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HAWAIIAN AIRLINES DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC MEDIA CONFERENCEDecember 16, 2013Craig RobinsonHONOLULU, HAWAII ELIZABETH MCCOLLUM: Hi, Coach Robinson. Thank you for joining us. Yesterday's win marked five straight games of 20 points or more for Devon Collier and Roberto Nelson, 24th consecutive game in double digits. What's their consistency in leadership mean to your team? COACH ROBINSON: It means a lot. You know, we've kind of worked our way to get to having an experienced team, and this is probably the most experienced team we have and their leadership along with Angus Brandt is kind of guiding us to where we want to be. We're still a ways away, but having two guys who can‑‑ you can rely on to give you 20 points night‑in and night‑out, it's a pretty nice asset to have. Q. Speaking of that, you have quite a few underclassmen, how does the holiday tournament like the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic prepare your team for conference play? COACH ROBINSON: Yeah, it gives us an opportunity. In tournaments like this you know depth is going to be necessary, and this gives us an opportunity to give our younger players an opportunity to get into games at critical times as opposed to sort of being ahead and getting them in games. So realtime competition is what we're going to be facing when we get in conference. This gives us an opportunity to rehearse that. Q. Do you like the format of play where you play two games and have a day off and then play again on Christmas Day? Can you tell me a little bit about Akron, your first round opponent? COACH ROBINSON: Yeah, you know, first of all, it's wonderful to be able to play in the Diamond Head Classic. No matter what days you play. We're looking forward to coming over to Hawai'i and looking forward to playing against some really good teams. The format is great because it will give us a little dress rehearsal for our conference tournament as well as with the day off in between the third day. It will give us a little feel for what it's like for us in our actual conference play. So we like the format and hope we'll show well there. With regard to Akron, I haven't had a chance to really take a close look at them. But they're going to be a good team. They're an NCAA Tournament team, and they're used to playing against teams like us. They're going to be a very tough out for us. So we've got a game Wednesday and then we'll start preparing for Akron on Thursday. Q. With your football team going to the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl at the same time you'll be in Hawai'i, do you expect a few fans to be making the trip or at least looking out in Hawai'i? COACH ROBINSON: Yeah, yeah. I think we'll end up having more fans at our game than we thought we would. But I think we were going to have some of our fans coming over for the Diamond Head Classic, and they'll get a chance to see the football team. But I think more people were planning on going to whatever bowl game the football team was going to. So this is really exciting for us to be able to play in front of more fans as well as be able to support our football team. Q. Your thoughts overall on the field out here and just some of the caliber of competition you'll be going against over the course of those three to four days? COACH ROBINSON: Yeah, we saw the rest of the teams that were in the tournament, we were really excited to come over for the Diamond Head Classic. You've got, obviously, Iowa State who is ranked pretty high. SouthCarolina who is a good team. George Mason who is going to be a good team. Then you have St. Mary's who we haven't ever played before, but is a good west coast team that we follow and recruit against. So we're really excited about the potential opponents that we get to play. I know this is a first trip for a lot of our players. Most of our players have never been to Hawai'i. So this will be an exciting cultural opportunity for them as well. Q. Coach, do you have any plans for the day off to enjoy the culture of the island? COACH ROBINSON: Well, on the day off, we're actually going to go to the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl because our football team will be playing in that, so we'll do that. I think date before our first game we're going to try to get over to Pearl Harbor, so I know those are two sort of non‑basketball things we have planned. We're still‑‑ we have another day that I think we're getting there Thursday the 19th. So we'll do something on the 20th, and something on the 24th. You know, if the rest of the time we'll be practicing and getting ready to try and win a tournament. Q. There is a little buzz that President Obama has been out here for Christmas the last several years, and he's gone to see you guys play in the recent past. Are there any thoughts that he might come out to see you guys again and what that might mean to your guys? COACH ROBINSON: My thoughts would be his schedule is so busy we'd be honored if he found time to come to our game. But I will also say it's been very rare that we've been in the same city together and had a game that he did not show up at. So barring anything unforeseen, I would suspect he'd be in at least one of our games or maybe more. Q. On occasions when he has been there, is it any different for your team? Is it kind of a special moment or environment in those arenas? COACH ROBINSON: Well, for my team it isn't. It's kind of odd to say, but it's sort of normal, because he's come to each year we've played in the Washington, D.C. area or Maryland area. He's come to one of our games every year that I've been here. Our guys are sort of used to it. I think what it does, it makes the whole environment just a little bit more electric when he shows up. So I think it's good for both teams. I think it would be good for the venue. It will be good for the Diamond Head Classic if he is able to make it. Q. Coach, what is the importance of these holiday tournaments? Do you think it's imperative to play in this type of tournament against these type of programs leading into conference play? COACH ROBINSON: Yeah, I think nowadays in the landscape of scheduling, which I find to be one of the hardest parts of this business, these kinds of tournaments give you an opportunity to get some good competition, some varied competition with teams that you wouldn't normally be able to schedule. So this is ideal for us. We're extremely excited about it. We feel good about our team. We feel like we have a chance of winning the tournament, not just playing well. These kinds of tournaments, the Diamond Head Classic as well as all of the holiday tournaments and the exempt tournaments are really important for teams like us. Because, as I said, you get a chance to play guys you wouldn't normally play against. ELIZABETH MCCOLLUM: Thank you, coach, for your time, and travel safe to Hawai'i. COACH ROBINSON: My pleasure. Can't wait to get there. We'll see you when we get there. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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