Nov. 2, 2011

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The 2011-12 Samford basketball season is less than a week away and the Bulldogs' Head Coach Jimmy Tillette sat down with Sports Information Director Zac Schrieber to talk about the upcoming campaign, last year's results and his expectations for Southern Conference play. Here is the transcript from their Question-and-Answer Session:

How does last season's conference slate rank amongst the toughest you've faced in your career?
"It was definitely one of the toughest because we had four schools play with their all-time leader in scoring last season. I think the league was about as strong, top to bottom, as it could be. With having said that, we didn't do our own part and it was disappointing. We had three games at home last season where we had double-digit leads and ended up losing. So, we had opportunities to win games, but from the competitive standpoint it was our own failure to finish games that was disappointing."

Do you think the average college basketball fan realizes how talented the SoCon is as a league?
"No. They have no clue. They don't realize the travel that's involved, especially from our perspective. Most of the schools are north and then further north and it's also the day-to-day grind and the high level of competition that's involved. I don't think they have any clue how difficult this league is."

In a word or a phrase, how would you describe last season?
"Disappointing is the word I would use. We got off to a great start, but then the games we lost at home were the most disappointing. We had a lot of opportunities to win and then we also lost a lot of close games on the road. If we would have been able to win just a few of those games, then the season would have been a lot different."

We were 10-5 at one point last season. Was there something specific that happened down the stretch, or was it just playing in the meat of the SoCon schedule?
"I've gone over that in my mind a number of times and we've actually had coaching staff meetings about that and what happened. We've spent a lot of time looking back and trying to figure out what went on, but there's not one thing that we could put our finger on. It was more of the day-to-day grind of a grueling season that caused it.

"We had a great win at Greensboro, but then we lost at Elon and that really seemed to start the slide. We didn't really play effectively at Elon and then we came back home and lost to The Citadel. It was stuff like that, which was really disappointing because we had a double-digit lead against The Citadel. Of course they had an outstanding player, and thank goodness he's gone this season, but those are the games that you have to win and you just have to plug away from there. It sounds trite and it sounds like coach-speak, but game after game after game you just have to keep your nose to the grindstone."

It's a long season and a tough conference, what can be done to build momentum as we head into the SoCon Tournament?
"In our first season, we won two games in the SoCon Tournament and then lost to Chattanooga on their home floor. The last two years we've lost in the first game. Two years ago was the season when Jim Griffin passed away early in the year, so that was an aberration you could throw that one out. Last year, I think we were just beat down. We were fatigued mentally.

"Also, the schedule didn't so us any favors last year. The last thing you want to do is have all these travel games and long distances in February, so it's a tricky balance. You have to be tough enough to work through it and it does wear you down, so you have to find away to regenerate throughout the year and renew yourself and feel light.

"Another thing too is that if you're winning games then you have something to point to. I felt that last year for whatever reason their vision was occluded, it was almost like they'd work so hard at this, but there was so little success. I'm not saying that they weren't ready to play, but I didn't feel like they were as energized as usual. Furman also saw us as a threat in last year's tournament, so they were really ready to play against us."

You talked earlier about losing the four seniors from last season. They were some of our best shooters. How is that going to affect the dynamic of the team this year?
"It won't change the dynamic necessarily, but I do think it will change how we tweak what we're doing. We realize that we've lost some of our best shooters, but in their place I think we have a team that will be better at driving and getting to the goal. So, all fall what we worked on in our drills was eradicating some habits, which is always hard, because now we're zigging instead of zagging."

Talk a little bit about Jeffrey Merritt and how much he means to this team.
"This is really Jeffrey's team. We have four seniors, but he's been our best player, he's our toughest guy and he's our best leader. He's a vocal player and it's going to be odd me too this season when the realization finally dawns on me that next year we'll play without a Merritt on the roster. We've known the Merritts for a number of years and it's a great, great family. I'll wax nostalgic when we get to that point in the year, but we'll definitely be counting on Jeffrey to do a lot of things for this team this season."

Drew Windler was a bright spot for the team last season, how big of a role will he play this year?
"He will have a huge role for us. He needs to get a bit stronger, but he knows that. He's very competitive and I thought as a redshirt freshman without any previous experience a year ago, that he got better as the year went on. Also, I think that Levi (Barnes) has improved a lot over the spring and Matthew (Friday) can really be a threat, because he does a lot of things well. So, I think that the post position will be one of our stronger positions this season."

You signed four guards in the offseason, was that a change of philosophy or just how it worked out this year?
"We just decided that based on who we lost from last season that we needed to sign four guards. With this year's recruiting class, it will reverse itself, and we'll sign some bigger wing players. We have a lot of versatility at our guard position this season, and in our offense you're a guard, a wing or a post player.

"I feel like we are strong at the wing position with Jeffrey (Merritt) and John (Peterson), and then we also have Tyler Hood and Will Cook, so we have four guys who are solid there. That's why we wanted to load up in the backcourt."

Which freshmen do you see playing this season?
"I tell you they are all good. This is one of the best freshman classes we've ever had in terms of being able to incorporate and assimilate the ideas that we have presented to them. We're pleased with all four of them and each player will bring his own skill-set to the table every time out."

The SoCon is again going to be a tough league this year. How do you see the conference schedule playing out?
"I think the league is going to be very competitive. Chattanooga has a lot of people coming back, Davidson will be good and Elon ought to be good. It will be balanced, but I think the league will be balanced just one notch down from where it was last year. Last year, I thought we had four teams that were head and shoulders above everybody else. It's going to be a challenging year across the board."

The Samford University basketball team will begin competitive play in its 2011-12 schedule Monday at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs square off against the Berry College Vikings in an exhibition contest to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.

2011-12 Basketball Schedule