BIRMINGHAM, Ala.–Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy and juniorKourtney Roberson were in Birmingham on Wednesday as the SEC held its “Tip Off ’14”, the annual Media Days, at the Westin Hotel. Video links are available to the right, and quotes below (courtesy secdigitalnetwork.com).
TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH BILLY KENNEDY
On how this year’s team is looking:
“The team is doing good. We’ve got a different team. We’ve got six new guys, a lot of freshman and sophomores. One day we look like we’re doing a lot better than we were last year. The next day we look like we’re high school players. We’re making young mistakes. So I think that’ll be our team for awhile, and hopefully we’ll mature quickly.”
On how Jamal Jones looks and what he adds to the mix:
“Jamal Jones is a guy who can score. He really has the ability to score the basketball. He’s 6’8”,6’9”, long, thin, can play the two, three and four for us. He’s got to continue to get more physical which will come in time, but he can score a basketball, and that’s something we’re excited about.”
On what will be different this year from last year:
“Offensively, we’ll be a lot different. I think you’ll see us spread the floor a little more, and I’m trying to get used to letting guys shoot more threes than I’ve ever done before in my career. We’ve usually been an interior team and patient and more disciplined offensively, but we’re hoping to play a little more up-tempo and take advantage of the three-point line because we’ve got more guys who can spread the floor. I think the strength of this league this year is the teams that have two post guys that are pile-up, bruiser-type players and we don’t yet have that so we’re going to have to play a little bit different offensively and hopefully make those big guys come out on the floor and chase us around a little bit. Defensively, we may have to play more zone which doesn’t excite me a whole lot. I’ve never played a lot of zone, but our team and our length we’ve got 6’5”, 6’6”, 6’7”, 6’8” guys this year on the perimeter that we didn’t have last year or the year before in numbers so I think you’ll see us play a little bit different defensively, and maybe play a little more zone than we have in the past.”
On the new players and who’s standing out:
“Jamal Jones, we just talked about him, just his maturity and his ability to score. Antwan Space, the 6’8” forward who has great days and who has terrible days. You know he’s just young but he can really score. He’s a top-100 forward who transferred from Florida State. And I really like our freshman Davonte Fitzgeraldand Tavario Miller. I think both of those guys have done some good things. We’ve got a 7-foot freshman that we’re going to play, Dylan Johns. We’re going to play all those guys.”
JUNIOR FORWARD KOURTNEY ROBERSON
On expectations for this season:
“The expectations for the season are slow right now, but we are going to get it together. Right now, we are mainly working on defense with our young guys, and all the young guys buying in. They are really doing a good job of listening to the older guys, like being ready and being more focused when they get on the court – asking a lot of questions and everything.”
On the adjustment last year moving into the SEC:
“It’s a lot faster than the Big 12, but we caught on as the season started coming along. It’s a big change, but we are telling all the young guys that it’s a big change from high school to college and that is something that they have got to be ready for.”
On going to new places on the road in the SEC:
“It’s great, not being able to go into Kansas, you know, but Kentucky – that was a good win, a good road win. This year, we will be able to go to Florida, see what that’s like. Hopefully, we can come out with a victory.”