MBB: Mike White Previews the Opener
On what he found out about the team in the exhibition…
“We defended the three pretty well. A few too many attempts, but some heavy contests, and for the most part, attention to detail was pretty good. Our valuing of the basketball, our assist-to-turnover ratio was on point, especially for this early. I thought we just did a pretty good job of mixing in some transition, some pitch aheads, yet some poise as to, ‘We don’t have numbers. Let’s kick it back out and let’s execute something.’ I thought we had a pretty good feel there. It’s really early, so we hope we don’t really have one or two steps backwards and then a couple forward. Hopefully we can maintain that momentum there. Defensive rebounding was a concern. Then, when you watch it on film, that remain a concern. We’ve got to get better, they’re more physical. Our guards got to help our bigs. We got to do a better job collectively. Then, we’ve got to be better on the offensive glass. We’re just we’re a more talented rebounding team than we displayed. We can do that, and we’ll drill it. A lot of what you do this time of year, as we talked about, is trial and error. What is the glaring weakness this week? Let’s try to plug that hole. At the same time, make sure we don’t leave alone some of the things that we’ve gotten better at in the meantime.”
On the personnel he was looking for when building the roster…
“We wanted to bring in some winning experience and we did that. We wanted to bring in guys that fit what we were trying to do defensively and on the glass as much as anything, just to try to maintain a level of competitiveness in those areas, which are a little bit easier to control. In a rebuild, in my opinion, coming off a tough year of course, I thought those were the areas that may give us a chance to be competitive night in and night out. With the guys we got in the portal, they’ve each had some experience of course. Not at this level, and not having a significant role of course, but some guys that is winning is important to, and they show that with work ethic, character, consistency in practice. We’ve had a bunch of good practices, but we’ve got to find a way to manufacture some points at the same time.”
On Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe’s performance in the exhibition compared to practice…
“He’s that guy every day, maybe not so much in terms of numbers, those things play out like that often, sometimes they don’t. But in terms of the intensity level, looks exhausted between whistles, he’s that type of guy. He just plays really, really hard, and he’s the guy that’s going to have to ask for a break every once in a while, which we like to see. He just leaves it out there. The biggest possession of the game, for us, was an extra possession, which I believe led to an open three, where he he dove on the floor, got a huge loose ball and then pursued another [offensive rebound]. He’s just a multiple effort guy who’s still got development offensively and defensively, and he’s expanding expand his game offensively. His ability at 6-foot-7, 6-foot-7 and a half with good length to drive it and pass it, to post, he’s versatile. In time as he becomes a better outside shooter and just polishes his game with finishing overall. He’s going to be a good player.”
On Jaxon Hayes referring to the program as a family and where that comes from…
“Jaxon come from a great family himself, so resonates with him, and I’m glad that’s important to him. We talked about a lot, and our guys have embraced, ‘One, two, three, family,’ in practices and families are going to have drama at times. Families are going to have ups and downs, wins and losses, fights and long talks and so on and so forth. That’s part of family, but we’ve got to be open with with one another. We’ve got to help each other grow. We’ve got to be loyal to one another and not care who gets the credit and who gets the shot. We talk about that a lot. We talk about a bunch of other things, but it’s funny that family resonates with him, that’s what type of guy he is. It’s been a pleasure coaching him. Heck, we’re still zero-and-zero, but he’s awesome to be around. He’s a great leader.”
On Terry Roberts’ status update…
“I’m not sure. He’s just dealing with [it] and just taking personal time.”
On when and what he has gotten to see of Western Carolina so far…
“Today for the first time. What stood out is that they played very hard. Very perimeter oriented. They’ve got some guys that can throw two on the interior, but they put a premium on stretching you and shooting the three ball, pressuring defensively, they got some speed and some quickness. They’ve got they’ve got new guys as well. We’ll both teams will be learning on the fly about one another throughout the 40 minutes, but I know they’ll be prepared, it’s a big opportunity for them. It’s a big opportunity for us, it’s a division-one opponent, it’s the first real one and we’re excited about getting going. Today [practice] will still be primarily more about us, off tomorrow and then a two-day prep for those guys.”
On how he is feeling about getting the season started…
“I’m fired up. I felt it the other day in the exhibition just wearing different colors, sitting in a different place and coaching new guys, all new guys, not [just] a few. I’m sure for all of us, a little bit emotional, a little different, a little bit more exciting. Probably more distraction than we’ll have moving forward. Hopefully at least, especially in game one. You hope that we’ve got a lot of that behind us. I’m sure there will still be some more, but we’ll see.”
On Jusuan Holt…
“Oh my goodness, plays really hard, ultra-competitive. We’ve got three or four guys like that, that I would put at the highest level in terms of just how consistently they compete. How mad they get when they lose a competition in practice. Their willingness and readiness to tip it up and just get after it every day. He’s one of those guys. Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe is one of those guys, Terry Roberts is one of those guys. Those are things that we noticed in the transfer portal, as we’re evaluating guys. Just like our whole roster, just like our whole staff, he’s got to grow too, and he’s got room for growth offensively and defensively, but from an effort, energy, competitive standpoint, versatility as well, and he brings us a lot he’s got a chance to impact this program.”
Malaki Starks Named a Semifinalist for the Freshman of the Year Award
Safety Malaki Starks has been included as one of 14 semifinalists for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award, according to an announcement Thursday.
Starks, a first-year defender from Jefferson, Ga., is one of seven players from the Southeastern Conference represented. Bulldog sophomore tight end Brock Bowers won the fourth-annual award last year.
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