Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Weber Fields Questions at Local Media Day
10/09/2002 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Oct. 9, 2002
Southern Illinois men's basketball coach Bruce Weber held a pre-season press conference with local media Wednesday at 17th Street Bar and Grill in Murphysboro. The Salukis begin practice on Saturday morning and are less than a month away from their first exhibition game.
Weber said the Salukis will start practice without redshirt freshman Stefan Jabkiewicz, who has decided to transfer.
On last season
"The success we had was more than we ever dreamed of. We didn't want to say it, but we thought we would have a good team. Rolan Roberts ended up being as good as everyone thought that he would be. Rolan was working out the whole year before and worked hard at it. Having Rolan added to a mix of Kent and Jermaine, we thought that we were pretty good. Rolan made a good-team great, now the question is, can Dearman and Kent make another good-team great? "
"Josh Warren and Sylvester Willis, one of those guys will have to step up this year. Brad (Korn) showed some signs of being a good player, hitting some big shots. Josh Warren was too fat his freshman year. He has gotten himself in better shape."
"Stetson (Hairston) was a leader of defense, and in the locker room. He was very determined to win."
On the loss of Stefan Jabkiewicz
"He felt that he wasn't making the progress that he wanted. He felt the best situation was to finish school and transfer. Division I athletics is not easy for everyone. I feel that it is my fault he didn't reach that level."
On the possibility of playing Williams, Brooks and Hairston in the backcourt at the same time
"Marcus (Belcher) played 20 minutes a game last year. When he was in there he did some things people didn't notice. One of the things that we had problems with in the UConn game was getting back on defense. A point guard has to be willing to do that."
On former player Shane Hawkins, who is now a graduate manager
"We're happy to have Shane back. He was with us as a student assistant the first year. It's good to keep the staff stable and keep it going in the right direction."
On getting back to the NCAA Tournament
"The only way to get back in the Sweet Sixteen is to win the Valley Tournament. We have a good schedule. It's gonna be tough to get back there, but hopefully they'll be determined to do it. A lot of factors come in to play, injuries, making improvement at practice, winning games on the road."
How has last year's success affected your players work ethic?
"We don't allow anything except to go hard. I thing that the seniors push each other hard. Jermain Dearman came to me and said 'coach, that was fun last year and I want to do it again as a senior, and prove that we can do it without Rolan.'"
