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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE OPERATION BASKETBALLOctober 25, 2017Justin BibbsDevin WilsonCharlotte, North Carolina Q. Justin, just what you've taken away, you've had some time with Buzz Williams, we all know about his energy and what it looks like from a seat to the sideline. What can you say about being with him every day in practice? JUSTIN BIBBS: Every single day is real unpredictable. You never know what you're going to get. But I just know from my three years, you always have to bring it every day, just be energetic, bring intensity every day. That's what he looks forward to. Q. We've asked this question of other seniors here this morning. You got to be a senior really fast. It's really gone by quickly. What have you learned? JUSTIN BIBBS: What have I learned? I have aged, so just learning how to take care of my body off the court, ice baths, drink the right stuff, water, eat the right foods, and that's really it. Q. Where is Virginia Tech basketball in your opinion from when you came in to where you are right now? JUSTIN BIBBS: Oh, man. When I first came in, for example, like our home opener, it was so many open seats like in the crowd, but now it's sold out, so that's just something to say how we've gotten better every year. I'm just happy to be in this position where like our home opener, like I said, is sold out, and people come to our games and are excited about the season. It's a blessing. Q. People are coming to Castle because they want to watch the product. How would you describe the product for 2017-18? JUSTIN BIBBS: The product? You know, I don't know yet because we're still working on our brand. We don't know how we're going to play yet. But we're excited. We just know that we're going to play extremely hard at whatever we're going to do. Yeah, we're just excited to be out there and just play in front of our home crowd. Q. When you think about your teammates and you think about the young kids coming through, what is it as a leader that you're trying to instill upon them right now early on? JUSTIN BIBBS: As a leader, I'm just trying to give them pointers of what I wish I knew my freshman year, just trying to make them comfortable, make it easier for them just to be themselves. Yeah, just trying to make them feel like they're at home away from home. That's very important when you're away from home the first year. Yeah, just treat them like a brother. Q. Does that mean you're a big brother? JUSTIN BIBBS: I would like to say that, yeah. I try to be a big brother. Q. Beating Duke and UVA at home and the fans storming the court, what was that experience like, and how does that motivate you to succeed and win big games like that in this upcoming season? JUSTIN BIBBS: Yeah, that was huge for us. Those games were monumental, something that I'll think about forever. In terms of storming the court, you know, we didn't really experience it because you know how Buzz is, he just walked the other way. We didn't really experience that. It's just monumental for us, big momentum swing, and we look forward to this year. Yeah, that was a very cool feeling to have and to experience firsthand. Q. Devin, you had an interesting road, different from other basketball players that play basketball. You took some time, played football and came back. What can you say about your experience doing both and what you're excited about this year? DEVIN WILSON: From the experience, I would just say it was an awesome experience. I met a lot of different people over at football, met a lot of different guys, great connections that I still talk to, guys like Isaiah and Bucky. But coming back to basketball was kind of liberating because I wanted to be with my guys, the guys I've been there with for a really long time. So being able to see my teammates and my brothers was awesome for me, as well. Q. Buzz basketball always seems like you guys are in it to the end, well-prepared, don't seem to panic in those waning stage of the game. What is it that prepares you guys to stay cool under pressure? DEVIN WILSON: I wouldn't say it's so much that it's practice, but we do a lot of most people call it boot camp, and in those sessions we do a lot of things that prepare you for game like moments where you could be frazzled or confused about what's going on. We get a lot of pre-practice before we even get to practice of how to deal with those situations. When we get into games it's kind of second nature and nobody is really worried about it because we've done it so many times before. Q. What is it about Buzz Williams that you've taken away at this point? What are some of those -- what are the key ingredients to his success from your point of view? DEVIN WILSON: I think that he demands the most out of the players that he has. He's going to get you to push you to your limits, and he's going to want you to push yourself to your limits, as well. He's a great motivator, a great coach, a great life coach, as well. He teaches us about things beyond the court that I think a lot of coaches kind of miss out on. It's not that he couldn't care less about basketball, but he wants you to be able to see what you're going to do after the ball stops bouncing. A lot of people respect that and that`s why people play so hard for him because he wants us to do better than the average basketball player. Q. If we're to believe the photos we're seeing here at Operation Basketball, he's changed his look a little bit. How is that being -- how are you guys reacting to that as a squad? DEVIN WILSON: I personally like the hair and the beard. That's something -- I think it's a good change for him. I think it's time to switch it up, maybe show a new era of Buzz Williams basketball that's different from his past, or it could be that he likes and wants to keep the hair, something simple. But everyone on the team likes it. We're the ones who actually told him we're the ones that want you to keep it because he was thinking about shaving it all over the again. We're like, yeah, keep it, looks good, let's roll with it. Q. 32-0 with the hair this season, right? DEVIN WILSON: I hope so. Maybe even more than that, right? Q. What's the identity of this year's team, because it's been a history of not really having a big man per se throughout the years. What would you say is this year's identity of the team? DEVIN WILSON: We have our underlying identity that we bring to practice every day, which is that we`re going to be the hardest-playing team every single night. But the identity for the team, that's going to be something that's very evident is kind of not there yet. We're still working on it, and I think that's fine. A couple, three, four weeks away -- two, three weeks away from the season, so I think we have time to kind of find our identity, and even if it takes it into the season, I think that's fine, as long as we find one eventually. We are on a good track to finding one, and I think it's going to be a good one when it all comes down to it. Q. A question we've asked other players this morning, to be successful this season, do you have to have a trophy? DEVIN WILSON: I think it's an individual thing. I think some guys like to see that hardware, but for us it's are we going out and playing the basketball that we want to play and that we know is the right way to play. We don't want to go out there and think that we're entitled to anything, that we're entitled to a trophy. I just think trophies are very -- they're evident of what you've done, whether it's good or bad. So I think the one thing we try to focus on in our minds and in our practices and in our program is that we want to focus on how we can internally be the best that we can be. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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