Highlights from Basketball Press Conferences |
- Real | Windows Media Overall thoughts on his first preseason at Clemson: "Overall, I thought we had a positive experience with the two exhibition games. Anytime you play these games, there are always things you would have liked to see or a different kind of team you would have liked to go up against. Overall, I thought it was good for our team. It was good coming into the Gardner-Webb game, a team that plays similar to EA Sports (last night's opponent) in that they spread the court with their supposedly post players. We saw that a good deal last night and struggled with it, but I thought we made an adjustment at halftime to get our post players to understand they had to play with more energy." On the EA Sports game last night: "We found ourselves down 11 in the second half, but I was particularly pleased with the way our team responded in that situation. Often times, I feel that the success of a team is determined with how it handles adversity. I was glad to see how we operated in the last six minutes of that game." On concerns to open the season: "We've got a lot of things to work on. Our point guard play is a little too spotty, but I can't say I'm surprised about that. We'll just have to grow in that position and get better. We have to put Vernon Hamilton and Shawan (Robinson) in different situations, and they've got to experience it." On strengths of the preseason: "I'm happy with the preseason. We had a lot of fun coaching these guys. We've got a semblance of a basketball team now. We realize the way we want to play, which is emphasizing defense and rebounding. When they don't do that, the guys expect my ire. And they get it. Offensively, we're sharing the basketball. We had six guys in double figures each game, and that's good to see. That's the way the game should be played. When somebody's open, they should get the basketball. If you have five guys and a team thinking that way, you're going to have some pretty good offensive stretches. I'm pleased with our attitude and our unselfishness. That always warms a coach's heart. We've got a long way to go to be a good basketball team, but we had a lot of fun with our preseason preparation and got some things out of the exhibition games. But at the same time, we've got a lot of things to work on." - Real | Windows Media
Clemson men's head basketball coach Oliver Purnell
Clemson Lady Tiger basketball coach Jim Davis
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