Oct. 16, 2008

Media Day Press Conference 

Head Coach Gary Williams

Opening Statement

"This is always an exciting time of the year. There is a certain feel, today is Media day and tomorrow is Maryland Madness, all those things leading to practice Saturday morning. It's just a special time for me personally, and I think anyone who is into college basketball really looks forward to that.

Our players worked hard since the season ended last year, they really got together and have done a great job. We hired a new strength coach, Paul Ricci. He's done a great job motivating the players and making them see the benefits of a strong conditioning program.

As we get into the first semester I am really proud that we graduated eight of our last 10 seniors. Hopefully we will continue to have that kind of success. Two years ago, we won 26 games, the sixth-most wins in the school's history. Last year we won 19 but we beat the number one team in the country on their court. We had periods last year where we were good enough to play with anybody, but we didn't sustain and our goal this year is to be more consistent with our team.

We are a relatively young team with one senior, Dave Neal. We're young in terms of class but we do have people that played a lot of basketball around here, so we are expecting them to do a great job in helping out younger players. We did vote for captains the other day, and we will have tri-captains this year: Greivis Vasquez, Dave Neal and Landon Milborne. All of those guys are good leaders in their own way.

I think one of the thrills as a coach is the people that you coach, and I am really thrilled with the people we have in our program. They are willing to work and I think they set really high goals for themselves. They want to have an outstanding team, and our job as coaches is to make sure we do everything to make that happen, and hopefully we will.

One of the keys to our team this year, is we have to use the experience we have. When practice starts, one of the focal points will be who can bring down the basketball and who can play defense on the other team's players. In my 20 years here, scoring has never been a problem. If we can play good enough defense and we can bring the ball down well enough, we will be okay. That is what we are trying to achieve in this preseason period.

The Big East will have their media day in a couple of weeks and of their 18 teams, they will say nine will deserve to be in the NCAA Tournament. As a member of the ACC, I will say six of our 12 teams will deserve a spot, so we'll try to see how that goes. Our schedule is going to be tough. Everything is ready to go, I am excited about this year. Every year is a different challenge and I think that's the great thing about coaching. Even if you return all of the same players, they are a year older, they have different interest, and some may be into basketball more than others, and it would be that challenge to get those guys going again. I have great people to work with and I am looking forward to the challenge."

On his outlook towards retiring:

"I've never given any thought on when to quit. The one thing I know is that I don't want to cheat the game. The game has been good to me and I wouldn't want to be in a situation where I thought I was giving any good to this program and school. Hopefully I am smart enough and have good enough friends around to not have that happen. We've all seen examples of people who've stayed too long , and I'd hate to do that."

On change in the team's playing style:

"Most teams play three guards and we were very successful last year playing four. I think you have to look at your talent and how to get your best players on the court. That is something I am definitely looking at and I've played that way for quite a bit of my career. We have to figure out what is best for our team."

On playing to the level of competition:

"I think players have a tendency of judging their opponents more. I remember when you played somebody who was supposed to be not as good as you were, you tried to beat them by 50 points. Now its `maybe I can get by with playing 60 or 70 percent.' We are aware of it and remind them that it doesn't matter who you are playing. Last year we lost games that we shouldn't have lost and that made a big difference in the outcome of the season."

On the development of Braxton Dupree:

"Since the end of the season last year, Braxton Dupree has lost 20 pounds. I think all players have to earn the right to get confidence if they are good enough, I think Braxton has done some things to allow him to have that confidence and I think he will be a very good player for us this year. Guys like Jerome Burney, he's been working hard and he's in great physical condition. All those things are good, but then it comes down to the game; Can you play? You don't know that until you get into the game. We lost two really good inside players, James Gist and Bambale Osby."

On Maryland Madness as a recruiting tool:

"It is a great recruiting tool, we'll have some great players here. However this isn't the first weekend of `Madness' on college campuses. Some schools started last week. It's a tremendous opportunity for us but it is a better thing for the fans to get to see the players for the first time. We will model our new Under Armour uniforms, which I am sure everyone is excited about. Hopefully our players enjoy themselves. They know there is hard work ahead of them. Tomorrow is supposed to be a fun night and hopefully it will continue to be that way."

On ball-handling and Eric Hayes:

"Adrian Bowie has really worked hard in that area, Vasquez obviously and Sean Mosley could pop up there once in awhile. I think Eric is a very good point guard, he can just get better at feeling comfortable."

On Sean Mosley:

"I think he going to play a strong role for us, whether he starts or not. He was Player of the Year in Baltimore, and he's one of those people who are fun to be around. He has a very good personality and in terms of his playing, he reminds me of Keith Booth. Sean is definitely a guard, with the same toughness and ability to score."

On relying on Greivis Vasquez:

"I would love to see him take a better shot at times and not force as much. But there is a fine line, you don't want to take away a player's aggressiveness. I think Greivis got blamed for a lot of things that he had to do last year. I'll take Greivis on my team anytime."

On flex offense:

"The flex offense is not the only thing we run, we use it as the basis of what we do. It gives you a stability to your offense because we like to press, we like to run, so we trade it sometimes. There are ways to score inside, just because a player is a guard doesn't mean they can't post up. You can invert your offense very easily, and be very successful. I have a lot of new ideas this year."

On Adrian Bowie:

"I think Adrian lacked confidence as a shooter last year. He made some great plays for us as a freshman and he had a very good spring and summer. He played in a good summer league and shot the ball very well, hopefully that confidence will carry on to this year."

On competition in the conference:

"I think it is always going to be close. Last year we tied for fifth in a 12-team league. You look at the teams that finished behind us, and they are good basketball programs. We feel we are good and we are going to play the teams that are said to be good. I think they'll be some surprise teams and there will be teams who don't play up to what was expected. Preseason is preseason and we'll just get ready to play."

Junior Guard Greivis Vasquez

On his father's health problems:

"I had to go back on Monday of last week because my dad is really sick. He had internal bleeding and was in the hospital. It's really hard for me to be here with him being sick, so I had to go back and help him through all of this. Right now, he's pretty much stable and happy that nothing bad happened."

On the freshman class:

"We've got two new guys. Having Sean Mosley is really good. He's going to bring some toughness to the table and that will help a lot."

On improving over last year:

"I've got to change a lot of things, I've got to really calm down a little more. I did work on a lot of things this off-season. I've got to prove myself every time I step on the court. I've got to lead the team in a different way than I did last year. This is going to be a really challenging year for me in a lot of aspects."

On expectations for the season:

"A lot of people don't think we're good enough to have a good season. I think the way that we're working, the way that we talk to each other, and the way that we hold each other is going to help us be a better team."

On team chemistry:

"Sometimes last year and the year before we weren't on the same page and that's why we lost so many games. This year is going to come down to how we hold each other."

On playing with a smaller lineup:

"We're going to play some with four guards because we lack a lot of big guys. We played like that last year and we won a lot of games. I think we have quickness, toughness, and we've got a lot of things together."

On the unexpected nature of the game:

"Last season, we pick NC State to be fourth in the league and they finished 12th, so anything could happen. You guys watch college football and the NFL. The Giants lost against Cleveland. I don't know much about football, but they're supposed to win that game. Cleveland is not really good. Some other games were like that, the Redskins were supposed to win too. It's about being ready to play. If you're ready to play, you have the best chance to win the game."

Sophomore Center Braxton Dupree

On being better conditioned:

"I feel entirely different. I can contribute longer. Last year, I was off the court so fast because I wasn't in shape to play. This year I know I'm in shape coming in. I've gotten a lot stronger since last year and I'm going to be more nimble down in the post."

On mental preparation:

"It was tough to change from high school to college. I think I'm a little more mature going into situations this year. I'm way more confident. When I step out on the floor, I'll have my best foot forward."

On being the only returning center for Maryland this year:

"I learned a lot from James [Gist] and Boom [Bambale Osby] looking up to them as a freshman. They definitely left us with a lot of things to take to the court. I think Coach [Gary Williams] is going to expect a lot more. We have to bring the experiences from last year to the team this year."

On spending time with the team:

"We spend more time together as a team this year. We all hang around together on the weekend in the dorm rooms or going out. Last year, it wasn't the same."

Senior Forward Dave Neal

On the expectations that come with being a senior:

"It's going to make me push more. Because being a captain, my teammates are always going to look up to me. So I push myself harder throughout the season. I'll try to stay healthy as much as possible. I just want to be that player who comes in the game that I have been doing the last three years and kind of do the dirty work, grab a couple loose balls, get some rebounds and just go in there and get that score."

On being team captain:

"It's a great honor to be a captain for the Maryland Terrapin basketball team. There is only one or two each year and to be one in my senior year under Coach Williams is something I'm going to talk about for the rest of my life."

On Maryland's postseason goals:

"I mean obviously we are going to get the biggest, we are going for the NCAA Tournament. My senior year, I kind of want to go out with a bang. That's definitely our goal. We are not going to set any standards lower, so right now it's going back to the Tournament."

On Maryland's low-post presence:

"I personally think it's going to be alright. Braxton Dupree, Jerome [Burney] and I have come a long way. We have worked real hard this off-season. I have seen Braxton has lost a lot of weight. He is a little quicker. Jerome is becoming stronger; he is a lot more confident. People can talk, do whatever they want to do, I think we have kind of used that as motivation to become better and show the ACC we are not going to be beat down low. We are going to have a presence down low and help us win some games.

On off-season preparation:

"Conditioning, strength, quickness. My weight is where I want it to be. We had a huge addition to our team, Paul Ricci, our new strength coach, has done a phenomenal job with our team, I can just see with my figure. The way I am in shape, I am probably in the best shape I have been here. I have kind of been working on my game overall, shooting, defense, a little bit of everything."

Freshman Guard Sean Mosley

On advice from older players:

"Well, Greivis and Landon said "Just work hard," and Coach will like that, and that is what I am doing. Coach sees that I am working hard and things are going pretty good right now."

On Maryland Madness:

"Yeah I am looking forward to just coming out here in front of the fans and just having a little bit of fun. Even though I have been here while I was in high school, but just coming here now is just a different experience."

On the expectations coming in as a highly touted freshman:

"I just have to come out and play. The whole season's not going to be great, things are going to be up and down. You just have to stay focused mentally and stay mentally strong."

On wearing a Maryland jersey:

"It feels great. A lot of people thought I wasn't going to make it this far because of my grades. But I proved a lot of guys wrong and I am just happy to be in a Maryland uniform right now."

On expectations for freshman year:

"I'm hoping to accomplish a lot of things like winning the ACC and winning a national championship. Just competing is important. Leaving everything on the court each and every night, that's the only thing you ask for. First game I might get a little bit of butterflies, but after that I'll shake everything off and just come back and play the next game."

On being compared to Keith Booth: "Keith Booth is a great guy. He came here to the University of Maryland and did a lot of good things. I've just got to fill his shoes and go from there."

On the influence of Baltimore basketball on his game:

"It's just toughness. You can't be taught toughness, you have to be born with it. That's one of things I got, you never back down from it."

On the decision to play at Maryland:

"It was the just the coaches. We had a great relationship. That's the only thing I was telling my parents and one of my coaches from the summer. I just wanted to build a relationship with a coach I could feel comfortable with explaining myself to. I'm close to home and my family can come out to every home game that we have here. Coming out here and playing in front of thousands of people every night will be great."