back out. He’s a very good passer, one of the best passers on the team. He’s coming back, he had a thumb injury that was kind of irking him a little bit but he’s getting healthy now. I’m looking forward to him, I’m looking forward to all the guys. I’ll be honest with you guys, there’s not one guy (where) I could say, ‘well, he’s doing more of this and that.’ All the guys are battling and playing hard, and that’s all you can ask for.”
On frontcourt depth:
“It’s by committee, it’s gonna be by committee. We’re trying to get Manny back, he’s gonna be out for a little bit, but once we get him back, you’ve got three guys we could throw it to in there. And they’re all very physical, which is what I like about them. They’re very physical, so it’s gonna be by committee. Whoever steps up, steps up.”
On the transfer portal and NIL:
“I don’t know, big guy. You serious? It changes every day, every two weeks, there’s a new rule that comes into effect, so I don’t know. I can’t keep up with all that. I gotta worry about coaching these guys. I don’t know about — whatever the rules are, you just kind of adjust. It’s gonna change in two weeks, it’s gonna change in a month. Something’s gonna change, every week it’s something different. We all got a job to do. Everybody’s got a job to do, they have a job to do fundraising, I have a job to do coaching. Whatever they need me to do on the fundraising side, I’m with it. We’ve all got jobs to do, and that’s kind of how it is here.”
On Seton Hall’s new practice facility:
“It’s good, right? It’s something that I think is way overdue, and I’m definitely looking forward to it. It’s gonna be an upgrade, it’s gonna be good for the campus too. It’s a beautiful building. We won’t play games there, but it’ll be good because it’s got some stuff in there that we don’t have right now, like a steam room, a sauna. We’re getting there. When you’ve got ten new guys and you try to mix them in with three guys that have been here, it’s not easy because everybody’s different, right? Everybody got different personalities, different things, but these guys have been doing things on their own. I’ll be honest with you, we’ve come together. There’s still some time, I think we’ve got two weeks before our first game, so we gotta get some more chemistry in, to be honest with you. I’m not gonna sit here and say it’s a finished product, because it’s not. But if you watch my teams, my teams get better as the year goes on, so it’s no different here.”
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.