	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

January 31, 2011

Paul Hewitt

THE MODERATOR: We have with us now Georgia Tech head basketball coach Paul Hewitt.
Coach, if you could, a few comments about your team and then we'll open it for questions.
COACH HEWITT: My team continues to play some really outstanding basketball, our team certainly last night, we didn't get the result we wanted but I thought our guys competed pretty hard, and as you mentioned, we are just looking forward to playing in Miami Thursday.

Q. Were any of the other players dealing with the same issue Brian was dealing with, the flu, and some of the road issues that you all have had, are you trying a different routine or anything to see if you can spark the players into, I don't know, a different result?
COACH HEWITT: Brian was a little out of it yesterday morning, but I think by game time, he was fine. He actually did not complete the shoot around yesterday. I think he just wasn't feeling up to it, but I think by game time he was fine.
Glen, as you know, missed two days last week but he was fine. He practiced Saturday and I thought he was fine. He didn't show any ill effects. Other than that, no, no one else.
Yeah, we have tried some different things, getting to the arena the day before the game, to do some shooting. Obviously when you're traveling during the week, the academic schedule kind of puts you in a pretty much same schedule the whole time.
You've got to leave after classes, whether you practice in the morning, before you leave or practice after like we are doing tomorrow or we'll practice after classes and then you do your shoot-arounds. On the weekends we try some different things, but obviously we just have to go out and play better.

Q. Just wondering where you think the big improvement is with Glen Rice. And how much does he think that he's similar to the way his dad used to play?
COACH HEWITT: You know, it's like anybody else. He's just getting more mature and getting games under his belt. I think he's always been a very talented player. He helped us last year tremendously down the end of the season to get to the Tournament.
This year, he was inconsistent at the start but he's become a more consistent player just through, again, maturity and experience. Comparing him to his dad, I would say he's probably better off the dribble and more of a creator. He's an excellent passer. Against zone or man, but particularly against zone, you put him in the middle of the zone, and he can really make things happen for your ballclub.
I think he's capable of being a great shooter. His dad is obviously one of the best shooters ever to play college basketball, one of the best shooters I've ever seen in my life. But I don't know what the numbers were.
When I talked to his dad, he said his freshman year, he played maybe 12 minutes a game and then sophomore year gradually started getting more playing time. I would be curious to compare the numbers, I don't know off the top of my head what the numbers were like as freshmen and sophomore. Keep in mind, Big Glen stayed in school for four years, which, for a player of his calibre, it's unheard of today. But again, keep in mind Big Glen played four years.

Q. I've been watching your big men trying to lead the development of the young guys, and fill us in on Nate's status.
COACH HEWITT: Nate had an appendectomy last Wednesday and they think he'll be out at least two weeks, maybe three.
And in regards to their development I think a guy like Daniel Miller is starting to gain some confidence and starting to realize that he can compete with pretty much all of the guys, he's going to go up against last night and I thought he got off to a slow start. I think with respect to Jordan Williams, obviously Jordan is having a great year, and I think after the game, Daniel was generally disappointed in how he started the game, his approach to the game.
You know, which you hope is -- you think you consider the fact that he's a freshman and he's going to learn from this and get better. I walked out of the building with him last night after everybody was gone, and I could tell he was really down on himself because he just didn't think he came into the game with the level of confidence and aggressiveness he should have had, but again I think he'll learn from it.

Q. Kammeon Holsey had a stretch a few weeks ago where he really seemed to be coming along and maybe looks like he stepped back again. Is that just a normal freshman --
COACH HEWITT: I think so. Kam is one of those guys that he tries very, very hard and definitely wants to do, he really wants to please. You have some guys, over the years, you coach guys who just worry about themselves and you get guys that are just so worried about the team. Sometimes they try too hard to make things happen, and I think that's what you have in Kammeon.
As you mentioned, he did get in a pretty good groove there for a couple of weeks, and he becomes a priority. People start playing him a little different and taking away some of his cut moves and he's still trying to go to them. Consequently, looks like he's just running into people. And he's got to adjust.
I love having all of those young big guys. They are going to be really good, Nate Hicks, Daniel Miller, Kammeon Holsey and then you add Julian to that group next year, I think our front court over the next two to three years the strength of this team.

Q. Right now Shumpert leads your team in so many categories, in your 11 years, have you had another player similar to him in terms of the multiple types of skill sets that he brings?
COACH HEWITT: No, he's really becoming one of the best players I've of coached. Again, he's just growing up. He's making fewer mistakes. He's just being much more efficient. He's taking advantage of his physical ability, and instead of playing finesse and when he's got those smaller guards in the post, you know, he's really going right at them.
In the past we have tried to post him up and at other times and he would settle for fadeaway shots and things like that. Now, he's making plays and he's really making aggressive plays using his size and athletic advantage.
THE MODERATOR: Thanks for taking time being with us today. We'll hear from you the same time again next week.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297