Wake Forest Athletics
Coach Prosser Quotes from Press Conference
10/12/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 12, 2001
Oct. 12, 2001 Men's Basketball Media Day Photo Gallery
Head coach Skip Prosser
On the team
"It's hard to tell because we haven't had practice. Looking forward to noon tomorrow. We are going to go four real hard days."
On being the new coach
"It's invigorating. I am looking forward to it. The kids to this point have been very receptive. I love the school."
On last year's team
"I saw a team that was occasionally brilliant but not consistently very good. What we are going to try to do is extend those periods of brilliance and have a consistently good team. Looking at the individuals, we see a tape that a guy would have a lights out spectacular game and then the next game not nearly as effective. We are going to try and find out why that occurs."
On turning the pace up
"They love it today, we'll see how they feel Wednesday. They have been really positive. This is only the tip of the iceberg in what we are going to try to do. After four days we are going to evaluate just how much we feel we can be effective running the press."
On three-point shooting
"As long as guys feet are set and they are open and they make a reasonable number. I have a lot of guys who said they can shoot it but can they make it. You would like to make 8-to-10 three's a game. I am more concerned not about the number we take but he percentage of three's we make."
On the freshman
"Watching them doing individual workouts with them, they are willing listeners. Jamal Levy reminds me of James Posey at the same stage, who played for Xavier who now plays for Denver. James had an insatiable appetite to get better and I feel Jamal has the same thing."
"Taron Downey has shot the ball very well. As with most freshmen he hasn't been the most vocal guy to be around and I think his natural position is point guard. I would like to have someone more vocal and we have discussed that at length."
"Vytas (Danelius) has battled some ankle problems. Again a very bright young man and a very willing listener. Physically, pretty gifted so my sense is for us to be good all three of those kids have to play well for us."
On Darius Songaila
"The reality is there will be times when he will have to guard centers. Our ability or inability to guard these guys is a real concern. If Darius is asked to do that, I am quite certain he will give everything he has."
"He has to stay away from unintelligent fouls. He has to stay away from that fourth unintelligent foul. There is a misconception that you only get five fouls but you don't, you only get four because the fifth one they fire you. It is imperative that he keeps it to three."
On Midnight Madness
"I hope it is a lot of fun for everyone. The students really wanted to do it. The players are excited about it. My experience with Midnight Madness has always been positive."
Demon Deacon Players
Darius SongailaSenior forward
On his off-season
"I stayed here and so did just about everybody else. We all worked pretty hard on the weights and played a lot of pickup games so I wouldn't exactly call it an off-summer. It was the first time I had stayed here through the summer but I did go home for one or two weeks to relax."
On the new coaching staff
"All the coaches are great. We haven't had any team practices yet but so far they've been great. They're all easy to talk to and are open to us."
On being a senior
"It's hard to believe. It seems like I just got here. I've had three great years and I'm just looking forward to making this one the best ever."
On this year's team
"I'm really excited about the changes. We're going to play different. And I'm excited to play with these guys. I look around the room and there's a lot of talent. We're a deep team. We know it's all up to us."
On the freshman class including Lithuania native Vytas Danelius
"I don't have any immediate family here but I have some (Vytas). I am keeping an eye on him. We have three very good players. I've played with them in pickup games and they're very good."
On whether he feels comfortable playing center
"I have to. I'm the biggest guy and basketball is not an individual sport. It is a team sport and I will do what I have to do for the team. With the type of offense we are going to run, it probably will not make much difference. On defense, it won't be all that different because I have had to guard the same players."
Josh HowardJunior Forward
On the upcoming season
"We are looking forward to getting started. Coach is a confident person who is going to be exciting to play for. I am hoping that we are going to show him tomorrow morning - from tomorrow morning until the end of the year - that we can take his Xavier system to the next level."
On last year
"Last year was disappointing. I think that the biggest problem was that there was a communication breakdown. Things came apart between the players and Coach Odom."
On starting with a clean slate this season with Coach Prosser
"I think it will be good to start over with Coach (Prosser). He's never seen us play, live, so we've got everything ahead of us."
On stacking up with ACC opponents
"We have the ability to play with the best in the league."
On the belief of the team's weakness being a lack of leadership
"We've got some seniors who can be the leaders of this team. I don't know if I'm determined to be a vocal leader, but if the ball falls in my hands in crunch time then I'll take it."
