Terps Hold Annual Men's Basketball Media Day At Comcast Center
10/8/2003 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 8, 2003
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Nearly 100 members of the national and local media came out for the Maryland Men's Basketball Media Day on Wednesday afternoon at Comcast Center. Head Coach Gary Williams addressed the media in Nextel Heritage Hall before moving to the court with his team to meet the media.
The Terps and their coaches met with the media for newspaper, magazine, television and radio interviews.
Here's what Coach Williams had to say at his press conference.
On having five freshmen on the roster:
"Any time you have five freshmen there are a lot of question marks, because no matter how good they were in high school you don't know how that's going to translate into being college freshmen and facing very good teams. There is some pressure on these guys to be good right away. We expect them to be able to help us, and we go into practice Oct. 17 with that in mind."
"We have a young team this year - nine guys that are either freshmen or sophomores - but this is the last time you'll hear me talk about us being a young team, because Oct. 17 we're just a team. My goal every year is to win the most basketball games possible. There's no rebuilding, we're here to win as many games as we can and we try to do that every year."
On John Gilchrist:
"John had a good freshmen year and learned a lot by playing against Steve Blake every day. He really wants to prove some things this year, and he's looking forward to getting out there in practice. John is vocal and demonstrative. I've coached all different kinds of point guards, and each guy has his own personality. The big thing with a point guard is he has to get through to the other players on the team. John has our players' respect and they know how badly he wants to win."
On Nik Caner-Medley:
"Nik was cleared to play on July 1 after his ankle injury against Michigan State last season. He's come back really strong and when you have an injury like that you realize how much you like basketball and how important it is to you. Nik is very focused going into the start of practices."
On Jamar Smith:
"Jamar is our senior that's been here a year. He is a factor in the development of the younger players in addition to him being a factor on the court. Last year Ryan Randle really picked it up after being a role player his first year, and hopefully we can expect the same thing from Jamar Smith."
On coaching at Maryland for 15 years:
"I'm excited to get on the court this year because teaching is a priority. To be able to coach at Maryland for 15 years has been a big thrill for me. To watch the program grow with the school has been a great thing. We don't feel like we are at the peak of what we can do as a basketball program."
On the team's excitement to start the season:
"I can feel the anxiousness of wanting to get out onto the court. We'll be a very tough team this year. It will be interesting to see when the confidence kicks in, because no matter how good of a player you are, there comes that point when you have to gain confidence. Hopefully we can do a good job of helping these guys get to that point."
On the departure of last year's senior class:
"You build a degree of comfort with Drew Nicholas, Steve Blake and Tahj Holden, because you know what they can do. Even though they might have a couple days in practice where they don't play well, it doesn't change anything. With young players, you evaluate each day and you see things that are encouraging and discouraging.
On the versatility of the team:
"The big thing for us this year to make sure everybody plays defense well and to make sure we understand about passing the basketball. As long as we keep those fundamental things at a high level, we'll be okay."
On the ACC's expansion next year:
"Our league has been great in that you play everybody twice, but things change. Its part of the way it is now and we accept it. I'm happy with who we're playing."
