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DIRECTV CLASSIC MEDIA CONFERENCENovember 13, 2012Randy BennettQ. Just want to double‑check on your team and how has preseason gone so far for you, along with your opening game. RANDY BENNETT: Well, so far, we played one game, we played Sonoma State, a Division II team up here in northern California. We did some things well and we have a lot to work on. We have some new players that need to come through for us to be a really good team and it's going to take a while. So we are a work‑in‑progress. Q. Who has stood out for you so far? Obviously you have one of the great guards in the country, but any other players standing out for you so far? RANDY BENNETT: Dellavedova is no question our top player, and he's so experienced that he's ready to roll. He knows a lot of things need to happen for us to be successful. I think Stephen Holt has stood out for us in a couple of our scrimmages and practices. Last year, he was a borderline all‑conference player. Those are two guys that we have to count on and lean on and we know they are going to be there every night. Brad Waldow has made a big improvement. Started last year for us as a freshman. Hopefully we can get him to be a consistently good player that can get us double figures every night and get on the boards and do those things. I think those three guys are guys that we are counting on to be there every night as far as scoring, rebounding, taking shots, taking care of the ball, doing a good job defensively. I think we have other role guys that are learning their roles, and then hopefully some of the other guys can step up a little bit and become more accountable and guys that we can count on every night for eight, ten, points a game. Q. What are your strengths for your team this year? RANDY BENNETT: I hope it's going to be defensively but we are not there yet. We have all the pieces to be a very good defense if I have team and I think we will be. Like I said, we are inconsistent. That was my biggest frustration when we played the other night against Sonoma State. We were not consistent for 40 minutes as far as defending each possession. So we need to get there; if we are going to be a good team, we have to do that for 40 minutes. We have to have good defensive possessions. So we take too many plays off still. We are inconsistent there. So I think that's our strength ‑‑ but right now, it's not our strength. Q. I know you have a game at Utah state and at home against Eastern Washington, before coming to Anaheim; have you had any thoughts about Drexel? RANDY BENNETT: You know, before the season I did. Now, you're just kind of working to your next game and the next game we have is a very, very tough road game at Utah State. So all my focus has been on that. But Drexel, yeah, when you look through your schedule, looking to all the games, that one is one of the games you look to as a very challenging game, a great early test for us; won 29 games last year and they returned four or five starters in a really tough defensive team and just tough on the boards. So that's going to be‑‑ I haven't gone through their personnel and as far as what they are running and all those things. But, when we talked to our team before the season, we addressed this game and said this will be a very good challenge for us early in the season. So we know what's coming but we have some work to do before that. Q. You obviously like the format. You played in Anaheim several years ago and played in Hawai'i in one of these type of tournaments. Do you like the two days of playing, off a day, and then playing the third day before you leave? RANDY BENNETT: I really like the format.  I think three days in a row is tough and doesn't necessarily become the best team‑‑ it becomes the team that has the most left on the third day. So I think it makes a better quality of basketball on that third game and it gives the players a chance to relax and enjoy the tournament for the day and go to Disneyland or just hang out down in southern California. So I'm a big proponent of that day off after the two days, so it's great. We love this tournament. We have played in it four years ago, and it really helped us. We had a very good team that year and we got beat in our first game against U Tech and came back and beat Cal State Fullerton and then Providence. I think that started us on a 15‑game win streak, and it was‑‑ I think it was playing against that competition in that environment that helped stimulate us to make some improvements and recognize that we had to do some things better after we got beat. I think when you're playing non‑conference, that's what you want. You want to find out what you have to do to get better, address your weaknesses then move forward. Q. Obviously you'll play another one of these teams, even though it's a non‑bracketed game in Drake. Looks like you have four games in the tournament; is that kind of weird for you? RANDY BENNETT: You know what, it's a great way to get another game. Getting as many non‑conference games as you can helps your program. Each game is worth something. I'm glad Drake was willing to work with us on it. Yeah, it's a little different because it's a little bit after the tournament, but that will be a great game for us, too, going out to Drake, playing on the road, and like I said, non‑conference, you want to find out what your weaknesses are, so that when conference play begins, you address them and you're close to your best by then. So that Drake game will be great that way, and so we are going to end up getting four very good games out of this tournament. Q. Any thoughts about Pacific? Obviously leaving the Big West and coming to the West Coast next year, will you get an early scouting report? RANDY BENNETT: Well, we play them on December 18 so we could play them twice this year. I'm very familiar with their program. Coach Thomason is a great coach. Known him for a while. I've known him for 15, 20 years and seen his team. They execute offense about as well as any team in the country. That's a coop for our league getting Pacific to come into our league. Gives us a nice round number of 10, makes travel better and Pacific, their school is a private school that fits our league. It gives us a 4th team in the Bay Area and they have had a tradition of a very good basketball program. So for our basketball conference in the WCC, it's a perfect fit, and it does give us ‑‑ it gives us an early scout on them to see what we are going to have for the years to come. Q. My last question, potential you might play Cal down the road, obviously you have two teams from the Bay Area in the tournament and obviously Pacific in Stockton up there. Looks like a northern California tournament in a way? RANDY BENNETT: It's a chance to play some teams that we would like to play. A lot of things have to go right for us to play Cal. But any time0, I think Cal would feel the same way; any time you have a chance to play one of your teams 15 minutes away, that would be exciting for both teams. We scrimmaged them last year, and our players know their players. Yeah, that would be a dessert, so to speak; the tournament is going to be great; the competition is going to be great. It would be a bonus to end up playing Cal on the last day. So hopefully that gives them a championship. We have plenty of work to do before that; our side of the bracket is very tough and starting with our opening game with Drexel. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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