Nov. 2, 2000
Columbia, Mo. - Missouri Head Coach Quin Snyder "I think the first couple weeks have been really productive. I was disappointed the other night at the Tiger Night of Terror. Some it is understandable. We had practice previously that day. There were things we didn't do well. It shows right now that we don't have the habits we need to have. Particularly, one of them is rebounding. It's difficult for us to assimilate what we're going to face in a game in that regard. Practicing against ourselves doesn't necessarily help us get that much better when it comes to rebounding. Practicing against our pressure defense or against our shooting, we can become good at closing out shooters because we can see the ball go in ... that's going to be a constant battle."
"I'm at a point where I think there's been a few guys who have really separated themselves and that's our returning guys on the perimeter - Brian (Grawer), Kareem (Rush) and Clarence (Gilbert). They've come to play pretty much all of the time. And all of them, and I'd include T.J. (Soyoye) in there, too, are working on the things they need to be working on to improve. Kareem, defensively, is playing hard and defense is becoming a point of pride for him. For Clarence's shot selection. There's an emphasis there and important to him. For Brian, it's vocal leadership and for T.J., it's decisions and his presence in the post is important. From that point, there has to be some guys who step up. If I was in school, this would be a fun team to play on because there's opportunity. The team defines that opportunity a litle bit differently than an individual player. I'm curious to see which players want to embrace the needs of this team. I didn't see that as much the other night from some of the other guys but we'll see it. The guys who do it are going to play, it's that simple."
Regarding Travon Bryant who will join the team in December ... "Our understanding is that he does not need to re-sign. His passing the exam, meeting the qualification standards, takes care of that prior to the date. He's signed financial aid papers."
"I don't know if it changes anything but it adds another element to it. There's no question there's a need there for us. We saw that last year and it's clear that that's the case again this year. How we adjust to fill that need will depend on what the guys who are currently here do and what kind of shape Travon comes in on and how quickly he adapts. Until that point, those things are speculative. I know what Justin Gage is going to do when he comes over. I know exactly what I'm getting, a warrior. I'm starting to see Ricky Paulding in there a little bit, mixing it up. Sometimes, smaller guys can get more done if they're tougher and they play harder. That's where this team is."
"For us, down the road this season, to maybe reach some of the goals hopefully we can reach, we're going to need some development out of our big guys. Whether it's Arthur Johnson or Johnnie Parker committed to playing his role or Travon Bryant or whoever those people are. We need to consider all of them and see what shakes out."
"I'm curious. I want them to tell me, I want to know who wants to play. It's out there, just sitting out there for them if they want to do it. Players sometimes have the misconception that coaches just pick lineups. I haven't been on too many teams where there's a dead heat between two kids. Suffice to say, I'd like to win, too. You're going to play the guys who are going to help you do that."
"I hope we don't need any additional stimulation but sometimes that's the case. It's definitely the case with just competition. You can fall into a little bit of a comfort zone even within your own team when you get some competition and start playing some games. Those games help you find weakness, find ways to improve and galvanize you to get better. That's the nature of competition. The extent that we have more competition internally is a really good thing for this team.I think we need that."
"It's a very different thing to evaluate. We'll have practiced over two months and there will be roughly two months left in the season. The portion of the season that an incoming freshman needs more than any other is the practice time to develop. Although, having said that, I think he'll help us, how much remains to be seen."
On Freshman Class "I think you have sift through the excitement of the new faces, some of their potention and their ability and see how quickly they are developing. Some of that is how quickly is they are embracing what they need to do to be successful. Is Wesley (Stokes) going to get serious about not turning the ball over? Is Wesley going to get serious about getting in a defensive stance and guarding the ball? I think he will. This initial period is him figuring that out and how he has to play here to be effective. How quickly they embrace those things ... Is AJ (Johnson) going to pick it up with his post defense, start putting a body on people, sprinting the court ... those guys are in control of that. For me, I hope so. I think they'll play. How much? That depends. They might not play at all if they don't play the right way. I think they want to. It's just a question of how committed they are. Part of it is learning new habits. There's a huge learning curve in that regard. How quickly they can get down that line and over that hump will determine how much we see them play on the court this year. They're going to be really good guys for us over the next few years. There's no question about that."
On Rickey Paulding "I think Rickey is the best competitor of those three (Stokes, Johnson and Paulding) right now. You learn how to compete. That's the one thing you have to have. If that's not there, it's hard to make good no matter what else you have."
"It's a pretty small sample, just two weeks. Wesley, yesterday, really came and competed like he hasn't up this point. And AJ, too. They both had their practices yesterday after, what I thought, were high school type efforts in the scrimmage. It's not like they're trying to be bad. The habits they need to have to make our team successful are not that yet. They're not habits. That takes even more concentration. As a result, when they get tired, they're the first to go. Fatigue definitely plays a part."
On playing without Keyon "I think we've been working on it a lot, even in the preseason. Keyon created so much. How this team adjusts to his absence will be a big determining factor in how successful we are. I htink the same of Hafe in a more subtle way in some respects but you know Hafe was the guy last year that was willing to do all the dirt. and that's what's out there right now...and to the extent that people don't see that as a glamorous job, you know, it's a job I'd take, because it puts you on the floor. taking charge is emotion...guarding the toughest guy, fighting for loose balls, all the emotional things he did. I think we have to replace that as well. Keyon's stuff, you know, clearly he led us in blocked shots, which is kind of ironic. He did so many things for our team. No one person can replace that. Roles have to shift. Clarence has taken up some of the leadership slack that is there with Keyon's absence. I think Kareem has. Brian certainly has. It's early to see how that will evolve."
On changing the offense due to Keyon's absence. "A lot of times last year we would just play to him. I think that's the smart thing to do. You got a guy that can create off the dribble, and break you down. We won some games doing that. I think guys need to rely on one another more, even to the extent that Clarence could rely on Keyon to get him a shot, or Kareem relied on Keyon to get him a look because people were locked in on him. Now we have to rely on one another, whether that be screening, more precision on offense, better execution in half-court, a little more elaborate in offensive schemes in terms of what we're doing with plays. We're still going to be a free-lance team. I think we definitely have to run. How quickly do we get the ball up the floor? That habit can create offense for people. We have to figure out other ways to create."
"I think both Kareem and Clarence...I think Kareem's got it, as far as the ability to create. He can score. There were times last year when he was our best scorer. Clarence certainly has the same ability and will to do it as well. Some of that, too, is wanting to be that guy. Wanting to have the ball in your hands and take big shots. We've got a few guys that can do that. Brian salivates for an open look at the end of the game. He wants the ball--he knows he can make a shot."
On his team's personality. "It's a really together group. I think right now it's a little bit of an immature team. that's natural. It's a team that lost leadership both on the floor and psychologically, with Hafe and Keyon. They are finding their way, and they are really committed to doing that. I got on them really hard yesterday about who we were, and the lights come on and we forget what we need to do to stay together and be successful. They didn't bury their heads in the sand. They came right back out and that's what it takes. THat may happen three or four times. It's part of the growth process. that's what you get with young guys. We're still new to each other. It's not like Clarence has been playing for me for three years. This is his second preseason. Same thing with brian and those guys. THey are still finding out what they have to do. I think one of the key things for me today was to see Clarence and Brian both step up and demand more from their teammates. Those guys can demand things from one another instead of just our staff trying to come in and set the bar, which allows us to come in and kick things higher. Or teach them rather than coaching effort. The effort just has to be there, and they have to demand that from one another."
On his second year as head coach "I haven't had too much time for reflection, to be honest with you. Although I think some things have gotten easier. Adjustments with new people on our staff are going very well. OUr staff is highly energized, and that's highly necessary for this team. Our attention to detail is much greater...there's no slippage at any point. A high level of what we're demanding from the guys."
"There's an old adage that luck favors the prepared man...I might have overprepared. We are going to have days where we don't look good, and to not overreact to those days, but instead just stay the course. I think that's what experience will teach you, if you can call one year experience."
On preventing injuries. "I think what we've done, is that our preseason program is really rigorous in terms of the committment that the kids made. Part of the rigor was not just beating them down, but rather building them up physically. Our conditioning is more basketball specific. We're stretching a lot more. Those kinds of things can help you keep the minor things away. The major things, though, you can never plan for, you just keep your fingers crossed that it doesn't hit you. We're not a deep team. It would be difficult to withstand those things."