March 14, 2007
Columbia, Mo. - With the 2006-07 coming to a conclusion on Sunday night, Mizzou Head Basketball Coach Mike Anderson addressed members of the media during Wednesday's season wrap-up press conference. Below are selected quotes from that press outing.
Head Coach Mike Anderson Quotes from his postseason Press Conference
Mizzou Arena
March 14, 2007
Opening Statement:
First of all, this is kind of strange to me. I made the statement earlier that I am used to being in the (March) Madness and not necessarily on the outside looking in. In the future, we are going to be involved in it. So it is kind of strange to be here with you guys, but at the same time, it is year one (at Missouri) and I know you can't build a program over night. This season was a new start. It was like having a freshmen team: A new coach coming in, a new style and a new set of rules. Everything was new and for the most part, I felt like they bought into what we were bringing. So with that being said, it created an exciting atmosphere and of course now we have to bring the product. I thought we put a team out there that was a work in progress throughout the year. If one word sticks out in my mind, it is inconsistency and that is going to be associated with newness. When you talk about newness, it's like freshmen. They are going to be ups-and-downs, there will be some peaks and some valleys. There were some low points and some high points. When you look at the conference itself, it is a great league and I think everyone had us picked last or next to last anyway, so for this team to finish in sixth place in the Big 12, that's progress and hopefully it is something we can continue to build upon. I feel like our team got better as the season went along.
On Not Qualifying For Postseason Play:
I'm disappointed the guys didn't have an opportunity to continue to play. When you talk about our schedule, the teams we played and the finish in our league, it was probably worthy of playing some more basketball, but evidently it wasn't enough. It doesn't take place, so what do you do? Well, you get ready for the off-season. That's what we are doing. Next week we'll get started. Individual workouts, weights and just try to get better, so we can be involved with March Madness.
On The Big 12's Representation in NCAA Tournament Play:
I thought we should have gotten five teams in (the NCAA Tournament). I feel like this is just as good as any league in the country and our teams got better as the year went on because we had so many new coaches. Some of the teams in the upper-half of the division barely escaped some teams in the bottom half. Let's take for instance Baylor playing a Texas team. They almost got them a couple of times, even in the conference tournament, so I thought our league was worthy (of getting) five teams, but it didn't take place, but it just gives us something to shoot for next year.
On The Program's Improving Perception Nationally:
We got talked about this year. People were talking about us and that's progress. You've got to start somewhere. Last year or the last couple of years, people probably weren't saying much about Missouri, so for the most part, we've got some more pride back in the program, some more respectability and we are going to be a team (to watch out for).
There was so much improvement on this basketball team. It is going to take me a while as I get away from it, to come back and look it. Look at Matt Lawrence. This was a guy that averaged 1.5 points per game and here's a guy that averaged double-figures in our league. He's one of the top three-point shooters in the country. Kalen Grimes. Here's a guy that probably didn't play a whole lot the previous two years because of foul trouble or just didn't play. He's in my starting line-up. He's one of our most physical low-post players. You saw the emergence of Darryl Butterfield. There are some pieces, but we've got to continue to add pieces and that's going to take place through recruiting. Even as I speak with you today, I am getting ready to head out here and see some players and recruiting is going to be real key to move this program to a level where I want to see it at.
Was It Tough To Break The Habits And Negativity Of Past Seasons:
It was work. No doubt about it. It was a lot of work. People who have seen basketball, not only here, but around the country, could see a team that was developing. More than anything else, a team that was having fun. Not only that, but a team that connected with the fans, the students. That's the thing I am the most happy about, the progress from that standpoint.
Again, when I came here, a lot of things were said and it was in a negative tone. I'm probably one of the more optimistic guys that you are going to see, so I made sure that we were going to do things the right way on-and-off the floor and for the most part, our guys did a good job of that.
Are You Recruiting For 2007 or just 2008:
We are still recruiting, I'm going to put it that way, we are still recruiting.
On The Increased Community Involvement For His Team This Season:
I think we still have some work to do. It's kind of like dancing the two-step. You take two steps forward and a half-step back. But when you talk about being out in the community, I think our guys have done an outstanding job. We've been involved in a lot of things that are more community oriented and we will continue to be. You'll see our faces and see our kids. Our kids had fun this year and I felt like they represented the university in a first-class manner. A lot of positive things were accomplished and there are still more things to accomplish.
On Playing 40 Minutes of Hell this Season and In The Future:
It wasn't 40 Minutes of Hell, I know that. Again, you saw a different style of basketball and at times we did some good things, but as I always say, I'm not just married to one system. I'm married to winning. One thing about me, I like winning and I think good teams, like those teams we had at Arkansas and at UAB, those teams made the adjustments. That's the process. Listen, we threw a lot at these guys this year. It is harder to play this way then it is in just the half-court, so we threw a lot at our guys. Not only that, they need to learn to play in the half-court as well.
You also need to remember we had 37 percent of our scoring coming back from the previous team. Now we have most of those guys, 97 percent coming back for next year. Expereience is going to be your greatest teacher and hopefully (playing that style for 40 Minutes) is something we are going to get better at. You are going to see a team that is a whole lot better defensively. Defensively, we've got to get a whole lot better. We've got to take better care of the basketball. When you play up-tempo basketball, you value the basketball. I don't think we valued it as much this year as we should have. When you take away some of those (turnovers) ... We were involved in a lot of games where it's a possession here, a possession there, a turnover there, or a free throw here and a free throw there. We know that's probably the difference in playing right now.