by Bill Seals
Opening comments:
“I was glad to get back on the floor (Monday) night and get a win. Regardless of the opponent, I thought our kids came out focused, ready to play and we shared the ball a lot more. We moved the basketball. Defensively, we were pretty sound for the most part. There are some areas we’ll address in film. We’ll watch film on Omaha’s game, watch film on Iowa, personnel on Iowa, get on the floor and shoot a little bit and clean up a couple things. Then we’ll have a real good practice (today) before we head to Iowa City.”
On him reaching out more to Donovan Jackson:
“You just get caught up with so much stuff going on, to where the first thing you’ve got to remember is they’re kids and they’ve got to know you care regardless of how they’re playing and what’s going on. First and foremost, I care about you and I want you to do well and be successful. Just making a conscious effort to pour into him more, whether it’s text message, a phone call or calling him into my office. He’s a big key to our team, because we do have good depth on the perimeter.
“He did come into a tough situation. When he signed, he thought A, B and C may not be here and they’re here. He got hurt last year and then got banged up in the fall. He’s been through a lot. Junior college kids want to come in and have a great impact. They only have two years and you don’t want to just be a role guy for two years. You want to play.
“He’s getting better. He’s been good for us defensively. The Miami game he was great and helped us win the game. (Against UNO) he ran offense and made shots. I’ve got a lot of confidence in him. You’ve got to pour into these kids. You get so caught up in watching tape. One of the big reasons my teams have been successful is we’ve had good players, but you care about who you’re playing for and who you’re coaching.”
On how he prepares the team to face an Iowa team that features big-time scorer Peter Jok:
“Jok can make tough plays, too. I’ve watched a ton on Iowa. Just watching Jok and knowing him, he can get his shot really any time he wants it. Whether they run good offense or bad offense, he can make shots. We’ve really got to do a good job of denying him, being there on the catch and contesting all his shots. The one thing Iowa has been able to do, they’re averaging 87 points a game and have played a really good schedule. They’ve played Notre Dame, Seton Hall, Virginia, Memphis and those four schools are really good. They can score. Our defense will need to travel over there.”
On whether he’ll consider putting in a box-and-one:
“If we were putting one in, I don’t know if I’d say it today. We’ve got to make it tough on the catch.”
On the transformation that Deonte Burton has made early on in his senior season:
“He’ll probably tell you that last year he wasn’t easy to catch. He wasn’t really hard to coach, but wasn’t easy to coach. Coming in at semester isn’t easy either for a player, but he handled it really well. It’s relationships. I knew the kid for four months. You’re trying to get to know each other. In the spring, he probably could have graduated and left if he really wanted to. We talked about that a little bit.
“I really just talked to him about my expectations of what I want him to do, not just to help him here but to help him as he goes forward. The way you go about things, the way you prepare, the way you work and the way you handle yourself. He’s done all of that. I know I’ve joked about the shoes and socks – I can let that go if you do the other stuff.
“Being older, being mature and being a senior. One thing people probably don’t realize is Deonte is very smart. He’s going to graduate. He’s got a super high IQ and is really sharp. He’s personable. He’s put a lot of time in and has really matured to the standpoint that he’ll tell you he had to mature and is a senior. Now the biggest thing we’ve got to get him to do is to make that extra pass. I think he’s seeing that now. He’s an offensive talent.”
Opening comments:
“I was glad to get back on the floor (Monday) night and get a win. Regardless of the opponent, I thought our kids came out focused, ready to play and we shared the ball a lot more. We moved the basketball. Defensively, we were pretty sound for the most part. There are some areas we’ll address in film. We’ll watch film on Omaha’s game, watch film on Iowa, personnel on Iowa, get on the floor and shoot a little bit and clean up a couple things. Then we’ll have a real good practice (today) before we head to Iowa City.”
On him reaching out more to Donovan Jackson:
“You just get caught up with so much stuff going on, to where the first thing you’ve got to remember is they’re kids and they’ve got to know you care regardless of how they’re playing and what’s going on. First and foremost, I care about you and I want you to do well and be successful. Just making a conscious effort to pour into him more, whether it’s text message, a phone call or calling him into my office. He’s a big key to our team, because we do have good depth on the perimeter.
“He did come into a tough situation. When he signed, he thought A, B and C may not be here and they’re here. He got hurt last year and then got banged up in the fall. He’s been through a lot. Junior college kids want to come in and have a great impact. They only have two years and you don’t want to just be a role guy for two years. You want to play.
“He’s getting better. He’s been good for us defensively. The Miami game he was great and helped us win the game. (Against UNO) he ran offense and made shots. I’ve got a lot of confidence in him. You’ve got to pour into these kids. You get so caught up in watching tape. One of the big reasons my teams have been successful is we’ve had good players, but you care about who you’re playing for and who you’re coaching.”
On how he prepares the team to face an Iowa team that features big-time scorer Peter Jok:
“Jok can make tough plays, too. I’ve watched a ton on Iowa. Just watching Jok and knowing him, he can get his shot really any time he wants it. Whether they run good offense or bad offense, he can make shots. We’ve really got to do a good job of denying him, being there on the catch and contesting all his shots. The one thing Iowa has been able to do, they’re averaging 87 points a game and have played a really good schedule. They’ve played Notre Dame, Seton Hall, Virginia, Memphis and those four schools are really good. They can score. Our defense will need to travel over there.”
On whether he’ll consider putting in a box-and-one:
“If we were putting one in, I don’t know if I’d say it today. We’ve got to make it tough on the catch.”
On the transformation that Deonte Burton has made early on in his senior season:
“He’ll probably tell you that last year he wasn’t easy to catch. He wasn’t really hard to coach, but wasn’t easy to coach. Coming in at semester isn’t easy either for a player, but he handled it really well. It’s relationships. I knew the kid for four months. You’re trying to get to know each other. In the spring, he probably could have graduated and left if he really wanted to. We talked about that a little bit.
“I really just talked to him about my expectations of what I want him to do, not just to help him here but to help him as he goes forward. The way you go about things, the way you prepare, the way you work and the way you handle yourself. He’s done all of that. I know I’ve joked about the shoes and socks – I can let that go if you do the other stuff.
“Being older, being mature and being a senior. One thing people probably don’t realize is Deonte is very smart. He’s going to graduate. He’s got a super high IQ and is really sharp. He’s personable. He’s put a lot of time in and has really matured to the standpoint that he’ll tell you he had to mature and is a senior. Now the biggest thing we’ve got to get him to do is to make that extra pass. I think he’s seeing that now. He’s an offensive talent.”
