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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE OPERATION BASKETBALLOctober 29, 2014Brian GregoryCHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA BRIAN GREGORY: I look at this year, and the term I keep using is "opportunity". I think we have an unbelievable opportunity to take another step forward in the rebuilding process.  You know, an opportunity as our first recruiting class is now juniors, and this is the first year that everybody in the program has been recruited by us, for us to really kind of forge that identity of what this program is all about. I think we've taken some good steps to go from 11 wins to 17 wins, and then have a chance maybe last year to accelerate that process. I'm not sure‑‑ I know as a coach, I didn't think maybe with our first recruiting class being sophomores that we would be in a position to be a postseason team, but then as the year started last year, I said, you know what, I think we have a chance. You know, you lose 65 games due to injury, it puts you in a tough spot. But in this league I think one of the things you learn, if you're not a team that can fight through adversity and if you're not a team with a high level for resolve and resiliency, then you're really in a tough spot. But the opportunity to take another step forward, to build on the identity of the toughness and the physicality we need to play with, the discipline we need on offense and defense, the unselfishness on offense, I think that challenge is exciting not only to me but to the players. The opportunity to play in this league where every single night you've got to be ready to go, and the opportunity for some players like a Marcus, a Demarco Cox, a Charles Mitchell, guys like that, where they have to take a totally different role, a new role, and find a greater purpose in their impact that they can make on this team. All those things put you in a position where you head into the season with a high level of excitement and you're kind of fired up about it. Q. Do you feel that having your team together for three years will give you a slight advantage over a Duke or a Syracuse, teams that have one‑and‑done players? BRIAN GREGORY: Well, I don't think there's any question that one of our formulas, and you've seen that, the last three ACC champions in terms of Virginia, Miami and Florida State, I don't know the exact number, but I think there was only one first‑round draft pick on those three teams total. They won with upperclassmen, and I think as you rebuild, I think that's where you need to get to. You need to be playing juniors and seniors. Our first class is only juniors. But we've brought in some guys with some experience, and I think those guys will make a huge impact for us. Q. As far as Marcus and also with Corey being here today, what can you say about‑‑ you talked about physicality as well as discipline.  Where are they at with that for you and how do they fit into this leadership role that you need? BRIAN GREGORY: Well, as I said, Marcus Georges‑Hunt every day has to walk around like he knows he's one of the premier players in this league. His assertiveness and aggressiveness has to be at that level. As a junior now he's proven that. He's a physical player. He'll play some at the 2 this year, and obviously even at the 3, a very physical player. And Corey at both guard spots adds that physicality and that toughness that is so important to me as a coach. I always say when people leave the arena, I want them to say, man, that's the hardest playing team I've ever seen. That's a physical team and they're not afraid to knock somebody down once in a while or take a hit or whatever needs to be done, really rebounds well, stuff like that. Those two guys have to set the tone. Now, we also have in Demarco Cox a fifth‑year player and Charles Mitchell someone who's no stranger to the ACC, two post players that have to do that, as well. Those four guys need to set the tone and tempo every day for the physicalness that we're going to play with, the toughness that we're going to play with. I always mention the resiliency and resolve you need to play with in this league. Q. Has their weight training, their conditioning over the summer gotten you to this point where you can say with confidence, yeah, we're there? BRIAN GREGORY: Well, I think we're pretty close right now. Marcus has lost 20 pounds since last year but has gotten stronger. Corey has lost 21 pounds but has gotten stronger. I think we have a dynamic freshman in Tadric Jackson. I think he's going to be a special player for Georgia Tech. Coach Cremins is here. Coach Cremins always said you've got to get guys that can score the basketball, do things that you can't teach, and that's exactly what Tadric does. He scores in a variety of ways. I remember seeing him, and that's not a great comparison because he's not a guard, but when I saw Tadric as a freshman, I said, he's an ACC caliber guard. He's in the mode of the Kenny Andersons and the Stephon Marburys and all those guys, and that's a tough group to put him in, but I saw him, and he was only a freshman in high school at that time, as a kid that could come into this league and score 12, 18 points a game, and it's going to be interesting to see if he gains the consistency in his performance to do that. But all freshmen and all newcomers, they usually have to lose weight or gain weight, and they have to learn how to play at a high energy level every single day in practice, especially the young guys, and that will be Tadric's greatest challenge this year. Q. Last year you won three of your last four, obviously with the last one being an overtime loss in the tournament. Does any aspect of that carry over to the season or is that sort of on the shelf? BRIAN GREGORY: No, I think it carries over. Again, I think one of the most challenging aspects of rebuilding in a league like this, and so now you start the rebuilding process and you get the great news that four top‑25 teams are joining the league, two of them led by Hall of Fame coaches. So now the job gets a little harder. Sometimes the biggest challenge is the tangible evidence that you need. We're a much better team than we were three years ago. We score more points per game. Our defensive field goal percentage is less. We rebound the ball better. We shoot the ball better from the free‑throw line, and the key big for us, assist‑to‑turnover ratio is dramatically improved. So there's no doubt‑‑ but the problem is you have to have some tangible evidence, and like it or not, in this profession the only tangible evidence is wins and losses. To go into Syracuse and win that game last year, to win three out of the last four, I think that was the healthiest we had been since December. So I think our guys took a look and were able to step back and say, okay, we couldn't control some of the stuff that happened, but when we did have everybody, this is what we did. Let's make sure we use this summer and fall to prepare ourselves to take another big step in this process. Q. You have an infectious personality on the sideline. Do you think any of your players pick up on that personality? Do you sort of recruit towards that type of energy? BRIAN GREGORY: Well, you know, I think one thing in the recruiting process, you want guys that you feel comfortable with, guys that understand what you're all about and what's important to you, so I think that's‑‑ there is a piece of that in the recruiting. We have some guys that are a little more reserved and so forth. But that doesn't mean they can't play with the passion that they need to play with. I think Marcus is a reserved kid, but his passion is never questioned as a player. It would be interesting if the officials felt that my personality was infectious on the sidelines, as well. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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