Wake Forest Athletics
Quotes From Basketball Media Day
10/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 13, 2006
Head Coach Skip Prosser
On the season...
"We really have to rev it up. Basketball is often a game of made lay ups and cheap points. Last year we didn't get enough lay ups and points in transition. We were mediocre from the foul line. This year, we are going to play faster and get points in transition and keep the other team from getting points like that. We are going to have to be crisper. We have a blank slate and we have to teach these guys good habits."
On the team...
"Every year we try and put the pieces together and without question I am looking forward to tonight. With so many young kids, you have to slow down a bit and be a little more patient. One thing that is gratifying is that they really want to learn and they really want to get better. They listen well. The hard thing is to get them to anticipate when things happen, rather than just reacting to them. That is the bridge between the veteran players and the less experienced players."
On the youth...
"We have a blank slate and how these guys perform is on us as coaches. We want them to learn and to perform the way we want them to. That challenge for us as coaches is exciting."
"Ideally you hope you are in teacher mode all the time, because everything is so new to so many of these players. You have to slow down a bit and mentor them in so many different ways. Academically, socially and on the court. It is a tough adjustment going to college for anyone, not just athletes. You have to mentor them on and off the floor."
On practice and starting early...
"I think as a coach, you always want more practice. Nobody ever feels that they have enough time. I am sure that come the first game, I am going to want another week or so. We used to not play until after thanksgiving and that has changed over the years.
On the trip to the Bahamas
"The trip to the
On Kyle Visser
"For Kyle the only person who usually stops him is himself. He is big enough and is athletic enough. He has a good enough touch. Sometimes his confidence wanes and it is that old adage of when he plays he will have confidence and when he has confidence he will play better.
"Kyle is a guy who has worked very hard. He needs to be a more consistent performer because he gives us physicality and he has the most game experience on the team."
"Kyle has to be a defensive presence as a shot blocker. He has to be like the catcher in baseball on defense and sort of directing things. He has to give us a post presence and we have to have his inside game and good balance."
On Mike Drum...
"Mike has to be at least a good defender. He has to make the outside shots and give us a steady performance."
On Cameron Stanley...
"
On Shamaine Dukes...
"Shamaine started five games for us and was given an opportunity to sink his teeth into the starting point guard job. He wasn't able to hold onto it and now his biggest challenge is to get his neck up both offensively and defensively."
On Harvey Hale...
"
On Kevin Swinton...
"Kevin needs to be consistent. When he came off the bench he was a ferocious rebounder, but when he started, he didn't have the consistency."
On David Weaver...
"Dave is physically mature. The redshirt was great for him. He is much stronger, and much wider. I have been impressed. He was active and wide bodied. He can be a help for us."
On Ishmael Smith...
"Ish will push the ball for us. He doesn't understand changing speed and direction yet, but that is our job to teach him. I think he will be able to put the ball where we need it."
On Anthony Gurley...
"Anthony has always been a good scorer and he needs to learn how to get open. He needs to learn how to play defense."
On LD Williams...
"LD is a truly gifted athlete and he has the mentality to be a good player. He has a good mindset."
On Jamie Skeen...
"Jamie has a good blend of athleticism and skills."
On Chas McFarland...
"Chas is long and gets his hands on a lot of balls. He rebounds well and his skill set is better than most people. He is not afraid to stick his nose in there."
On Casey Crawford...
Casey can't be a one-trick pony. He needs to learn how to do things other than shoot the three."
PLAYER QUOTES...
Senior Kyle Visser
On the freshmen class...
"Each of the freshman bring a different piece to the puzzle. Some are defenders and some are scorers. We have a lot of athleticism coming in. We need all the freshman to come in from day one and contribute. They need to come in and play big time minutes in a big time conference."
On what he needs to do this season...
"I think the biggest thing for me is consistency. I need to come out of the gates playing well and I need to keep playing well during the ACC season. It is a long season and at times I have struggled through that. As the elder senior on the team, I think that my leadership will come from me playing well and being consistent."
Freshman guard Ishmael Smith...
On the jump from high school to college...
"I think the biggest jump is going to be knowing the time to score. Knowing who is hot and who is not. Knowing when to push it and when not to. In high school you just score when you want to, and now you can't."
On the trip to the
"The
On the freshmen class...
"I think that we are a new era. They have tapes from when Chris Paul and those guys were freshman and sophomores and they got all the way to the Sweet 16. I think that with us, having two seniors and the rest freshmen and sophomores, we can do that too. We have taken what happened last year and we aren't going to let that happen again."
On himself as a player...
"I am going to be an exciting player to watch. I am not the biggest guy in the world, but I have a lot of fight and a lot of will. I am going to pull this team through and I am going to play smarter basketball than I did in high school."
Freshman guard Anthony Gurley
On what he will bring to the team...
"I expect to bring a lot of intensity and aggressiveness to the team. I am going to work hard and bring whatever I can. Whatever the coaches need me to do, I will do it."
On the transition from high school to college...
"It is definitely going to be a big change. The pace of the game and the intensity of it will be very different. I am trying to fine tune a couple of things in practice like getting open and coming off screens. Those are the main things right now I am focusing on right now. These things will be a major factor in how I will handle things this year."
On the freshmen class...
"I think we have a very talented class from top to bottom. We also have very talented group of players that were already here and that combination is going to make us pretty hard to stop this year and in the future."
