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PACIFIC-12 CONFERENCE MEN'S MEDIA DAYOctober 15, 2015Tad BoyleJosh ScottSan Francisco, California TAD BOYLE: I was just sitting down with Josh in the waiting room right there, and I'm not sure I have a lot to say. I'm just ready to play. It's the time of year. I know last year when we were here everyone was blowing Colorado basketball up, and we had a disappointing year and now everybody has forgotten about us. So I just want to go out and play and see what we can do and see what kind of damage we can do in this league this year. It's going to be a much improved league. A more balanced league, a deeper league. I expect Colorado to be right in the mix of it. Q. I know you're sick of the back questions, but you said you're feeling well. Did the back injury change at all how you approach the season, your training regiment, maybe focusing on your core more? Anything along those lines? JOSH SCOTT: I'm healthy now, first off, but definitely had to do more rehab stuff, and I kind of stay away from intensive, heavy lifting exercises in the weight room. But other than that, it's a lot more rehab, icing my back, STEM, massaging it if it's a little sore. But it hasn't bugged me in quite a long time, so it's good. Q. What kind of role is Xavier Johnson taking in this team? TAD BOYLE: You know, Xavier, it's tough. Senior year, he's on the sidelines. The thing about Xavier is he's been very vocal, and I think he's really helped some of the guys that are younger, some of the newer players. Talking to them, letting them know what to expect. Now he and Josh have a good relationship. They came in together and Wesley Gordon as well. So it's really difficult when a guy like that goes down in the summertime, and he's expecting so much. Looking forward to his senior year. These guys are looking forward to playing with him. It's not an easy situation. He's handled it very, very well, his injury, and so his role will just still yet to be defined, depending on how his Achilles responds, and what ends up happening this year. We've talked about all the possibilities, and, again, as a coach, you hope for the best, you prepare for the worst, and the worst is he comes back for a fifth‑year and is a part of next year's team. The best is he gets healthy and can help us at some point this year. That is yet to be determined, and I'm not going to make any statements or qualifications in terms of what's going to happen because I don't know. Q. Coach has talked during the preseason about two guys that were with the team last year, obviously, in Josh Fortune and George King who are picking up some of the scoring slack this year. What have you seen out of those guys as practice has gotten rolling, and maybe their improvements over last year? JOSH SCOTT: Well, for George, he's stronger. He really took advantage of his red‑shirt year, and both of them can really shirt which helps me and Wesley out tremendously. It helps the double teams, and honestly it's fortunate he's had college basketball experience before. He's been there. So he kind of understands the game and how to play, and it's nice to have a couple extra snipers out there on the perimeter. Q. What did you see from last year that got in his way, and that you can tangibly change and be more optimistic toward this is year? JOSH SCOTT: Looking at last year, I think me and my teammates kind of had to evaluate where we went wrong as a group, and in looking at it, we were afraid to call each other out, I think. It's kind of hard to call out a friend, but you have to realize you have to be teammates and call each other out on our mistakes. In terms of carrying that over to this year, I've seen a whole lot more holding people accountable, people being more vocal, and I think that's just going to help us this year rather than how it hurt us last year. Q. I know you and Coach Boyle were part of the USA Basketball training camp over the summer. Can you talk about that experience for you, who you went up with, and maybe what you took away from that? JOSH SCOTT: First off, it was a great experience. Really enjoyed it. It's pretty cool to put on the red, white and blue. It was also awesome playing against great players. Obviously Kaleb was there, and I got to play on the same team as him, which never happened in four years, so it was kind of a different feel. But in terms of playing against great players, it was a good experience. You learn about different players' work ethics, how they go about things and kind of pick different players brains. So it was a learning experience as well. I mean, I took a lot from it. It also fired me up because I didn't make the squad, so it kind of served as motivation, more fuel to the fire, and it definitely added to it, but I didn't need much this year. Q. You guys have had recent pros like Alec Burks and Andre Roberson emerge in the league, and even now a former NBA player Chauncey Billups has stepped away from the game. Can you talk about how their relationship has evolved with you and the program and the players? TAD BOYLE: I'll talk and I'll let Josh add anything. But we've had, obviously, Chauncey has been the face of Colorado basketball for a while, and he's somebody we talk about in recruiting. But more recently with Alec and Andre and now Spencer Dinwiddie, this program has put three players in the NBA that left school early, really in a four‑year period of time, which I think maybe caught up with us last year, quite frankly. It's hard to continue to replenish the coffers, so to speak, and I think this year we're going to be better because we basically lose one player off last year's team, we add four players when you talk about the two new recruits, and also George and Josh Fortune have come into the mix. But having those guys come back, all three of those guys, Spencer and Andre and Alec all came back this fall for football games. They interact with their former teammates, and I think it sets a tone for what can happen for these guys, if they continue to work hard and‑‑ I'm not afraid to say it. I think this guy's our next pro. I think he's really a special player, and there is no question in my mind he's got what it takes to play at that next level. But he's going to have to make that happen. He's going to have to get in the right situation and all that. But it's great having those guys back and lending credible to what we're trying to do as a program and let these guys know what's in store for them, hopefully, if they continue to work hard. Q. I just want to follow up on the Pan‑Am games, and not only are you going up against some college guys, but Damien Wilkins, Bobby Brown, and Ryan Hollins there as well. Guys with NBA experience. I was just wondering how playing up against men like the full 30‑year‑old men kind of helped your development as a player? JOSH SCOTT: You got to see how they went about things professionally. How they took care of their bodies, how they ate, even how they played, how they stretched. I mean, definitely more of a, I would say extensive look into what a professional career is like. And playing against them, I only got to play against Ryan Hollins. He was only there one day, he's definitely longer, taller and more athletic than most college guys are. So it's good experience just to see how they carried themselves and went about their business was good for me. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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