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DIRECTV CLASSIC MEDIA CONFERENCENovember 13, 2012Mark PhelpsQ. How has the preseason gone and especially some of the games, looks like you've played twice so far. MARK PHELPS: Well, thank you, and certainly it's an honor to be out there in Anaheim coming up in just a short period of time. To your question, the preseason has gone relatively well. We have a really new team, I have eight new players on our team since last year and it's kind of unique in that the five returning players that I have, have also been starters for our program. I feel like we have a program and a team with quite a bit of experience, but then also quite a bit of newness, if you will. And really some exciting new talent, as well. We have had an exhibition game against a Division II opponent, Southwest Baptist and then we opened up our season on Saturday against a non‑DivisionI team, a Division II team, William Jewell out of Missouri. We are playing pretty well on the offensive end. I like our team. I have said from the time that we signed the young men that we have, as well as the one transfer from the University of Utah, Chris Hines, he's one of the seniors who has graduated and has immediate eligibility. The eight newcomers, since they have been a part of our program, I have said that I felt like we would be better on offense. We have better shooters, more skilled players, and more depth. That's kind of what we are seeing in the early part of the season. We are able to knock down shots. We are better on offense than we were last year. The emphasis right now, certainly, I'm sure like it is with every coach in America, is to continue to develop more toughness on the defensive end, and also to rebound at a high level. So no complaints so far in the early part of the season. With all due respect to previous opponents, we are stepping it up; this Friday we are playing an NCAA Tournament team in Detroit and that will be our only game before we head out to Anaheim and open up with Cal. Q. Who are some players that have been standing out so far in the preseason and your first two games? MARK PHELPS: Well, we have to start our older guys. Ben Simons is a 6‑8 guard out of Cadillac, Michigan, and Ben is in his senior year. He was second team all league last year, scored 16.4 points a game, a terrific, terrific three‑point shooter. And this year he was selected as a preseason first team all league guy. And our league has got some terrific players. I know you guys are well aware of Creighton and Wichita State, two NCAA Tournament teams from last year. So it's a great honor for Ben to be mentioned among the best players in our league. He's a guy that we rely on a lot. As well, another senior is Jordan Clarke. Jordan is really versatile, 6‑8, 255‑pound court player and had to play a lot at center last year, because our mainstay in the post, 6‑11 Seth VanDeest, was out last year recovering from shoulder surgery. He's back now so Jordan can play the four. Really versatile, terrific rebounder, can guard all over the floor and really puts it on the floor and creates for teammates pretty well. Our last senior, Chris Hines, led University of Utah last year in scoring right about 10‑points a game and made 66 3s there in the Pac‑12. And Chris is a 6‑0, 190‑pound guard and plays the off‑guard for us. We are excited about Chris. He brings a lot of experience, a fifth‑year senior, a lot of toughness. So those three seniors will anchor our team, along with Seth VanDeest I mentioned. He's back and he's a fourth‑year junior, 6‑11. He's a guy we really missed last year, because you can really trust him when you throw the ball into the post. He makes great decisions. If you guard him one‑on‑one, he has the ability to score and/or get fouled and if you come with a double‑team, he's a terrific passer, has a positive assist to turnover ratio. One newcomer that's been starting for us, Richard Carter out of Detroit, junior college transfer from Cloud County. He brings speed and scoring at the point guard position for us, and those, really, I mentioned our starters, and like I said earlier, we have a lot of depth and a like a lot of our new guys, as well. Q. Is one of your strengths the depth of your team, or is there other strengths? MARK PHELPS: I think we are skilled. I think we are pretty good on offense and certainly right now, it looks like we have decent depth. At the same time, a lot of that depth is from young guys. We have five freshmen on our roster, three have been playing pretty significant minutes and a fourth has been playing quite a bit, as well; all five have played. So while I do have depth and I think it is a strength of our team, it's also young depth and we all know how the highs and the lows are typically with freshmen. So we are excited about it; at the same time, we know that there's going to be a transition period, as well. Q. Your first round opponent, California; how do you size up the Bears? MARK PHELPS: Well, obviously they are a tradition‑rich program and Coach Montgomery is one of the great coaches in our game. I spent two years at Arizona State, so we had a chance to coach against his teams. You know, they are going to be talented. I know they have got a terrific player, I have not watched a lot from them so far. But I know Crabbe is a terrific player, and they are going to be well coached and they come from a great league. It's going to be a heck of a challenge for our basketball team. It's also a great opportunity to play a Big Six conference school right off the bat. The tournament is a terrific tournament, great opponents. It's a chance for our team to measure ourselves on a neutral court against some of the best teams in the country and that's exciting for us. We play a really tough conference schedule here in the Missouri Valley and this is certainly a big part of our preparation for that. We know we are going to play a well coached team and a team that's going to be really well prepared and we are excited about that. Q. The tournament format, playing on Thanksgiving Day, off Saturday, play Sunday and then traveling again; do you like the format? MARK PHELPS: You know, I like this format a lot better than three games in a row. I think that having that day off after your second game gives you a chance to regroup a little bit better than you would if you had to play on that third day. It's also a chance for us to see some of the beautiful sites of southern California. We have a few guys on our team from California, got a young man from northern California, Kori Babineaux, Gary Ricks, Jr., is right there from southern California, and also Daddy Ugbede is a freshman on our team. So we have three guys from California, so I'm sure it will be great for them to go back home. I do like the two games, take a break, and play on Sunday. Sunday is going to be huge obviously. At the end of the event, you'll want to end on a very good note and hopefully go home with a win. While you take a little break on Saturday, you get right back to some serious business on Sunday. But love the opportunity, love the format and we are just really looking forward to it. Q. What have you seen of Allen Crabbe; wonder if you have any sense of what kind of a player he is. MARK PHELPS: Yeah, I would be over‑stating it if I said I've seen him a lot. I remember his recruiting. Like I said, I spent some time at Arizona State prior to coming to Drake. But I know he's a terrific scorer, and he's a young man who ‑‑ one of my assistants here was at the University of Utah and I think they recruited him, so he knows him a little bit better. From everything I've seen, some short clips and from what I know, he's a big‑time player. I know he's going to be one of the better players in the Pac‑12, and I think it's time for him to maybe step up into that elite status within the Pac‑12. So I'm sure that's on his mind and as an older guy now, he's ready to make his move. So we are excited about the opportunity, not too excited to have to guard him the whole game, but that's the way it goes. Q. You described Richard Carter as a scoring point guard; what does that do to open the offense up? MARK PHELPS: I think at the point guard position, you certainly want a guy that's going to run your team; that's going to quarterback your team. If he can then add scoring to that, I think that's icing on the cake. The same way, if you have a two or a three, which primarily, we want those guys to be able to score and to make shots. If those guys are play makers, I think it really enhances your offense. So if your wing can make plays for others, if your point guard can score and knock down 3s, I think it just really enhances your offense. We saw Richard; he had ten assists and zero turnovers in his exhibition game and came back and went 4‑for‑4 from three in our game on Saturday. He's shown the ability to run our team and create shots for others and also to make shots for himself. Really happy with Rich and he gives us an extra gear on offense. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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