Oct. 31, 2007
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -
The Samford University men's and women's basketball teams held their annual Media Day Wednesday in the third-floor hospitality room of the brand-new Pete Hanna Center. Below are quotes from Samford's coaches on the new facility and the upcoming season.
Head Men's Basketball Coach Jimmy Tillette
OPENING COMMENTS
"I think that the thing for us this season is that we're so young. Right now, our whole focus has been on what we can do on a daily basis to improve and get better. It's so much to teach right now because we hardly have any guys that have taken any game reps. Bryan Friday is really our only sophomore that played at all as a freshman, so you're talking about nine new guys that don't really have any idea of what to expect."
ON WHEN HE THINKS THAT THE TEAM WILL BEGIN TO GEL
"Our team will definitely improve and we expect them to get a lot better as the season goes on. That's what we're counting on and it's going to be a work in progress. Hopefully, by the end of the year, we will find a groove and all of our young people will have stepped up."
"It's too early right now for me to give any predictions on who is going to perform well this season and who is going to play most of the quality minutes. Obviously, we'll be counting on our seniors to lead us this year, and we might also need a nightlight at practice to keep us from being afraid."
ON IF HE'LL ADJUST THE OFFENSE AT ALL BECAUSE OF THE YOUTH
"We adjust our offense every year and this year we definitely simplified it and streamlined it, because we have to teach so many things and there is always a learning curve attached to everything. So, this year we're less complex on both sides of the floor."
Head Women's Basketball Coach Mike Morris
OPENING COMMENTS
"We are looking forward to starting practice in this new facility. We are excited about the new arena, but more than that, we are really excited about this season. We have three starters back; Alex Munday, Taryn Towns and Megan Wilderotter. They have been the mainstays of our program the last few years, but we also have some new players that will be stepping in as well."
"We are looking forward to getting started, and our girls are looking forward to playing someone else, as opposed to going against each other in practice. We do have the toughest schedule that we have ever put together. We were invited to the Preseason NIT, which is the first time that has ever happened. It is a tremendous honor to be a part of that, but we play at LSU, which will be a top-five team. We will open up our new arena on Nov. 13 against Alabama. We are excited to be beginning our 10th season of women's basketball at Samford."
ON COMPETING IN THE OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE
"We have done a lot of good things over the last few years. We have three starters back and some young players coming in. But the one thing we haven't done is win the league. We have played well, we have beaten everyone in our conference over the last three or four years, but our next step would be to win the league. I think we will have a chance to do that, as we have the last couple of years, but we haven't been able to do it, and that is what we need to do."
ON THE NEW PETE HANNA CENTER HELPING IN RECRUITING
"I think it helps in showing the total commitment. It has a tremendous feel. I think it shows them (recruits) that there is a commitment to athletics, in particular, men's and women's basketball and volleyball, which will be housed here."
The men's basketball team will kick off its exhibition schedule Thursday at 7 p.m., as the Bulldogs host the Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels in Seibert Hall. The women's team will begin its exhibition season Monday at 5:30 p.m., in the Pete Hanna Center against Montevallo.
Photo Gallery - Media Day/Arena
