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DIRECTV WOODEN LEGACY MEDIA CONFERENCENovember 13, 2013Herb SendekTIM SIMMONS: Coach, with the early start to the preseason so far, has it benefitted your team with all those extra days of practices? COACH SENDEK: I really like the new format. I think at the end of the day we didn't have any more days, but it allowed us to have a gradual progression into the start of the season. So I'm really in favor of the new rule. I think it gives coaches a little more breathing room. It gives players some additional rest. It kind of spreads things out. TIM SIMMONS: With your practices and with playing a couple games to date, what have you seen from your team so far? COACH SENDEK: Well, I like our team a great deal. Our guys have outstanding character. They're really working hard to become a unit. I like the willingness to share the ball and help each other. TIM SIMMONS: Obviously you've added a new player from Penn State and he's kind of tied Carson for the leading scorer in your first two games. Jermaine Marshall, can you make some comments about his play to date? COACH SENDEK: Jermaine Marshall gives us a proven experienced player on the perimeter. He has a lot of poise, and I think he is doing a terrific job providing leadership for our team, as well. TIM SIMMONS: You have one of the top players in the country in Carson. Obviously he's on the Wooden Watch List this year with McDermott, who's going to be playing in the tournament. How has he progressed? I know he had some injuries early, but how is he playing right now? COACH SENDEK: He's doing very well. He's gotten off to a terrific start. He's scoring the basketball as well as distributing it. He's really improved as a shooter, and clearly one of the best players in college basketball this season. TIM SIMMONS: And you have one of the best big men in the country. I know he was playing for the Canadian National Team this summer, but Jordan Bachynski. A few comments on your big center. COACH SENDEK: Yeah, Jordan Bachynski is probably one of the most improved players in the country over the course of his career, and now as a senior he's off to a terrific start, gives us a great presence at the basket. TIM SIMMONS: Any other surprises for some of the players or maybe how your team is doing? Anything that has surprised you in the preseason and in the early games to date? COACH SENDEK: Well, I don't know if it's a surprise, you but I like the contribution that our bench is giving us. I like the contribution that our freshmen, our young players are providing, as well. We also have a junior college transfer, Shaquille McKissic, who is in the starting lineup, and I think helps elevate the athleticism of our team. TIM SIMMONS: You went to China this summer on part of a Pac‑12 mission and so forth. How was that for your team and the development of your team? COACH SENDEK: Well, I think more than anything else, it gave us an opportunity to really come together as a basketball family. The trip itself was incredible. It was a tremendous learning experience. We were taken aback by the sweetness and hospitality of the Chinese people. It was an unforgettable trip, and from a basketball standpoint I think the greatest advantage was it really allowed us to come together as a basketball family. TIM SIMMONS: You've got four games before the Wooden Classic, including a trip to UNLV and then you play Marquette. You host Marquette in Tempe there. Is there anything you're working on as you prepare for the Wooden with those four games? COACH SENDEK: Yes, everything. I mean, we're still very much a work in progress, as we said, on November 13th, this early in the season. TIM SIMMONS: You play Creighton in the first round, pretty tough match‑up. Obviously you'll have two of the premier players in the country in your guard Carson and Doug McDermott from Creighton. Your thoughts about that opening match‑up? COACH SENDEK: Well, they beat us last year in the tournament, and obviously you hit the nail on the head when you identified McDermott as being a great player. He's a tough match‑up for anybody. He's so versatile. He's so smart and experienced. He has an edge of toughness that really separates him from most everybody. And Creighton has an outstanding team, a great program with a superstar‑caliber player. TIM SIMMONS: You're playing two teams that are favored in the Big East when you play Marquette at home and then Creighton at a neutral site. Did you envision that when the schedule was being made up this year? COACH SENDEK: Well, we didn't know who would play in the Anaheim Classic, that's for sure. We did go out of our way to schedule Marquette because it allowed us to play an extra game as part of the tournament, and I guess I didn't know when the schedule was actually being formulated how the different leagues would end up landing. I'm sure Creighton and Marquette didn't know that they'd be in the same conference when they both scheduled to be in this tournament. TIM SIMMONS: You've played in other ESPN events and so forth. How do you like the format, two days of playing, having an off day, then you play the third game on the fourth day? COACH SENDEK: I like that. That's good. I think it's hard to play consecutive days in college basketball, let alone if you try to put guys in a situation where they've got to play three consecutive days. I almost don't think that's very smart when it comes to student athlete well‑being, to have them play three consecutive days. This isn't baseball. This isn't a sport that's designed to have people play three consecutive days. Q. Herb, I saw that you were in a game here where you shot 44 free throws, and I think your opponent had some fouls. Was this a part of the new directive, the officiating directive, and do you think it's going to sort itself out later in the season? COACH SENDEK: Well, I mean, I really don't know how it's going to play out. Obviously not just watching our games but other early games from around the country, beyond‑the‑ball defense is being called much more carefully, and I think as a general rule, I don't have any statistic to support it, but it seems like teams are getting to the free‑throw line at a greater rate than they have here in the recent past. Q. Do you see the need for it, Herb, as far as do you see a need for the game to be officiated the way that it is right now, these early games? COACH SENDEK: Yeah, you know, I think it's a step in the right direction because I would agree that year by year the college game has grown continually more physical, and some teams based on their style of play are really outliers when it comes to that, especially on their home courts. And so I think it's a step in the right direction. But like everything, we'd probably be wise to avoid the extremes. I think we can move in that direction without falling off the cliff. TIM SIMMONS: Playing in Southern California, does that help you from a recruiting standpoint? COACH SENDEK: It always helps more when you win, not just play, so hopefully we'll do well enough that we'll show well in Southern California. But obviously that's an important recruiting base, not only for Arizona State but all the teams in our conference. TIM SIMMONS: Knowing that the Pac‑12 is the defending champion after Cal won it last year and so forth, obviously the Pac‑12 as a whole has been playing much better than say what it was two or three years ago. COACH SENDEK: Yeah. We've taken our fair share of rib shots over the last couple years, following an exodus of almost an unprecedented number of lottery and first‑round picks that weren't instantly replaced. But I think this year from top to bottom our league will be as competitive as any in the country. TIM SIMMONS: Coach, thank you very much for your time today. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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