Billy Kennedy
Gary Blair
Texas A&M Basketball
Talk about the difficulties of getting David Loubeau the ball…
“I think David can do a better job posting in the block. He’s getting pushed off the block. We need to work with him on that. The other part of it is they are not guarding some of our guys. They’re putting two or three people around him so when he catches it, if he doesn’t make a quick move—it’s usually a fade away or a jump hook—then he’s not going to get opportunities to score unless he starts going to the offensive glass, running the floor in transition. He’s got to create some other opportunities for himself and we’ve got to help him do that.”
What do you remember about this rivalry with Texas from your first time here and what do you hear from A&M fans and former students?
“Well, I just remember back then we were in the Southwest Conference. I think Arkansas was leaving, and they were running. Both teams were run-and-gun type teams. I know the passion that A&M fans have for wanting to beat Texas and Texas having passion to beat us. It’s a special rivalry. We’re going to have to have a special effort to beat them. Coach Barnes has done a great job, being one of the dominant teams in the country and not just one of the dominant teams in the league. I’m looking forward to it. I know our guys are looking forward to it. That’s the culture we live in here, when we play Texas it’s a big deal.”
Is it good to draw a rival like Texas after a loss like Iowa State, maybe that if the team can’t get up for this game they can’t get up for any?
“I thought that the first five minutes we played well defensively against Iowa State. They didn’t score. I don’t think we weren’t up for the game. I just think our confidence level, the blows we were taking, not making shots, our guys were not coming back defensively and grinding it out on every possession. We’re not tough enough mentally to handle not making shots and guarding people on a consistent basis. But I know they’ll be excited to play and I know they’ll be excited to play everyone on the rest of the schedule.”
What can you do as a coaching staff to try and get the team to be more confident with all that’s happened in the last few weeks?
“We just have to work harder. You work harder, good things come and it spreads. We haven’t had a consistent work ethic. We’ve got to do a better job as coaches of creating that environment in practices. We’ve got to do a better job as players coming ready to practice and not trying to save our legs. Since Khris has come back, for whatever reason, we’re not playing as well as we probably were before. We’ve got to figure out how to get that to work in a positive way and get better from there.”
Any theories on why that’s been the case?
“Well, he hasn’t been totally back. I think he’s still hurt. He didn’t practice much last week. We tried to run some sets early to get him going, but I don’t think he’s gained his confidence back in his leg or in his game. I think that’s the biggest reason why.”
Do you think getting to the free throw line more can enhance the players’ confidence?
“You’ve got to drive the ball some. You can’t settle for jump shots, but you’ve got to be able to beat your guy off the dribble. That’s not the strength of our team. And when you get 2-on-1 opportunities, you’ve got to score or you’ve got to get fouled. Our post guys have to take the ball through people, not set up for jump hooks or fade aways. We’re not attacking the basket, we’re not in an attacking mode. It seems like we’re taking blows on the offensive end. Some of that is execution, some of that is we need to get more physical. We’ve got to change the makeup of how we’re approaching everything we do.”
When it’s going like this, what player do you turn to get kids’ heads up?
“The best thing about our group is we’ve got nice guys. It’s a good thing, and sometimes it’s a bad thing. I think our character will weather the storm, and our coaches will weather the storm, and we’ll continue to be positive and work through it. If we had a bunch of guys who’d quit on you…but we don’t have that kind of team. We’re going to have some tough moments. We’re not deep enough, we’re not totally healthy, and we’re not as athletic as I would like to night in and night out put on a great performance. So I’m hoping our character will keep us solid all the way through and if that happens we’ll win the games we’re supposed to win.”
Have you looked at making some rather drastic changes to offensive philosophy?
“We’re going to change some things. We’ll put some things in offensively that give our primary guys hopefully better opportunities to score. But we’ve tried a lot of different things already. We’re going to keep ingraining our system in our program to set the culture and set how we want to play. And we’re going to get the guys in here in the future that can adapt to that. We’re going to tweak some things, but we’re not going to do a complete overhaul offensively at this time of the year. I just don’t think that’s sound. And it’s hard to do. We play Wednesday, Saturday, Monday… how much practice are you going to be able to get in to change a whole lot? Not enough.”
Talk about the play of Texas’ point guard, Myck Kabongo…
“He’s good. He had a good game last game. J’Covan Brown is coming off an ankle injury, he didn’t play as well in the last game. Kabongo can hurt you in a lot of ways. We’re going to get after him defensively, but people who have done that with him he’s had some success. He’s that talented and that good.”
* Have to quit making careless fouls during the ballgame that the Aggies made against OU and K-State — reach-in fouls that have nothing to do with the play, et al.
* Going into the games against Texas rivals, the kids know each other, some of them played with or against each other and all the coaches recruit in the same areas. "We do a better job in the women's game of staying more regional."
* A&M is a team that's going to be as good as its last practice, and the Ags have to keep practicing better.
* Syndney Carter is averaging 40 minutes a game in conference play right now, but that foot has to get rested.
* Kids want to come to school here; they like the style of play; they leave knowing how to play man-to-man defense, which prepares them for whatever comes after. "We play transition defense. (But) We have two new point guards that are working with veteran wings. Hopefully by March we will be better in transition, but right now we have a lot of problems.
* LSU will be a great rivalry for A&M fans, particularly people in Houston who can travel both ways.
* "We won't be sitting here 20 years from now with A&M now playing anybody in the Big 12. It will happen. It will happen. We've just got to get over the feelings."
Much more from Coach Blair in the video.
Quotes & video from A&M basketball press conference
Men's Head Coach Billy Kenney
“After reviewing our game this week against Iowa State, it’s obvious we have to do a better job of getting the ball in the paint. I think we go side to side too much, and offensively we’re not attacking. Our personnel are a jump-shooting personnel team, and we’ve got to try and adjust that some. Defensively we have to compete harder and compete at a higher level. I thought Iowa State was a very good team, and we would have had to play a lot better to give ourselves a chance to beat them.”Talk about the difficulties of getting David Loubeau the ball…
“I think David can do a better job posting in the block. He’s getting pushed off the block. We need to work with him on that. The other part of it is they are not guarding some of our guys. They’re putting two or three people around him so when he catches it, if he doesn’t make a quick move—it’s usually a fade away or a jump hook—then he’s not going to get opportunities to score unless he starts going to the offensive glass, running the floor in transition. He’s got to create some other opportunities for himself and we’ve got to help him do that.”
What do you remember about this rivalry with Texas from your first time here and what do you hear from A&M fans and former students?
“Well, I just remember back then we were in the Southwest Conference. I think Arkansas was leaving, and they were running. Both teams were run-and-gun type teams. I know the passion that A&M fans have for wanting to beat Texas and Texas having passion to beat us. It’s a special rivalry. We’re going to have to have a special effort to beat them. Coach Barnes has done a great job, being one of the dominant teams in the country and not just one of the dominant teams in the league. I’m looking forward to it. I know our guys are looking forward to it. That’s the culture we live in here, when we play Texas it’s a big deal.”
Is it good to draw a rival like Texas after a loss like Iowa State, maybe that if the team can’t get up for this game they can’t get up for any?
“I thought that the first five minutes we played well defensively against Iowa State. They didn’t score. I don’t think we weren’t up for the game. I just think our confidence level, the blows we were taking, not making shots, our guys were not coming back defensively and grinding it out on every possession. We’re not tough enough mentally to handle not making shots and guarding people on a consistent basis. But I know they’ll be excited to play and I know they’ll be excited to play everyone on the rest of the schedule.”
What can you do as a coaching staff to try and get the team to be more confident with all that’s happened in the last few weeks?
“We just have to work harder. You work harder, good things come and it spreads. We haven’t had a consistent work ethic. We’ve got to do a better job as coaches of creating that environment in practices. We’ve got to do a better job as players coming ready to practice and not trying to save our legs. Since Khris has come back, for whatever reason, we’re not playing as well as we probably were before. We’ve got to figure out how to get that to work in a positive way and get better from there.”
Any theories on why that’s been the case?
“Well, he hasn’t been totally back. I think he’s still hurt. He didn’t practice much last week. We tried to run some sets early to get him going, but I don’t think he’s gained his confidence back in his leg or in his game. I think that’s the biggest reason why.”
Do you think getting to the free throw line more can enhance the players’ confidence?
“You’ve got to drive the ball some. You can’t settle for jump shots, but you’ve got to be able to beat your guy off the dribble. That’s not the strength of our team. And when you get 2-on-1 opportunities, you’ve got to score or you’ve got to get fouled. Our post guys have to take the ball through people, not set up for jump hooks or fade aways. We’re not attacking the basket, we’re not in an attacking mode. It seems like we’re taking blows on the offensive end. Some of that is execution, some of that is we need to get more physical. We’ve got to change the makeup of how we’re approaching everything we do.”
When it’s going like this, what player do you turn to get kids’ heads up?
“The best thing about our group is we’ve got nice guys. It’s a good thing, and sometimes it’s a bad thing. I think our character will weather the storm, and our coaches will weather the storm, and we’ll continue to be positive and work through it. If we had a bunch of guys who’d quit on you…but we don’t have that kind of team. We’re going to have some tough moments. We’re not deep enough, we’re not totally healthy, and we’re not as athletic as I would like to night in and night out put on a great performance. So I’m hoping our character will keep us solid all the way through and if that happens we’ll win the games we’re supposed to win.”
Have you looked at making some rather drastic changes to offensive philosophy?
“We’re going to change some things. We’ll put some things in offensively that give our primary guys hopefully better opportunities to score. But we’ve tried a lot of different things already. We’re going to keep ingraining our system in our program to set the culture and set how we want to play. And we’re going to get the guys in here in the future that can adapt to that. We’re going to tweak some things, but we’re not going to do a complete overhaul offensively at this time of the year. I just don’t think that’s sound. And it’s hard to do. We play Wednesday, Saturday, Monday… how much practice are you going to be able to get in to change a whole lot? Not enough.”
Talk about the play of Texas’ point guard, Myck Kabongo…
“He’s good. He had a good game last game. J’Covan Brown is coming off an ankle injury, he didn’t play as well in the last game. Kabongo can hurt you in a lot of ways. We’re going to get after him defensively, but people who have done that with him he’s had some success. He’s that talented and that good.”
Women's Head Coach Gary Blair
* Coach Blair began discussing the Texas rivalry, comparing it to other storied rivalries around the country such as Auburn-Alabama, USC-UCLA and Stanford-Cal. "It'll be a war." He also touched on the Longhorns' lineup, saying Ashley Gayle might be the best defensive post player in the league, drawing similarities to Demetria Buchanan.* Have to quit making careless fouls during the ballgame that the Aggies made against OU and K-State — reach-in fouls that have nothing to do with the play, et al.
* Going into the games against Texas rivals, the kids know each other, some of them played with or against each other and all the coaches recruit in the same areas. "We do a better job in the women's game of staying more regional."
* A&M is a team that's going to be as good as its last practice, and the Ags have to keep practicing better.
* Syndney Carter is averaging 40 minutes a game in conference play right now, but that foot has to get rested.
* Kids want to come to school here; they like the style of play; they leave knowing how to play man-to-man defense, which prepares them for whatever comes after. "We play transition defense. (But) We have two new point guards that are working with veteran wings. Hopefully by March we will be better in transition, but right now we have a lot of problems.
* LSU will be a great rivalry for A&M fans, particularly people in Houston who can travel both ways.
* "We won't be sitting here 20 years from now with A&M now playing anybody in the Big 12. It will happen. It will happen. We've just got to get over the feelings."
Much more from Coach Blair in the video.
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