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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

January 3, 2011

Steve Donahue

STEVE DONAHUE: I just am pleased with just in general how we're going about our business since I arrived. I couldn't be happier with the group of guys. I think they really enjoy playing with each other, and I think we get better each and every day of practice, and as a coach that's basically all we can ask for.

Q. Can you talk about Biko Paris? What is it about this season, why has he thrived so much more this season under you than he did last season?
STEVE DONAHUE: Well, it's hard for me to -- people have asked this question quite a bit about my players, and it's hard for me to honestly answer about last year. All I can do is tell you what I think he's done since I arrived.
Last spring I thought he did a great job from the moment we came here, asking what he needed to do and then not just asking but then going through with it. He really worked on his game.
I said the number one thing I said to him first is I think you've got to get in better shape, and he went out and probably dropped 20 to 25 pounds, and I think that physical piece of conditioning I think has helped him greatly.
The other thing is I said we're going to shoot a lot of threes, and I expect my one and two guards to be able to knock that out consistently. And what he did is he went out and shot 100, 200 shots every single day and texted me and let me know how many he's making and what he's doing.
He's been such a terrific person for us as I came here and helped us build this team. And then with his great work ethic leading by example, I think he fits what we do. At this point in his career he's an intelligent basketball player, he's an older veteran guy, and now I think he's just getting comfortable with where the shots are going to come from in the offense, and I think that's what you're seeing on the court at this point.

Q. How much did you look at tape of last year and kind of go into the season with that in your mind, and how much was it saying I want to forget about last year and start with a blank slate for these guys?
STEVE DONAHUE: I gave it a lot of thought early on, should I start going through these tapes, and I think I put one in for like five minutes, and I said, this isn't a good idea because I think it gives me a wrong impression of guys. I told the guys that I did watch a lot of tape; in reality I hadn't. I still haven't. I remember I put in the South Carolina game from last year just to see it, and I just felt it wasn't fair to the guys. I felt it would be a lot easier for all of us if I just came in with a clean slate and judged them by what they did each and every day, and that's maybe why I don't know what Biko did last year, I really don't.

Q. And then lastly, how is his ankle holding up?
STEVE DONAHUE: Yeah, I think he bounced back really well, and obviously we could have used him in the Rhode Island game, but we were really concerned after the game how long he's going to be out, and he bounced back really great. I thought our trainers did -- Beth did a terrific job with him, and he was like he is; he's a very mature kid, he got in and got his treatments done and really worked hard and hadn't practiced until just a walk-through and then obviously did a great job in the game.

Q. What can you tell me about Danny Rubin? Was he what some people call a recruited walk-on? What is the situation and did you expect him to be able to contribute like this?
STEVE DONAHUE: Well, the latter part would be a quick answer; no, I did not -- I would never expect him to be able to compete at this point. But part of that is me not knowing what I was getting myself into, so I have to be honest with you there. I thought Danny was a good basketball player in high school. At Cornell we looked at him long and hard, and we did a really great evaluation and really thought he knew how to play and shot the ball well and had some toughness to him. But at that point we were further down the road with other kids, so we just kind of said, you know what, if you go to prep school we'll look at you again.
And when we got the job, his father gave us a call and just said, I'm from Boston, I've always loved Boston College, and we said, well, if you want to send your son here, we'd love to have him. He's a great student, and as I said, all those other things fit what we did.
The thing that probably surprised me the most that you never notice until you get a kid is how tough is he, how poised is he, and Danny has been spectacular in those senses. He's just been hard to rattle, made big shots with guys flying at him and staying there and finishing, defensive rebounding, all those things have surpassed what we could ever imagine.
And I do think, like most people I made the mistake of not playing him early on, in particular in the Yale game. I watched him in practice, he did a good job, but maybe I was thinking how can this kid help us in this league, and I'm convinced that he can now obviously. And he's pretty consistent with his daily effort, pretty consistent in the game. He's made us a much better team because teams got to worry about him, and he's got the poise and the confidence if you leave him open to take it and make it at hard times.

Q. I know in the preseason you were very excited about the chance to coach Reggie. Obviously the two months since he's done nothing but produce for you. I wonder what's excited you most about coaching him so far?
STEVE DONAHUE: I think the thing that surprised me the most about Reggie is just his basketball IQ. I think he's been -- a lot of things he's done very, very well, and I think everyone knows, the ability to get to the rim, the spectacular play, the consistency that he's shot the ball. But the other things that are really good, he's done a ton of -- willing to make the pass that leads to the assist, and a lot of kids at this level you're told aren't used to doing that. They've either got to make the shot or be the guy that makes the assist. And I think Reggie's willingness to buy into what we're doing has been a huge part of our success.
Even the South Carolina game, the last game, he hadn't scored really for most of the game and we were up 25, and he was willing to do that. His IQ is off the charts. He's got a great feel for the game of basketball, and he does so many things well, and to have a guy that's scoring almost 20 a game and still 3 to 1 assist to turnover is a great guy to have in your lineup for sure.

End of FastScripts

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