Tipoff Luncheon
Went to the Tipoff Luncheon yesterday with Coach Byrd and Coach Ezell. Some random notes:
- Good turnout it seemed. The Maddox Grand Atrium was pretty full.
- Coaches implored fans to come out for the Don Meyer Classic, since it will be on ESPNU and honors Coach Meyer. Byrd intimated that he didn't like Coach Meyer much during the heat of the NAIA rivalry, but he elaborated on how much respect and fondness he has for him now. Touching.
- Ezell was pretty impressive. Great mix of energy, intensity, and fun. Seems like she'd be a very good recruiter. Hopefully she has the x's and o's. Characterized her team as "relentless". That's all I'll say about WBB.
- Coach Byrd was his usual mix of honestly, good stories, a little humor, and analysis.
- Feels his team is being underrated. That is a very un-Coach-Byrd-like thing to say. Said he thought the pre-season NIT disrespected us with a 4th seed, and that is a motivating factor for the team.
- Said this is the deepest team he's ever coached, but it isn't because of mediocrity. He said there is more talent and depth, and even with that we're still young with 2 seniors.
- Actually said that while he loves Keaton, we'll be better at the 4.
- Said that he doesn't think you can really play your hardest every single play and play more than 25 minutes per game. With our depth, expect a lot of subs and a lot of pressure from the coaches on consistent effort.
- Said that Saunders has really improved and that Saunders and Hedpeth, even though they won't play at the same time, look like 2 of the top 5 players on the team. Still expect 4 out and 1 in offense though.
- Talked about Blake Jenkins being a different type of player for us. A big, athletic slasher.
- Mentioned that he thought Johnson, Clark, and Hanlen were all better. Talked about Rice hitting about 70% from 3 in scrimmages thus far. Yes I said 70%.
- Said that he thinks Jordan Campbell will finally break out after having been "snakebit" with injuries. Talked about his shooting and defense.
- Raved about our depth at the 3, and how it was actually an issue for the coaches to figure out playing time. Said House has to get on the floor saying, 'even though his stats aren't obvious, he somehow makes us better by being in there.' Talked about his versatility, on ball and off ball defense.
- Lastly, I get the feeling that our team really improved defensively last year, and that Byrd expects us to be better. Talked about individual players' ability to defend quite a bit.
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