Nov. 30, 2010

Head Coach Gary Williams

Opening Statement:
"I'm looking forward to going up to Penn State to play. It's a good game for us in a lot of ways. It gives us a true road game as you get ready for the road games that will come up in conference play. Penn State is interesting. They have some really good matchup problems that they give you. [Talor] Battle is a very tough guard. He's only around that 6-foot size, but he's kind of a combo guard; he's a scorer in addition to being a good 3-point shooter and a good ball handler. He can do a lot of things. You look at what he averaged last year in the Big Ten and he can play, obviously, because he's done it against really good teams. It will be a challenge to see where we are defensively playing against a player like that.

"Their other players certainly provide offense for them; it's not just a one-man show. I think they look at this with the veterans they have returning as a chance to have a very good year in the Big Ten. It should be a good game for us to play at this point."

On how the team has progressed in one month:
"We know each other, which takes a while. No matter how much you work out together, actually getting out on the court five-on-five, getting tendencies of everybody knowing where to be in the offense, things like that. Knowing who does a good job helping on defense, all those things go in to team play. I think we're much better than we were, but you have to prove it. You have to go out there and play well. So that's what we're looking forward to doing tomorrow night."

On Dino Gregory:
"He's playing like a senior should play. He's very aggressive. He's always been a good defensive player here but now he's getting defensive stats, he's getting rebounds to go along with being in the right position, things like that. He's taking some charges, blocking some shots. Any time you can get another two or three guys rebounding with Jordan [Williams], it certainly makes you a tougher inside team. That's what he's given us, plus James Padgett has picked it up the last couple games. We need all those guys to be effective this year, so they're good signs."

On cutting down turnovers:
"It's been better. It's one of those things you would like to think you get better as time goes by because you know each other. Part of that early is unfamiliarity with where your teammates are going to be. Last year we were such a veteran team it was kind of easy in terms running plays where we knew where people were. This year it's different. It takes time. We're not a finished product yet, we're trying to get better. This is a big game for us tomorrow night in that respect."