Photos © and Courtesy of Tim G. Zechar

It seems that you had a sense of purpose tonight. Did You?

Todd Brown: Yes. Every game is a step closer to being my last one. We take every game as if it were the same. The coaches prepare us the same way, whether it is Central State or Washington.

Opening Comments

Brad Brownell: We played very well early. Our defense was pretty good, which allowed us to get out in the transition game. I thought that our kids were unbelievably unselfish. We found each other early for buckets around the rim. We spread the floor and got some open threes. When you make nine threes in the first half, your offense looks really good. We played a solid first half and a decent first ten minutes of the second half.

You're short a guard right now. Does that concern you?

Brad Brownell: A little bit. You hate to be short at any position. We're managing it OK right now.

Every starter had scored while building an early 16-4 lead. Did that surprise you?

Brad Brownell: We've got a team that is going to score by committee. Todd only took 9 shots, so it's not like we've got somebody taking 17 or 18 shots out there. I'm not calling a play every time out there. We're just reading situations. We get the ball inside some, we drive some, and we shot the three some. There's going to be a mix to our game and how we do things.

It seems that you've got some better shooters on the team this year.

Brad Brownell: I hope that we're a better offensive team this year. There were times last year when we struggled and had to slow things down. We played at a slower pace because it suited us better.

Compared to last year, do you feel that this team is more ready to start the season, if it were to begin today?

Brad Brownell: That's hard to answer. I think that our energy level and attitude has been better. I hope that there is a higher sense of urgency in this year's senior class, but there's no question that not being at full strength is a concern.

Cooper Land was playing closer to the basket and being much more aggressive.

Brad Brownell: There's a better mix to his game. He's stronger now. In the past, as a freshman, he wasn't strong enough to play down there. As a sophomore, he started to work at it, but he still wasn't comfortable. I think that now he will try to do both. He'll make some baskets in the post as well as step out and shoot a three. His strength as a player is his versatility.