BIG 12 CONFERENCE MEDIA DAYS

October 20, 2005

Kevin Bookout

Terrell Everett

Taj Gray

Kelvin Sampson

COACH KELVIN SAMPSON: On the far left is Terrell Everett; nickname is Relly Rell (phonetic). In the middle -- I am not going to tell you what this is -- Taj Gray; I call him Taj Mahal. And this is Kevin, with three syllables, from Stroud, Oklahoma. Opening comment, I like our team. I have liked most of our teams at Oklahoma. I think we have been blessed with good senior leadership. Those teams tend to practice well. They tend to get it. Kevin is a fourth year guy, he's been a stalwart in our program for four years. Taj is from Wichita, Kansas, which is kind of like North Oklahoma, only two hours and 15 minutes away. Lots expected of Taj this year. We tell our guys, embrace it. What is the worst thing that can happen to you? We're still playing basketball here and I think Taj is going to have a great year. Terrell, I thought last year our best player was, depending on which part of the year it was. Early on I thought it was Kevin and then Taj kind of took over toward the middle and then might have been Terrell at the end. But all three of those kids as seniors will be expected to have big years, and I think they will.

COACH KELVIN SAMPSON: If you asked me would I rather have talent or experience, I will always rather have talent. Last year this time the most experienced teams in our league was Oklahoma State and Kansas. We didn't start any seniors most of the year -- Johnny Gilbert or Jason started starting, but we were an inexperienced team last year. So this league is so talented I don't know what advantage it gives you. It depends on how good the other teams are. There is about 4, 5 teams in this league that's good enough to win it. Who would have ever thought that we would come up on the outside last year and stay for the first place? And some of the more experienced teams didn't win the league, so, experience is relevant to talent. If your experience is really good players, then that's an advantage. Thing about basketball unlike some other sports is that you have got October, November, December, you have got three months before you play a conference game. So once you get to January, I am not sure there's such a thing as freshmen anymore. A lot of experience gained in those three months.

COACH KELVIN SAMPSON: Is that good or bad?

COACH KELVIN SAMPSON: Repeat the last part.

COACH KELVIN SAMPSON: I think that Rick will have had to have upset a couple of guys and have them quit. That would probably help. I think P.J. is probably going to go to class now. That's probably not going to happen. I don't know. I don't know. For us, believe it or not, we don't really talk a whole lot about winning the league Championship. We didn't even know we won the league championship last year until the last game of the last day the buzzer, hey, we just won the league or at least we tied for it. But this year, you know, I don't know that we worry a whole lot about that. I understand you are asking the question, but the new guys will have to come in and really impact us in their way. They don't have to be our best players. Our best players are going to be one of these three guys sitting beside me. But Michael Neal has to come in and do the things that we have recruited him to do. I think he's a very good offensive basketball player. He can really shoot. He's really a nontypical junior college kid in that he is a much better basketball player than he is an athlete. Chris Walker has got to play some point guard for us. Everybody wants to know who your starter is, I don't know if it matters who your starter is, but who plays. The second leading assist guy in this league returns this year in Terrell Everett. He averaged over 5 assists a game last year. Just about every big game down the stretch he was our pointguard, so we'll be fine at the point guard, just depends on what we decide to play there. Both of them will be pretty good. Then health, we have got to stay healthy. And Taj has got to stop picking up stupid fouls early in the game. Can you guys write about that and tell him to stop doing that? I have tried to talk to him and it doesn't work. Foul trouble and health.

COACH KELVIN SAMPSON: Kevin is kind of like a dinosaur. (Laughter.) But I don't know. If size was so important, whatever happened to them? Where did they go anyway? Kevin, I don't know, size -- size only helps you if they are good. I referenced to Oklahoma State, I thought that they were -- for most of the year probably the best team in our league. Who was their big man? It's a different era. We still want to hang on to who is Wilt Chamberland and Bill Russell and who is Shaq. Those guys, nobody is like them. I don't know who is -- size is important, but athleticism seems to be carrying the day in college basketball, maybe more so than size. Kevin has certain things that he's good at and, you know, he's not going to allow you with any Tracy McGrady type dunks anytime soon. Can you still dunk Kevin?

KEVIN BOOKOUT: Barely.

COACH KELVIN SAMPSON: Haven't seen him dunk lately. Then again, haven't seen him play much lately. Always been hurt. I don't know, I think our size, Kevin's size hurts him, when Kevin's size hurts people, when we can get him in half-court situations. But teams that play fast, and we're going to try to play as fast as we can this year, but Kevin is good at that too. He just does different things well. Taj, the faster you play the better for him. So but everybody in our league has good big men, but their big men are good at different things.

KEVIN BOOKOUT: I'd enjoy every second of it. (Laughter).

COACH KELVIN SAMPSON: Spoken like a true senior. Ask Terrell that. Terrell just fainted. (Laughter). How about that Terrell, 13 straight weeks of practice, no games? You talk about -- you think we have had a problem with transfers, whoa. (Laughter.) They won't make it to Halloween.

TERRELL EVERETT: Yeah, I think he would. He's a pretty tough pointguard, smart pointguard, he doesn't really look to score a lot. He just wants to run the team, plays good on ball defense. Really helps us on the defensive end. So, yeah, I think he will log in a lot of minutes at pointguard.

COACH KELVIN SAMPSON: How about Taj? Anybody want to ask Taj a question?

TAJ GRAY: Most definitely. I think this team with Terrell and Chris Walker, who really like to push the ball, want to get easy baskets and get up-and-down (inaudible) Bookout (inaudible) or something. But, no, this team wants to get down the floor. That's what we're practicing, that's what Coach emphasizes in practice is try to get as many baskets as we can, so that's what we're going to go for this year.

COACH KELVIN SAMPSON: Seemed like last couple of years there was a long time there where we never had a problem versus zones. All of a sudden last couple years there was possessions, we looked like we didn't even know what a zone was. I think we're more prepared now versus that because of, you know, we have got more guys that can probably make a jump shot. I thought our best shooter last year was McKenzie, though he's left, Michael Neal is a really good shooter. Godbold really improved in that area. Terrell, I think, has improved as a shooter. But versatility, Terrell a pointguard? No, he's just a guard. He's just a good guard. You know, is Nate Carter a 3? No. Is he a 4? No. He's just a good player. You know, I think that's where versatility comes in. Taj doesn't have a position. Kevin is just a post man. He's a good passer, great hands, can rebound, can score. He's not going to step outside and shoot 3s, but we have a lot of guys that can play up and down the line. I always prefer those type players. But I don't know if we got an answer for everything we'll be pretty good though.

COACH KELVIN SAMPSON: Yeah. Nate is a scorer. Left-handed, really worked hard on his outside shooting, has become a pretty good outside shooter. But he's a really good one-on-one player. Can create a shot for himself. He's strong. Pound for pound, Nate is the strongest guy on our team pound for pound.

TAJ GRAY: I think so.

COACH KELVIN SAMPSON: Austin Johnson, he'd be in there too. I think -- Nate is just a good basketball player, can create his own shot, can score. I think that left-handed stuff is actually something to it.

COACH KELVIN SAMPSON: We don't even have a dozen players. (Laughter). I think how many guys -- I think we got 10 or 11 on scholarship. Yeah, you know, for a team that doesn't have a lot of guys on your team, we do have a lot of -- we have got five guards and seems we have got four, five post guys. That's why the gentleman asked me what are the keys. I kind of rambled there at first, but if we stay healthy, that's going to be a big key for this team. You have teams that can sustain an injury, I don't think this team can, you know, Kevin will be back in the next week or so practicing, and Taj, you know, our main guys have to average 30 minutes a game. I have never liked rotating guys. We're going to play seven or eight. This year we will probably play 8 and a half. The 9th guy some games will play more than others, but I think that's something that we'll be able to do more so than others because you can play small. If Taj gets in foul trouble you don't mind playing Nate up front. Longar, the big sophomore, probably the best practice he's ever had yesterday, so he's a kid that can be big too. We can be small or big, so -- if we can keep them healthy, that will be something that will help us down the line.