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Texas A&M Basketball

Acie Law IV breaks down DJ Hogg, looks back on win over Syracuse in '06

July 21, 2016
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Key quotes from Acie Law IV interview

“DJ Hogg has a ton of potential.  He has that great size, and out of all of the freshmen last season, DJ is the best NBA prospect.  I think that he still has a ways to go.  I think him and Darby need to be hand in hand this summer.  I think he needs to improve on his athleticism and get stronger.  He has that baby face and the childish feel, so I think he needs to work on getting stronger and getting his body more mature and continue to work on his game.  Of all of the guys on the team I think he has the most potential to have a big time career.”

“When you are that tall like Dirk Nowitzki, who is not the best athlete and is a slower guy, and you have that shooting ability and the height, it is impressive.  DJ shoots it pretty high as well and has a high release.  When you are defending that, it is basically just him and the rim.  You aren’t going to affect his ability to shoot the basketball.  Like I said, that is a huge weapon in itself.  I just look for him to mature his body, work on his game, stay on the floor, and get more comfortable and he will be just fine.”

“I think it is very important for him to try and play the stretch four.  I would like to see over time transitioning down low.  I think he is tall enough that he can get his body more mature and stronger.  DJ is a big bodied kid now, but if he could put a little more weight on, that could be a huge weapon for Texas A&M and for DJ as he moves forward in his career.  His shooting ability and his size and length, when you put that at the four, it is pretty much a mismatch.  Like Draymond Green at the four, but a slightly smaller version.  When you are able to present some type of mismatch at the four, it is a wild card and it is valuable for your team. That is a weapon on every ball club.”

“Khris Middleton has the all-around game.  I am not sure that DJ shoots it as good as Josh Carter.  I was around Josh and I’m not sure he shoots better than him.  DJ is bigger than Josh but I think that they have that reserved mindset.  They both needed to get better on defense.  I think that is what kept Josh Carter out of the NBA.  He had NBA shooting ability, he had NBA size, but I don’t think that he did anything else particularly well.  I think DJ being is similar to Josh in that regard but I think that him being so young, he has time to strengthen his body, increase his athleticism and ball handling ability.  He can pass a little bit.  You can see that he has a good feel for the game; it is just a matter of him gaining some confidence and continuing to work at it.  I would compare him to a taller Josh Carter at this particular stage, but I think he has the opportunity to be a much better player when he is done playing.”

“It is all a mindset.  Similar to Dominique Kirk, and I refer to him a lot. He wasn’t the best athlete or the fastest guy or the most laterally quick.  It was all in his mindset, he worked hard and believed and I think that DJ needs to program himself to think that way.  He needs to make himself believe that he can be the best defensive player he can be.  It is a matter of confidence; coming in as a freshman he was kind of reserved.  I look to him and the rest of the freshmen to come in and take bigger leadership roles.  Coach Kennedy will continue to work with them.  Being with Darby, I think that is the most important thing.  I think he should stay close to Darby all summer and into the fall.  It is just developing the mindset that he is going to be a defensive guy, that he will be more than just a stand and shoot guy.  If he does that he will be fine.”

“I absolutely think that DJ could lead the team in scoring next year.  It depends on what they want to do with Tyler Davis.  If they want to feature him then he may be.  We ran a lot of stuff through Joseph Jones, but throughout the contest a lot of our stuff was high-low playing off of Joe.  If that is what Coach Kennedy wants to do, then obviously there are more opportunities to lead the team in scoring.  I don’t see why DJ couldn’t be the top scorer on the team.”

“This is just the beginning for Danuel House.  He did the first step and went to Summer League and competed and played well.  It is a great start and opportunity and they are giving him the opportunity to build himself.  Looking at the Wizards roster, I believe that they have 13 guys on guaranteed contracts and a team can hold 15 total.  There are probably going to be three of four guys vying for one spot.  I think if he can continue to show that defensive effort, his ability to knock down the perimeter shot, there is always a spot for a guy like that in the NBA.  You are pretty much auditioning for all 30 teams whenever you get to showcase your ability.  I look for him to continue to build on that, play with intensity, treat it like a life or death situation.  You are now playing for your livelihood and if he continues to do that he will be fine.”

“I could see them putting Danuel into the D-League.  Just to keep him around their coaches and their system.  That is maybe a situation where he stays around until next season and has an opportunity to make the team.  I am not saying that he doesn’t have that opportunity now, but the way the team is set up it may be difficult.  The way that contract was set up, they wanted to commit to him but we are not ready for you to perform on the big stage just yet.”

“The day of the NCAA Selection Show in 2006, being upstairs at Reed and sitting up there for a couple of hours just hoping that we did enough to make it.  We drew Syracuse and they had just made a big run to win the Big East.  Gerry McNamara was playing outstanding.  There were so many moments that stood out.  That was a moment that we put so much into and that was just a stamp to solidify what we put into it.  I think what stood out most had nothing to do with the game.  We had escorts all around the city in Florida.  It was an exciting time getting there and playing in front of all of those fans on CBS.  That was a memorable moment.  I am just glad we were able to win and move on.”

“Coach Gilispie always did a great job at preparing his teams for whatever their next challenge was.  There was so much excitement and buildup for the NCAA Selection Show and then once we got the moment behind us, the next day we were on the floor preparing for Syracuse.  From then on it was business.  Just going to the tournament was great but we were there for a reason.  We weren’t there for the NCAA logo, the fans or our families.  We were there to beat Syracuse and that was our only challenge to focus on.  That was always his mindset; to focus us on the next task at hand and we were prepared.  McNamara was one of the hottest players in the country at that time and Dominique Kirk led the way and did a great job of making sure he had a bad day.”
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Acie Law IV breaks down DJ Hogg, looks back on win over Syracuse in '06

7,472 Views | 4 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by Method Man
Gabe Bock
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Acie Law IV breaks down DJ Hogg, looks back on win over Syracuse in '06
aggiealltheway
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wacarnolds
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Method Man
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Acie sure is candid.
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