CockyChrisCox
12-14-2007, 04:34 PM
Okay guys, appreciated the questions you wanted me to ask. I tried to steer clear of negative questions, so with that said, here iti s. Many of the questions some of you wanted asked were already on tap to be asked. So here ya go.
On the team’s 6-5 start and what changed the season:
“In my opinion, I think the thing that changed around was in a lot of ways was a kind of talk that Hagan Rouse, who was a guard on that team from Greenville. We kind of had a team meeting to try and figure out (what was going on) and was a “say what you thought was appropriate meeting.” And I think Hagan hit it on the head and what he said in that locker room was appropriate and truthful and something that he wanted to say, and I think in a lot of ways his leadership was a very important thing.”
On his most memorable game:
“Whoa.” (Laughs) “Well, that was an extraordinary season. 15-1 in the league, beating Cincinnati at Cincinnati, beating Kentucky twice, one of which was obviously at Kentucky. It would be hard to pick one game. If I had to pick one I would say beating Kentucky for an outright SEC Championship in Lexington on Senior Day, where I think they had won 33 or 35 in a row (at home) on that particular day.”
On the team going into Lexington:
“Well, by the time that game came around we had had quite a run. Our only loss was in Georgia in Athens. We basically should have won that game. We were the better team, but we just couldn’t get it done. By the time we had got to Lexington we were an extremely confident team, and a very good team. In December, we were not a very good team. But by the time that came around we were a very good team. Certainly, we did not win an NCAA Tournament game, and that was very disappointing, but that team had some deficiencies. We weren’t a very good rebounding team; we were small. Ryan Stack was our center, and Ryan was not a physical player. We didn’t have an inside game on that team. We were a hell of a team by the time we got to Lexington and yet we were still a team that had deficiencies.”
On the win over Florida in Gainesville:
“Well, that was quite a comeback. Of course, the 3-point shot was huge there. We got on a heck of a roll and we were able to press very effectively in the last few minutes of that game, and Florida wasn’t a particularly strong team back then.”
On the three guards on that team:
“Well, they were pretty much a lot of that team. They were very good defenders, incredibly competitive kids, and really tough-nosed, physical kids. Melvin was thick, BJ was very strong, and Larry was very strong. They were thick, strong, competitive kids, who were different in terms of how they went about their game. By the end of the year, they had figured out how to play with each other. That was really important. They were very different in how they played.”
On whether they were the best trio of guards in the nation that year:
“Certainly, they were one of the best.”
Do you still keep in touch with some of the players from that team?
“Absolutely. I saw Melvin last week when South Pointe played over at Ridge View. Melvin is an assistant coach over at South Pointe. I got an e-mail from BJ recently, and talked to Larry on the phone a couple of weeks ago.”
On the NCAA Tournament losses:
“Again, we were a better team. On one day anybody can beat anybody. That’s just the nature of college basketball. Not to make excuses, we were the better team and didn’t get it done. Neither team had a great inside presence. I think, ultimately in basketball, similarly in football, if you can just throw it and you can’t run it, eventually you can get had, and vice versa. I think that’s the case in basketball as well. The team lacked a true inside game, against smaller teams we were still unable to take advantage of inside play. We didn’t have very good inside scoring. And I think ultimately that led us to lose those two basketball games.”
Do you still root for USC?
“Absolutely. My wife and I have chosen to still live in Columbia and raise our kids, and we enjoy very much living here in the state and the city of Columbia. My daughter is a sophomore at the University, so we certainly continue to follow the programs and the university. We have a number of friends that work at the university, so we certainly follow what’s going on with the Gamecocks.”
What do you think is the future of Carolina basketball?
“I think Dave (Odom) has done a nice job coaching. I think there is more to being judged as to success with any coach in any program than just the wins and losses. Nobody should disregard two back-to-back NIT Championships, which is quite an accomplishment. I think being more competitive within the league is something Dave would like to do. When I was coaching, my boss (former athletics director Mike McGee) made the statement that going to the NCAA Tournament was something he expected every year, and that’s certainly unrealistic. That was unrealistic for me and the team’s that I coached, and that’s certainly unrealistic for Dave or any coach in the future. That’s not a realistic goal.”
What does winning the SEC say about the potential of USC basketball?
“It was done in a year that Kentucky had five or six pros on their team. It’s hard to say. It can be done again, it will be done again. Yet, it’s a very, very difficult thing to do. Coach Spurrier is trying to do it. As great a coach as he is, he has not gotten there yet. But ultimately, the football program will win an SEC Championship and the basketball team will win another one, but it’s a very hard thing to do.”
Do you talk to Billy Donovan at all?
“Coach Donovan and I have put our differences behind ourselves years ago. I’m serious. I’m very serious with this. Billy Donovan has Eddie Fogler’s cell phone and I have his cell phone number, and we’ve talked on a number of occasions. I’ve done Florida games (for television broadcasts), I’ve been to Gainesville, and he and I have a very good mutual respect, friendship, and understanding and that was something that was my fault more than his fault and we have patched that up many years ago.”
On the team’s 6-5 start and what changed the season:
“In my opinion, I think the thing that changed around was in a lot of ways was a kind of talk that Hagan Rouse, who was a guard on that team from Greenville. We kind of had a team meeting to try and figure out (what was going on) and was a “say what you thought was appropriate meeting.” And I think Hagan hit it on the head and what he said in that locker room was appropriate and truthful and something that he wanted to say, and I think in a lot of ways his leadership was a very important thing.”
On his most memorable game:
“Whoa.” (Laughs) “Well, that was an extraordinary season. 15-1 in the league, beating Cincinnati at Cincinnati, beating Kentucky twice, one of which was obviously at Kentucky. It would be hard to pick one game. If I had to pick one I would say beating Kentucky for an outright SEC Championship in Lexington on Senior Day, where I think they had won 33 or 35 in a row (at home) on that particular day.”
On the team going into Lexington:
“Well, by the time that game came around we had had quite a run. Our only loss was in Georgia in Athens. We basically should have won that game. We were the better team, but we just couldn’t get it done. By the time we had got to Lexington we were an extremely confident team, and a very good team. In December, we were not a very good team. But by the time that came around we were a very good team. Certainly, we did not win an NCAA Tournament game, and that was very disappointing, but that team had some deficiencies. We weren’t a very good rebounding team; we were small. Ryan Stack was our center, and Ryan was not a physical player. We didn’t have an inside game on that team. We were a hell of a team by the time we got to Lexington and yet we were still a team that had deficiencies.”
On the win over Florida in Gainesville:
“Well, that was quite a comeback. Of course, the 3-point shot was huge there. We got on a heck of a roll and we were able to press very effectively in the last few minutes of that game, and Florida wasn’t a particularly strong team back then.”
On the three guards on that team:
“Well, they were pretty much a lot of that team. They were very good defenders, incredibly competitive kids, and really tough-nosed, physical kids. Melvin was thick, BJ was very strong, and Larry was very strong. They were thick, strong, competitive kids, who were different in terms of how they went about their game. By the end of the year, they had figured out how to play with each other. That was really important. They were very different in how they played.”
On whether they were the best trio of guards in the nation that year:
“Certainly, they were one of the best.”
Do you still keep in touch with some of the players from that team?
“Absolutely. I saw Melvin last week when South Pointe played over at Ridge View. Melvin is an assistant coach over at South Pointe. I got an e-mail from BJ recently, and talked to Larry on the phone a couple of weeks ago.”
On the NCAA Tournament losses:
“Again, we were a better team. On one day anybody can beat anybody. That’s just the nature of college basketball. Not to make excuses, we were the better team and didn’t get it done. Neither team had a great inside presence. I think, ultimately in basketball, similarly in football, if you can just throw it and you can’t run it, eventually you can get had, and vice versa. I think that’s the case in basketball as well. The team lacked a true inside game, against smaller teams we were still unable to take advantage of inside play. We didn’t have very good inside scoring. And I think ultimately that led us to lose those two basketball games.”
Do you still root for USC?
“Absolutely. My wife and I have chosen to still live in Columbia and raise our kids, and we enjoy very much living here in the state and the city of Columbia. My daughter is a sophomore at the University, so we certainly continue to follow the programs and the university. We have a number of friends that work at the university, so we certainly follow what’s going on with the Gamecocks.”
What do you think is the future of Carolina basketball?
“I think Dave (Odom) has done a nice job coaching. I think there is more to being judged as to success with any coach in any program than just the wins and losses. Nobody should disregard two back-to-back NIT Championships, which is quite an accomplishment. I think being more competitive within the league is something Dave would like to do. When I was coaching, my boss (former athletics director Mike McGee) made the statement that going to the NCAA Tournament was something he expected every year, and that’s certainly unrealistic. That was unrealistic for me and the team’s that I coached, and that’s certainly unrealistic for Dave or any coach in the future. That’s not a realistic goal.”
What does winning the SEC say about the potential of USC basketball?
“It was done in a year that Kentucky had five or six pros on their team. It’s hard to say. It can be done again, it will be done again. Yet, it’s a very, very difficult thing to do. Coach Spurrier is trying to do it. As great a coach as he is, he has not gotten there yet. But ultimately, the football program will win an SEC Championship and the basketball team will win another one, but it’s a very hard thing to do.”
Do you talk to Billy Donovan at all?
“Coach Donovan and I have put our differences behind ourselves years ago. I’m serious. I’m very serious with this. Billy Donovan has Eddie Fogler’s cell phone and I have his cell phone number, and we’ve talked on a number of occasions. I’ve done Florida games (for television broadcasts), I’ve been to Gainesville, and he and I have a very good mutual respect, friendship, and understanding and that was something that was my fault more than his fault and we have patched that up many years ago.”