University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Head Coach Larry Eustachy Media Day Quotes:
11/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 1, 2005
Opening Statement:
"I'm excited about the upcoming season. I feel that our program is 100 percent better now than it was last year. I like the direction we are going. We have a long ways to go, but we have made tremendous strides in the last 12 months. Like any team I've coaches, time will tell as to what this group will do. We have one goal, and that is to turn this program that has lost the last several years, into a winner. Hopefully we can achieve that goal and have a winning season."
On The Differences On This Team To Last Year's Team:
"At every spot, from point guard to center and everything in between, we have a genuine competition on a daily basis. We didn't have that last year. Last year, guys could come out of the tunnel and be starters, and have a bad day and lose their job. On this year's team, there's not a lot of difference between the talent level of our best team and our worst team. That's a positive thing. If someone were to lose their position, I think this year's player would take it personal and work hard to get it back. I think there's more depth, but we have a better group of competitive players. We've almost had two fights, which isn't a basis of competitiveness, but it is. We didn't have anything last year. That's a big indicator."
On The Rotation:
"I don't think you can ever play seven or eight players. When you look at NBA games, and when it gets down to playoff time, they play eight more minutes than college games, but they only play eight players. Sometimes you only see six. Most guys play 48 minutes. I'm not one to take a guy out when he gets going. I think you play four perimeter and three front line guys and go with it. Everyone gets to play because of fouling and injuries."
On If He Has An Idea Of The Opening Day Starters:
"I don't have any idea. Kyle Lamonte would probably start at point guard today. Travis Hall had four wisdom teeth pulled today, so that set him back. We had a battle going there. Courtney Beasley could be our starting point guard before its over. I don't know. It's a day-by-day thing. Mildon Ambres would not start. He's been hampered by an ankle injury. He has only practiced half of the time. Shawn Simpson would start as our post player. Jason Forte has been a pleasant surprise. He's a different player. I hope he can take what he's doing in practice and put it into the game. He's our best conditioned player, he's our hardest playing player and he's our strongest player. His mental makeup is pretty good for competitive athletics. He's become our leader vocally. I think Jason, like a lot of our players, can lose confidence quickly. We've got to get him to where he can withstand some adversity and still play at a level that will help us win. He's been great so far."
On The Impact Of Forte's Leadership:
"When you become vocal on a team, you like that player to basically say what the coach is saying. He's like another coach on the court. He has all the terminology, he says the right things and he's very positive. The strength of your team is your returning players. That's why there are a lot of questions about our team, because we have so many new players. You can be a leader as a freshman. Magic Johnson did it at Michigan State. I used to be huge into senior leadership, until my seniors had no leadership. I've seen it come in a lot of packages. But he is our leader right now, and he happens to be a senior."
On Him Mentoring Other Players:
"He's done a lot of that, and that has helped. I don't know if its me and I think it's a combination of several things, but its very hard to get upset at this group of players. They're trying very hard and they're receptive. Usually, you have some guys who don't try hard or aren't receptive. I think that helps, that we have some returning players who have talked to the other guys about what to expect. That has helped. That's why we're so far ahead of last year. No one knew what to expect last year."
On Conference USA:
"Last year, we had seven teams in postseason play. I think we'll have that this year. Everyone wants to talk about the negatives, but I don't see a lot of it. Obviously we lost some strong teams, but we have to look at who's coming in. UTEP won 27 games last year, probably more than any team we lost. They have the strength of their team coming back, except for their point guard. Tulsa is huge in tradition. Some of the Texas schools, SMU and Rice are strong. UCF went to the NCAA Tournament. Our league isn't the ACC. You've got five or six leagues that are major conferences, but I think we're the next one. On a given year, you can jump into that pack. With the coaching and the recruiting base, show me a league that has a better recruiting base in proximity to the players in our league. Texas schools and Florida and the south, you've got a lot of players around these campuses."
On How Competitive The Team Will Be:
"I think we can play with the teams in our league. Memphis, UTEP, UAB and Houston are in a group. After that, there are a lot of questions as to where everyone else falls. I think next year, we'll jump into the main group, because most of these guys will be back. One of the biggest things about this program is getting the crowd back into the arena. I've coached at places where the crowd has won games at the end. It's happened here. I know that for a fact. At the former places I've been, we've had over 30-game win streaks and that wouldn't have happened with 1,400 people in the stands. We have a huge challenge ahead of us. Once the winning established and the crowd is back, it will help winning. To knock off Memphis, who is ranks No. 12 in the nation, it helps to have a good court advantage, which we don't have right now. That comes with winning. I think that will happen. I think we can be competitive on a given night with any team in our league. Time will tell. In my old age, maybe I'm more optimistic than I used to be, but I think that can happen based on what I've seen."
On Practice So Far:
"It's hard to evaluate your team early. So many times you say this guy is better than the other guy, and that's because the other guy is in better shape and more conditioned. Our team is rounding into game shape. We work hard in the summer and the preseason. Our goal is to be the best conditioned and the strongest team in the nation. We've attained that at some places I've been, and I think we will do that here in time. You can be tricked one way or another by great conditioning or a lack of it. Time will tell about Jason Forte, because he's our best conditioned guy, but other guys are starting to catch him. David Cornwell is a great example. He can't play when he gets tired, and can't push himself. Jarekus Singleton is not in the shape that I want him to be in. I think some players are starting to get in shape. It's a long process."
On The Main Scoring Options:
"I think we have seven, eight or nine candidates to lead the team in scoring on a given night. That's what I like about this team, we have a lot of balance. Eventually, someone will have the best role on the team, which will be the leading scorer and someone will have the worst, and won't play as much. Then we have everything in between, which comes down to coaching and defining roles. That will take some time. We're trying to establish a base of toughness and hardness and playing thorough fatigue. I can see that we have some guys that are capable of scoring. There's not a lot of difference from our best and worst player."
On Being In Hattiesburg:
"I love Hattiesburg. The people have been fantastic. I'm not real high on hurricanes. I don't think anyone is. I like our team a lot. I like the potential of this program. It might be the best basketball job I've had. I really mean that. Its not my way to say those things, maybe it's because I haven't had a drink in two and a half years, or I'm getting all goofy on myself. I don't think so. I think I am correct in what I say. I love Hattiesburg. My kids love it. The people are genuine. Some of my assistants can't believe it. But I've been here for five years before, so I know how the people are. It's great. The traffic is a little harder, but other than that, it's nice."
On Craig Craft:
"He's impressed me. He's been a pleasant surprise. He's tougher than I thought."
On If More Scoring Will Come From The Perimeter:
"I don't know. I'm feeling my way through the players. There's so much newness here."
On How Close He Is To Getting The Team And The Players He Wants:
"I think we're getting there. There's always a disaster around the corner as far as injury goes. You never know what can nail you. With our ability to get the bigger, stronger and tougher players year in and year out, I think we're getting there. It's easier to build a basketball program than a football or baseball program, because there are fewer numbers involved."
