Had the chance to speak to the head coach ahead of tomorrow night's matchup with A&M Corpus Christi.
On this A&M CC team:
"We're excited about the opportunity to play obviously Thursday. Coach Shaw, man their team's tough. I've talked to people that have played them and said it's the most physical team that they've played. So that part of it, and you watch the beginning of the U of H game and they've got a physical team, they're playing really hard so I respect anybody. But especially the way they they're competing right now you can tell that they're playing the game with a lot of physicality."
On Corpus' personnel:
"they're actually playing a lot of guys. I mean, I do think they have you know, some returners that have the ability to break games open. I think when you watch teams play, you try to get a feel this early and it's difficult to maybe get complete understanding of personnel. I'll tell you what, just jumped out on the page, just how hard they're playing. And anytime you play that hard, you give yourself a chance, whether it be just creating turnovers, so I mean, we're gonna have to do a good job. They run a good motion offense. It's different than what we faced. So it'll be a different challenge. It'll be great because you get to see our team have to defend different ways and then how do you handle their pressure will ultimately determine how well we can score."
On his team's defense:
"Well, I'll tell you, our team has really given, I think, a lot of attention and effort in that side. And you can tell that they haven't been dictating their effort by how we play. They haven't been dictating and how they play defensively when the ball goes in, and that's always a big concern of mine. You can tell this team is identifying with the defensive side saying, 'Hey, this is what we're going to do every time we step on the floor.'"
On rebounding against a physical Islanders group:
"Yeah, we've gotten better in that area, especially at the end of at the end of games. I think when you're trying to close games like you know, at the beginning, maybe just trying to get a feel for where you're moving defensively, maybe out of position a little more, but I thought the other day at the end of the game. I thought our ability to rebound the basketball really was a big game changer."
On starting lineup and rotation:
"I think the starting part of the game is more about how can we put a line up there out there that has experience, and that that I think can keep changing. Maybe over the course of the season but I think that experience is really important for us to start games."
On Steffe/Lindsay:
"I think you know, this time of year and not to get into too much detail, but I think you got to try to evaluate like the red shirting opportunity, it's different than football and you don't want to just burn people's years. You also want to try to give them the best chance to have success and get better. And I can tell you this, they're both practicing really hard. They're both getting better every day. They're not out of the mix in regard to that, but man, I think we're just kind of have an ongoing conversation and we don't want to burn something in case we want to try to give them an opportunity.
On Yalaho:
"EY, man, I think his ceiling is extremely high. He keeps getting better. And he's practicing hard, he's lifting every day and he's putting in all the extra effort that needs to happen. The pace of the game is really fast for him right now. So as you can see, I think the more comfortable he can be with the practice sessions and getting the minutes he's gotten, and as he learns to handle the speed of the game, he'll get more opportunities."
Founded by a Red Raider, All Hands Craft Cocktails is proud to announce their partnership with RedRaiderSports.com. Try these bar strength, ready-to-drink vodka cocktails at Jones AT&T Stadium this football season or find them at a retailer near you. Cheers.
On this A&M CC team:
"We're excited about the opportunity to play obviously Thursday. Coach Shaw, man their team's tough. I've talked to people that have played them and said it's the most physical team that they've played. So that part of it, and you watch the beginning of the U of H game and they've got a physical team, they're playing really hard so I respect anybody. But especially the way they they're competing right now you can tell that they're playing the game with a lot of physicality."
On Corpus' personnel:
"they're actually playing a lot of guys. I mean, I do think they have you know, some returners that have the ability to break games open. I think when you watch teams play, you try to get a feel this early and it's difficult to maybe get complete understanding of personnel. I'll tell you what, just jumped out on the page, just how hard they're playing. And anytime you play that hard, you give yourself a chance, whether it be just creating turnovers, so I mean, we're gonna have to do a good job. They run a good motion offense. It's different than what we faced. So it'll be a different challenge. It'll be great because you get to see our team have to defend different ways and then how do you handle their pressure will ultimately determine how well we can score."
On his team's defense:
"Well, I'll tell you, our team has really given, I think, a lot of attention and effort in that side. And you can tell that they haven't been dictating their effort by how we play. They haven't been dictating and how they play defensively when the ball goes in, and that's always a big concern of mine. You can tell this team is identifying with the defensive side saying, 'Hey, this is what we're going to do every time we step on the floor.'"
On rebounding against a physical Islanders group:
"Yeah, we've gotten better in that area, especially at the end of at the end of games. I think when you're trying to close games like you know, at the beginning, maybe just trying to get a feel for where you're moving defensively, maybe out of position a little more, but I thought the other day at the end of the game. I thought our ability to rebound the basketball really was a big game changer."
On starting lineup and rotation:
"I think the starting part of the game is more about how can we put a line up there out there that has experience, and that that I think can keep changing. Maybe over the course of the season but I think that experience is really important for us to start games."
On Steffe/Lindsay:
"I think you know, this time of year and not to get into too much detail, but I think you got to try to evaluate like the red shirting opportunity, it's different than football and you don't want to just burn people's years. You also want to try to give them the best chance to have success and get better. And I can tell you this, they're both practicing really hard. They're both getting better every day. They're not out of the mix in regard to that, but man, I think we're just kind of have an ongoing conversation and we don't want to burn something in case we want to try to give them an opportunity.
On Yalaho:
"EY, man, I think his ceiling is extremely high. He keeps getting better. And he's practicing hard, he's lifting every day and he's putting in all the extra effort that needs to happen. The pace of the game is really fast for him right now. So as you can see, I think the more comfortable he can be with the practice sessions and getting the minutes he's gotten, and as he learns to handle the speed of the game, he'll get more opportunities."
Founded by a Red Raider, All Hands Craft Cocktails is proud to announce their partnership with RedRaiderSports.com. Try these bar strength, ready-to-drink vodka cocktails at Jones AT&T Stadium this football season or find them at a retailer near you. Cheers.
