February Archives
February 4, 2009
Pirate Fans,
We didn't get as many questions this month as we have in the past. I'm sure the wealth of information out there provided through our media relations office, radio, television, and the print media have answered a lot of possible questions. We continue to move forward despite wins and loses not being what we would like. With a limited number of players, there are the number of solutions to those problems are in short supply. As opponents take strengths away, you have to have other areas of improvement. When we stay out of foul trouble and have all eight players at our disposal, we have been very competitive. Our biggest challenge right now is being consistent over the course of the 40 minutes. Whether it's lack of execution or fatigue or whatever, we haven't been consistent enough to win our share of conference games. We have three of the next four at home, and five of the last nine in William Arena at Minges Coliseum. That's big! Our focus is on having a winning season and peaking for the Conference USA Tournament. Improved individual and team play can get us there, but we've got a lot of work to do. Defense and rebounding have been our problem areas and we knew they would be, but the kids are continuing to work hard and are getting better. We appreciate your patience, your positive attitude, and your support very much.
Go Pirates!
Mack
Q: I've enjoyed watching your team this year and am impressed with Chad Wynn's progress and Darrius Morrow's potential. What do you see as Morrow's main areas that need to be improved upon as he moves through the next three years? Also Sam Hinnant's game seems to be more diversified than previously, but his three-point shooting has been less consistent this season. From my viewpoint, he doesn't seem to jump straight up very often when shooting. Are his mechanics different than previously? - Richard Vick
A: Both Chad and Darrius have improved tremendously. Chad's improvement has been the most obvious, because of being in the program for three seasons. The redshirt year was a big boost to his development. He is working hard on his footwork and agility, and you can see the results. Darrius is like a lot of high major prospects in that he completely dominated at the high school level. The biggest difference as he steps up to this level is the competition requires the effort to be more consistent. He is having a remarkable season and will just keep getting better. Sam's shot is a product of people really focusing on him, and his injury, which has affected his overall athleticism. His knee injury, in my opinion, has affected the way he elevates to shoot. He's a very competitive and bright young man and he has adjusted and diversified his game to be more consistent than he was a year ago. He had some big games last year, but he also got shut down a few times. This year he has contributed almost every single game.
Q: How accurate are the heights and weights listed on the roster? - Mac Ausbon
A: The weights are pretty much correct. Weights can, however, change dramatically during the course of the season, due to the rigors of the schedule, travel, games, etc. Our heights are not quite as accurate. We used to just take whatever they were listed at in high school. Now that we have the freshmen here for summer school, they are probably a little more reliable as they get a physical to weigh and measure them as part of their orientation. That being said, the heights are probably within a half an inch one way or the other. Bobby Cremins, when he was a Georgia Tech, had the State of Georgia Department of Weights and Measures come weigh and measure his guys as part of media day to make them completely accurate since so many folks were interested in this.
Q: Coach you guys are doing a very good job this year and the team is much improved. Next year Straughn, Ellison, Abrams and Turner will make you longer on the wings, which will be great, but what are your recruiting plans to assist Morrow, Wynn and Joyner in the frontcourt? - J. Jones
A: We will be looking for the best two or three players available. Clearly we need a big man for depth in the post. We got caught short this year for a variety of reasons, and we need to add some size to our talented group of returnees. A combo guard could also be a good addition, but, as I pointed out earlier in the letters, this is a fluid and ever-evolving situation.
Robert,
I couldn't include your question due to the content referring to specific prospects, but we are certainly aware of the local players. Having signed two young men early, we have some specific needs to address in the spring signing period, however those needs may change for a variety of reasons. DaQuan Joyner's injury is a good example. While he was a returning player anyway, he is now in a different class being redshirted this year due to his broken foot. There are players in our program who are different than we projected they would be when they were signed, maybe by position or by strengths and weaknesses. As we get to know these young men and their games better, our needs can be affected. Those are just a couple of examples of how recruiting priorities can change.
