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PACIFIC-12 CONFERENCE MEN'S MEDIA DAYNovember 1, 2012Larry KrystkowiakJason WashburnSAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA THE MODERATOR: We'll go ahead and get started with Utah. We'll start with an opening statement from Coach. COACH KRYSTKOWIAK: Good morning, everybody. We are extremely excited to be in year two with our basketball program and be moving forward. We were given an opportunity to go to Brazil this summer, which I think was invaluable for our basketball squad. Obviously the ten days of practice and the ten days abroad were team building and we were able to instill a lot of the things that we're talking about with rebuilding the basketball program at the University of Utah. It's not like we're trying to take on a new project where it's never been built before, but there's an awfully proud tradition in Salt Lake City. I believe we're 11th in all‑time wins and 11th in all‑time winning percentages with some pretty big company. And there's a great deal of pride in the city of Salt Lake City, there's a great deal of pride within our basketball program, and it's our job right now to move forward and start making some great progress. I think that the expectations are still pretty high from the people locally, and we're getting after it. After all the last season, some of the disappointment that we faced last year, we were still second, I believe, maybe third in attendance in the Pac‑12. We know when the product starts getting completed here we're going to be able to have a great fan base and start moving forward. But our focus right now is really building a culture. And I know that's a big buzzword in the world of sports. We have spent a lot of time with people in the field that understand that and we want to build our culture by design and not by default. And we have got some keywords that we live by every day. We have got them on our walls in our practice facility. We discuss them. We usually have a "hot" word for every day. And we're just going to keep plowing forward. It's important for us to get better on a daily basis with this project and fix what's broken and keep moving on. And I believe at the end of the day the wins will take care of themselves. So that's kind of our mission statement right now. And we're excited. We're excited to be a part of this conference. Obviously the conference is going to be much better. And our team has to be much better, and I think it is. There should be some great, great basketball from some great basketball programs throughout the year, and we're just really excited to be a part of it. THE MODERATOR: We'll open it up for questions. Q. It was a tough season for Utah fans last year. What are you doing personally to make it a better season? JASON WASHBURN: That's actually a really good question. My personal goal is to elevate every level of my game. I believe I have strengths and weaknesses, like every player does, but as a senior, as a leader, and like Coach said, we have a culture at Utah that we're trying to rebuild and get back to. I think personally it will take me rising to a whole 'nother level in every aspect of my game. I think sometimes a lot of people want to talk about my scoring. I believe I have to improve on the defensive end mostly and on the defensive glass especially. And those are two things that I'm trying to really improve on personally and make a conscious effort in practice with a lot of help from Coach K and the rest of the coaches along the way. Q. You've been around this program for five years now. You kind of have seen it all. Just talk about your experience at Utah and kind of the changes that you've seen in your time. JASON WASHBURN: I have been at Utah a long time. I've seen ‑‑ I have seen it all, like you said. I've had a lot of changes in teammates, a lot of teammates come and go. Last year a brand‑new coaching staff. A lot of people like to ask me, you know, why did I stay. And I believe in Utah. I believe in Coach K. I believe that we're heading in the right direction. I like my team this year. I wanted to finish out my career at Utah because I believe in what Utah has, what it's been, and what it's going towards. And I have no regrets about my decision to stay at Utah. And I'm really happy that I stuck with Coach K. I believe in Coach K. I know he believes in us. Q. For both of you, how important is it for you guys to get off to a good start this season? COACH KRYSTKOWIAK: Where is Tony? You know, again, you look at the predictions and the polls, and we're not in a position to put any pressure on our self. Personally, my entire life I've used the underdog mentality to try to prove people wrong that we can't do something. So to put any kind of pressure on ourself automatically places it maybe at a position that where we're not. So we got to come out‑‑ I'm concerned that I'm not at practice today and we have got a game tomorrow. I completely trust our coaching staff running the practice, but I want to try to win the next game and then break down the video after that game's over with and figure out what we're not doing a very good job of and fix that and move on to the next thing. And then I honestly believe that the wins and losses at the end of the year will take care of themself if you do that. So we don't have a number of wins posted in our locker room. We don't talk about how many wins, but it's about winning our exhibition game tomorrow night and then moving forward. Q. Coach, all the coaches are back from last season. How does that familiarity kind of change the way you prepare for games and how does it change the way the conference goes this season? COACH KRYSTKOWIAK: It's unbelievable just becoming a part of a new program. I think the only coach that I hired that I had any familiarity with was Coach Andy Hill that came with me from Montana. You just go through so many things: acclimation to the school, to the city. Little things that you don't even think about, you got to do on a one‑time basis: You got to go get your driver's license at the State of Utah. You knock all those things out, and then I think you can really start moving on to some things that are important once you get some of that out of the way. So I know from our coaching staff, particularly from the trip to Brazil, we feel like we're probably in a November‑December time period with our program. The other element that came into play last year was we recruited so many players late, after the second signing date, in April, and some of the kids in May that we weren't really that familiar with our team. And we didn't have a foreign tour then. So with the limits on how much time we can spend with our players, it really wasn't until school started that we even determined what strengths and weaknesses were of our own players, let alone our coaching staff. And I think I observed a lot and evaluated our staff and we put people in positions. We have got an offensive coordinator, a defensive coordinator to kind of take a page out of football. Put people in areas where I think their strengths are. We have divided up a lot of responsibility, and now we're really getting better basketball‑wise at some of the things that are important where maybe we were floundering a year ago just trying to find our way. Q. Could you describe Jordan Loveridge as a player and maybe just tell us what role you expect him to play as a freshman? COACH KRYSTKOWIAK: Well, Jordan Loveridge is a tremendous player. He was the first person I saw the first day I was able to go to local high schools in Salt Lake City, and paid a visit to West Jordan High School and sat and watched him play and offered him a scholarship. And he was also one of those people later that summer, by basketball terminology, that kind of blew up in the summertime; that he led his team to the Final Four of the Super 64 Tournament in LasVegas, was basically just a play or two away from being on ESPN to play in the championship game of that tournament. And he was kind of the heart and soul of that squad. And Jordan has a tremendous appetite to get better. He's extremely coachable. I think if I could describe him in a word or two, it would be some people just have a motor and they have got a nose for the ball; he's got a really great ability of getting after it and finding loose balls. And I also think at 6'7" he's going to be a versatile player. He's playing probably more of a 4‑man right now for us, but we have had a couple of injuries that have slid him into the 3 spot. I think he shoots the ball really well. So we just didn't want to throw too much at him initially and expect him to play two positions, but I think he can stretch the floor and maybe take some big guys off the dribble a little bit and also extend the floor for us. But he's our kind of guy. It's been quite awhile since the state of Utah has landed the top player in the state of Utah. And he meant a tremendous amount to our program to get this thing rebuilt again. And he continues to help us, I think. His statement that he joined us is a testament to where we're heading, and I think some of the other young kids hopefully will follow his lead along the way. Q. You asked your players to be the mayors of your athletic department. What do you mean by that? COACH KRYSTKOWIAK: Mayors‑‑ I've actually kind of changed the term, because it a political term, and there's not always great mayors. But I've changed it to an ambassador for our basketball program. And what we're asking our guys to do is carry themself not just when they show up for practice in the Huntsman Center, but to think about it in every aspect of their life, when they wake up in the morning. I personally talk about every day being a jump ball. And we have a little statement saying that we got from the Harbaughs here this past year at the Under Armour event that they brought us into, and John Harbaugh was reminded every day by his dad when he dropped him off at school, and it's simple words of: Attack this day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind. And we all feel really fortunate to be where we are. We wake up in the morning, it's a jump ball, we're off to class, we're lifting, whatever it is we're doing. We put on our Utah gear and we're going to be extremely proud to be where we are and treat people right and be ambassadors for our basketball program. And it's unbelievable the momentum that this has gained. I think our kids are really buying into it, doing things in the classroom and in the community that haven't been done in quite a while. Again, I think the wins and losses will take care of themselves, but we're teaching these young men how to become men and solid human beings, and I think at the end of the day we're all going to be better for it. THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much. COACH KRYSTKOWIAK: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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