Q: Coach, what's the "State of the Raiders."
BB: I'm really excited about the season. I try to be excited about all seasons to be honest with you but, I think we are all optimistic about the possibilities of having an older team, which is good. Certainly the prospect of having Vaughn back healthy for a full year is exciting -- hopefully a healthy John David as well. If those things happen then I really like our team and our depth. If things come together, and every year is different, then we will compete, challenge for a Horizon league championship, which is what we are trying to do.
So, I think things are good.
Vaughn is pretty close to being 100% right now. Healthwise, he's had a lot of nagging things that have crept into the spring and kind of kept him out of a few workouts but for the most part, the past couple weeks he's back to where he feels himself and is playing himself into the kind of shape where he feels comfortable and productive. I'm sure there will be some affects with missing a year. I do think that Vaughn will be anxious to some degree and I'm going to talk to him a lot about not trying too hard. He such a pleasing type kid that I worry he'll try too hard and sometimes press it. But he'll just have to find his way back and certainly he'll work at it; his attitude will be good. He's a talented player so at some point he'll get himself going and hopefully it will be right away.
BB: Our guys have been playing pickup three to four days a week, especially this last summer B term. We didn't have everyone on campus for summer A. We only had about half the guys here on campus for A; we let the other half go home and get recharged after a long season and a long spring. You know I think some guys need some time away. Other guys have stayed. Ronnie Thomas has been here all summer; Vaughn's been here all summer. So, for those guys, it was good for them to be here all summer. I talk to each kid what I think is best. Todd's been here all summer and had a good summer. I know he's excited his senior season. But then guys have been back and going at it in the weight room. The freshmen are here so that's been good so they can get acclimated.
Q: You have limited contact with the guys in the summer…
Not much contact from the standpoint of basketball. We obviously see them everyday just running around here (Pavilion); they check in, we talk to them, maybe go watch them sometime in the weight room working out. That's about it other than knowing when they are in here in the building shooting around, playing and doing stuff.
We'll start individual workouts pretty much after Labor Day. So then we'll get a better feel of exactly where the guys are.
Troy
John David
Cory
N'Gai
Cooper
Paul
Scott
Darian
Todd
Tyler
Ronnie
Vaughn
Photos Courtesy of WSU Athletics
Q: We've already talked about a couple of the guys but let me go down the roster and I'll ask you to give me a couple comments about each guy. First up is Troy.
BB: Troy's had a pretty good summer. He shoots the ball really well. He's starting to put on a little weight and that is good. I just want him to be a consistent, dangerous threat for us as an offensive player. That's what his strength is and he brings great value in being able to come in and shoot the ball the way he does. Troy just needs to continue to compete really hard on the defensive end of the floor. Hopefully, two years of experience and added strength from the weight room will really help him in this area.
John David...
BB: I think John David was a key to our team's turnaround last season. He was poised to have a very good season and did have a good season when he got to play and was healthy but unfortunately, even when he played at certain times, he wasn't 100%. He really stepped up when Vaughn went down; was unbelievably good down in Puerto Rico. And he does so much more than any stat sheet will ever show. He can make some baskets in different ways; he very unselfish and a terrific passer having played point guard in high school. He's probably as tough as any guy on the team both physically and mentally. He brings a confidence as well as a toughness to our team that is necessary on all winning teams. I've never wanted a kid to have a better year than I want for him this season because of all he's been through and what he deserves. He's doing well; he's ahead of schedule, which is great to hear in terms of having the off-season surgery on his hip. I'm hopeful he's going to have a great year.
Cory...
I think Cory had a really nice season for us last year. He impressed us immediately with his energy and enthusiasm for the game. We do have to help him harness his energy at times because he does occasionally get into foul trouble. He's just an unbelievably high energy player and a great teammate. He's been as positive and enthusiastic as any guy I've coached at Wright State. He really helps bring energy to the team, not only on game night when everybody's got it, but in practice on days when it's dreary and cold in January and guys don't want to practice. He finds a way to get our energy going and get us charged up. I think he's had a really good spring; I think his skills are improving. And he's now a guy that can do more things away from the basket. Even though he was undersized he still had to do most of his work around the basket last year. We've tried to do some things with him in terms of his shooting and passing and dribbling to make him a better all around player. And I think you'll see him do more things away from the basket this season. I know our coaching staff is really really excited about the improvements that Cory has made to his game.
N'gai...
BB: He's put on some weight; he's up to 168 pounds. He's never going to be a 185 pound guard which is fine because he doesn't need to be but I think he's a guy that gained great experience last year. With all the injuries, he's a guy that got to play more than he maybe would've had everybody been healthy. Certainly had some very good games for us, notably the last second runner he made against Green Bay. I think he's really improved. N'gai brings a nice full-court dimension to our team. He's a hard working guy. Defends the ball quite well and we've been working hard to improve his outside shooting. Hopefully he'll continue to get better at that as he continues to get better at his whole game. He has very good speed with the ball and I would like for him to really get out and use that more this season. I think he's slowly improved each year of his career. If he can take another step in terms of his consistency, I think he is going to have a very productive season for us.
Cooper...
Cooper has really worked hard. Probably loves the game as much as anyone in our program. One of the top two or three guys on the team in terms of just having an overall passion for basketball. Has also really worked hard to put on weight as well. He's up to 225. We'd like to get him 5 or 10 pounds more. Not sure if that's feasible. It's hard for him to maintain that but he's doing a great job in the weight room. He's much stronger and physically looks different when you see him now. He's considerably different than when he got here as a freshman and even different than last year. I've worked with him a lot on his outside shooting - he's been streaky for two years - we've worked hard on his interior in the spring as well. I think his confidence is close to coming and being there. When that gets there, he's really going to be a good player. He's a guy who can do a lot of things; I think he's starting to get better around the basket. We need him to continue to improve defensively and rebounding. Those are the two areas I need him to improve upon. I think he's becoming a little more consistent a three-point shooter. I know he's going to do that as a shooter this year. I think he's put the time in with us in the weight room to become physically stronger and hopefully give us a little more defensive presence inside.
Paul...
Paul's been a nice addition in terms of having a guy that, I think, appreciates this opportunity. Hard to say much about him as a player because I don't know much but obviously he's a gifted athlete he's 6'6 230-235, he's big and pretty strong. Athletically gifted but I do think there's going to be a very big adjustment. I don't think you just go from playing pickup games for 8 years to go to real basketball. That would go for the guy playing intramurals or the guy that's playing on the street. Then all of a sudden you get to real basketball and technique and all the things you have to learn -- thats different and I think his response to those challenges will determine how much and how quickly he plays. It will be how quickly he picks up all the other factors, the understanding of really what we are trying to do, understanding the schemes, then battling in there with a lot of experienced players who already know what we are doing. He'll be new to all that but physically, he certainly brings an athleticism to our frontcourt and brings a big strong body that we wanted to add. He's been on campus during B session and had a little time to adjust get in the weight room and play with the guys in pickups, which as been helpful in some ways because I know they are talking to him about certain things, how we do things, but that's not like being coached everyday by your coaches. So we'll see how he does but it seems like he's adjusted OK so far.
Scott...
BB: Scott is a very skilled player. I thought he played very well for us the last month and a half of the season. He still needs to take another big step in terms of being a consistent performer and worker everyday. There were days when is energy levels is higher than others. But he has a very high basketball IQ. In certain situations it's like having another guard on the floor even though he plays a forward. He can make guys better because of his passing. I thought he gained confidence throughout the course of the season. Obviously he got off to a tough start but throughout the course of the year I thought his confidence was much improved and that helped him play even better. I think he felt more comfortable and more relaxed. He's been hurt again a little bit in the spring so we didn't get to do all the stuff we wanted to do with him with his skill work but he battled back and this summer has got I guess a little back to normal and should be ready to go by the beginning of the season. I know he's eager and that's good.
Darian...
BB: Hard working kid. Big strong body for a guard. Will have to learn how we want to do things. How quickly he learns will determine if he gets to play some. I think it will be tough, really, for all the freshmen in some ways to get a lot of time just because of the older players ahead of them but he is a kid that plays really hard. Likes to play. Works at his game. And he's a guy who will bring some energy every day to practice. So he'll keep things very competitive because he's physically ready as a freshman and because he physically has some strength, he'll be able to battle with the older players. The older players certainly have the experience factor but, we'll just have to wait and see how he does. I know he will help us every day initially just because of how physical he is as a freshman coming in.
Todd...
BB: I am really proud of how hard Todd has worked this off-season. He has been a real leader in the weight room and I think will be a much more physical player this season. Todd has improved every year (ball-handling, passing, rebounding) and I think he will once again make a jump in terms of becoming a complete basketball player. Todd played at a really high level for us in conference play and I know he is looking forward to playing at an even higher level in his senior year.
Todd's had a good spring and summer. He's worked hard to continue to add weight and gain strength. I thought he bounced back after a rough start to last year where he was really struggling to make to any shot at all to where obviously in conference play he was a very good player. And we need him to be consistently at that level if we are gong to do all the things we want to do. But I think he's shown some maturity and I think he understands this is his last go around and he wants it to be a good one.
Tyler...
BB: Tyler is another kid … the best thing about our freshman class is they are all pretty physically well built. Pretty strong guys. The physical adjustment won't be the one that those three have to make (Paul Darian and Tyler) the speed of the game, the quickness of understanding and making decisions. Those will be the things all three them have to adjust to. Tyler's really had a tough senior year and tough spring and even a little tough summer because of his ankle. He sprained both ankles; one a couple times and it's not healing as quickly as anyone would have liked. Once he gets it back to 80-85%, he sprains it again and he has to start over again and he's had to do that here. I know they've worked hard and just recently been released to go play pickup with our guys for last two weeks of summer B. The first three weeks he really wasn't doing anything. So the first thing for him will be to get healthy and get going to where he can just be going by practice time and make sure he's on pace to learn. But he is big guy, 6-4 or 6-5 who can make some shots and we think that'll be one of the weapons we have off the bench.
Ronnie...
BB: Ronnie's had a good summer. He's finally been healthy enough, long enough to make some changes physically. I think he's much stronger than he's ever been. Ronnie's an underrated player in terms of the value he gives our team because he really smart. Defensively he does a good job of using his body to protect the basket and be an anchor that way, much like Jordan was. He's certainly isn't going to do things that are ever going to wow people or bring that kind of attention to himself as a player. But I do think he does a lot of subtle things in terms of understanding how to screen and get other guys shots and move the ball on offense. He helps our team a lot more than people realize. And being a senior I think he's been very dedicated this spring and summer and made some significant changes physically and hopefully those will prove to help him as the year goes.
Vaughn...
BB: Just really a hard working, competitive kid. A pretty talented guy, especially athletically, who we continue to work hard to become a better all around basketball player. There are times when Vaughn gets by on some things athletically and he needs to continue to work to understand how to beat people with his mind as well as his athleticism and his feel for the game. Those are the things he has to continue to work to improve. The only thing I worry about is having a little rust to all that - having had a year off. I think that could be, not necessarily cause for concern, but more just that's what he has to get used to - just being out there all the time. He tries so hard. Physically, should be in great shape. Should be ready to go and I know that he will be unbelievably eager to get back out there and play after having to sit basically all of last year on the sideline. Certainly we are glad to have him back because he's extremely talented in terms of being able to get his own shot, make plays that … other guys just can do to be honest with you.
Q: Academics going OK for everyone…
BB: Yeah, no problems academically. Everyone's had a good spring quarter and seems to being doing well in summer. I'm optimistic that the guys are going to do well again this year.
Q: Got the schedule here, looks exciting.
BB: I think it's very challenging. Two top 20 teams in the non-conference. An unbelievably challenging tournament at the beginning of the year with Washington, Portland and Belmont. Right away we are going to find out where we are, what we need to improve upon and, that's good I think. It's what I was looking for. Certainly we've got some teams that beat us in the non-conference last year that we have back and thus the opportunity to beat those guys which will be important. The addition of Mississippi State and another game on national television...you know, it's so hard to get games like that, that it says a lot about what we've been able to do in the last couple of years. To have a game like that, to be picked to play in a game against Wake Forest last year…ESPN this year, Fox Sports last year. To recognize our program is a good one, recognize our team is good one and to pick us to be a part of that package with those conferences that have those games speaks a lot to the improvement in our program. I want people to understand that. That's important and should be noted. I'm proud of the guys for what they've been able to do to get us to this point. Now we want to get to those games and hopefully try to win one.
Q: You did well against Wake Forest last year….
BB: Yeah, we played OK. We did some good things and certainly were still battling the loss of Vaughn and trying to figure ourselves out at that time of year. We weren't playing our best but that was when we were beginning to try to figure some things out. That game, I think, helped us continue to move in the right direction towards building our season back and we were able to do that.
Q: Coach, the program has had three straight 20 win season. Has that helped with scheduling?
BB: Uh, yes and no. It helps in some ways from the standpoint of getting a game that's recognizable where somebody like ESPN knows enough about your team that they are like, "this is good. This would be a good game to have on national television." So that's good. It's also frustrating because there are some teams that don't want to play us because of how well we've done. It's hard for us to get certain kind of games our fans want and believe me, we want. And you know, that's frustrating. There are a lot of teams that we end up playing that are really good that people don't know much about. They don't have all kinds of name recognition but at the same time but we are kind of like one of those teams. If you poll people in college basketball nationally, we are not one of the more known teams. I don't think people, other than true fans, would know that we have had three straight 20 win seasons. Arkansas Little Rock for example, that series, I told people last year when we looking to add a game and it was late August, you are looking around and those teams that have games left - they are good and guys don't want to play them. Arkansas Little Rock ending up being a team we picked up at the end last year because they couldn't find a game. And it proved to be true, they had won 20 some games and that was a great win for us. So, at times, it helpful (success) but other times it's very challenging. We are locked in here a little bit, right here in MAC country and that's fine. I certainly want to continue to play a couple MAC schools every year. It's been good for us; we obviously have the series with Miami but I'm not going to play six MAC schools; I don't want to do that. I don't think ... I don't know…there is a wearing affect there. I want to play some different types of schools and see different things and some of those people do and don't want to play us. So it's hard to match all those things up. So it becomes challenging to find teams that you can play, who want to play and who want to start a series with you because when you are winning more a lot of people don't want to play then. It will be really challenging for us next year cause we are almost on these two year cycles where we start looking for maybe seven games or something ridiculous which is hard to do. So we'll see how it works out next year.
Q: So can ESPN or a Fox Sports, can they help you get a game?
BB: No, not really. They are not helping us get games. What they are doing is helping the ACC or SEC get a game that is quality. That's how it works. Fox has a deal with the ACC where they present ACC Fox Sunday and every Sunday night they are doing ACC games throughout the course of the season. They give a couple of those slots away in the non-conference every year to a couple schools - last year it was Wake Forest. They want to find a good competitive non-conference team that will go there. That's how we got that one. Same is true this year with the SEC and ESPN. We tried to get Mississippi State to do a 2 for 1 or do something like that but they wouldn't agree to it.
Q: Similarly to my last question about success and scheduling, has your success help your recruiting?
BB: Ah, I think, yes, in some ways I do believe it is. I think… it certainly opens a few doors. It opens a few people's eyes to our situation. It helps from the standpoint them becoming interested. Whether that translates directly into us getting kids that we otherwise would not have gotten, I don't know yet. I think it takes time. We are certainly battling some of the things you always battle at certain schools. Much like a lot of people do. But I do think the fact that we are winning certainly helps and it begins to give more credence to what are program is all about. And the more people do research about us the more they like what they see.
Q: Well, looking at the roster you see a lot more Ohio, Indiana kids on there. So I think they are seeing us more on TV or reading about us in the newspaper.
BB: I hope so. There are two primary areas where we start most of our recruiting - Ohio and Indiana. We'll always work those states really hard and then work geographically in surrounding states like Kentucky and Michigan as well a little bit. Other areas like Illinois that make sense. But at the same time, I do think sometimes even occasionally that kids from a little farther away come here and don't have some preconceived notions that some other kids might. Sometimes they appreciate things a little more than even kids that are around things all the time. Sometimes there are times you need to go away find a guy. We'll certainly do our work around here first.
Q: We've went down the roster and as you said we are a pretty veteran team. So, will the overall style of game will be much the same as the past year?
BB: I think for the most part we will play very similarly to what we've done since I arrived 3 years ago. However, I do think this team, if it stays healthy, will have more depth than any which I have coached at WSU. I would like to play a bit faster on offense, get out in transition and attack in the full-court especially after a defensive stop.. Defensively, I am thinking about being a bit more aggressive in our man to man and possibly even extending our defense at times to change the pace of the game. But don't look for us to make too many changes next year because our formula for winning has a proven track record of success.
We continued talked about some of the rules changes coming to basketball this season, the positive changes to the atmosphere of the the Nutter Center, and a few other things.
I want to thank Coach Brownell for talking with us at RaiderRoundball.
