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| Southern Illinois Assistant Coach Rodney Watson |
Chat Live With Asst. Coach Rodney Watson
Rodney Watson stopped by the chat room, Friday night to answer your questions about Saluki basketball. Watson is in his 15th season on the men's basketball staff and has worked behind the scenes to aid SIU's rise to national prominence. If you missed his chat, here's a wrap-up of his thoughts on the team.
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| Moderator: Thank you for joining the chat room this evening with Rodney Watson. We have many questions to get to, so let's get started! |
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| Dave (St. Louis): How is the team feeling? Anyone else thinking that losing that game dropped our seed into a better position? |
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Rodney Watson: The team is just getting back from taking three days off, and they are just as excited as everyone else about the possibility of participating in the NCAA Tournament. Only the eight-person selection committee knows who will be seeded where, but we could be in a similar situation to last year, that by losing, it may have possibly helped our draw. However, I would have rather won on Monday and taken our chances. |
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| Jay (Carbondale): Besides the exposure, what does a NCAA tourney run do for the program? Also, whatever happened to Levy Jones? |
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Rodney Watson: The NCAA Tournament is what every college player dreams about, and it gives us an opportunity to practice and compete. Levy Jones is rumored to be sitting out at Nebraska-Omaha, a Division II school. |
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| Jan Podrebarac: Rodney,
What adjustments must be made to be as successful in the Tournament this year as last year?
Thanks, Jan
Class of 83 |
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Rodney Watson: The NCAA Tournament is more about who you're matched up with than anything else. Our help defense must be outstanding, and our ball movement must be equally outstanding. |
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| Tom Scholz (Boston): What made you want to be a coach? What do you like about working on Coach Weber's staff? |
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Rodney Watson: I knew I wanted to coach ever since I was in the 8th grade. I wanted to be in a profession that was like a hobby rather than a job. As far as Coach Weber, he is the best manager of people I've ever been around. He enjoys basketball and wants everyone in the program to equally enjoy it. |
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| Benzinger (Carterville): I heard that you're a runner. How far do you run each day and how do you manage to keep it up when you have to travel so much during the season and with recruiting? |
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Rodney Watson: I would be classified more as a jogger than a runner! I have trouble maintaining a running routine during the season more because it's cold than due to a busy schedule. I try to go between two and four miles a day, and I'm very close to starting that routine again any day now. |
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| Jamie, Benton: Congratulations on the season; and the team's efforts in getting us to this point! Do you think that the team will react favorably with a posible six-game "new season" ahead? |
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Rodney Watson: Thanks. There's no doubt that a post-season tournament is a new season and our guys are very excited about the possibilities that lie ahead. |
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| Captain Billy Dean Tutt 1958: With many highly regarded teams falling in their conference tournament, do the Saluki's still think they will receive a NCAA bid and what seed to you think they will receive? |
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Rodney Watson: As of today, things still look very good in terms of our RPI and other accomplishments. We need to continue to root for those top seeds in their conference tournaments and we are still very hopeful for an at-large bid. |
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| Doug (St. Louis): If Bill Gates took a sudden interest
in the Salukis, what one thing could
he do to most help the Salukis become
perennial top-25 contenders? |
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Rodney Watson: Bill could build us a brand-new arena that no recruit could refuse to want to play in. |
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| Capt Marc Ayala (a US Air Base in Oman): Tell the team and Coach Weber: Saluki fans in uniform are pulling for you every step of the way.
Kick some "Top 25" butt!
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Rodney Watson: Captain Ayala. Thank you for the kind message. You should know that we are pulling for you in what might be a much more important "contest." All of you are our true heroes. |
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| Schaumburg: How come your program doesn't make an open invitation during the summer or fall for students who might actually make your team a little deeper? |
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Rodney Watson: We hold a tryout every fall at the beginning of the season for any potential walk-on. This year, we actually kept two kids who helped our depth. |
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| Josh (Carterville): Coach,
How hard is it to get into coaching at a Division I school and stay there for as long as you have? |
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Rodney Watson: It's more luck than anything else. It's a very competitive field. As you'll find in nearly every profession, it has more to do with timing and who you know than, as in my case, what you know. |
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| Patrick (Columbia, Mo): Hey Coach,
I've been fortunate to see both Jamaal Foster and Tatum play this season. I think they fit the Saluki system perfectly. Which one do you think has the most potential and which one do you see contributing right away? |
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Rodney Watson: Patrick, that's great to hear. They are two different types of players, and hopefully each will contribute in their own way. |
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| Jeff (Boston): in your coaching tenure, who has been your favorite player to work with? Also, who do you think you had the greatest role in developing? |
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Rodney Watson: Over the 15 years, it would be unfair to single-out any one person. Without question, Kent Williams has been the hardest worker from the day he stepped on campus, throughout his four years. His work ethic is truly unbelievable. Most recently, it has been very enjoyable to see the progress that Josh Warren has made as a result of his hard work with all the coaches. This is a guy that has changed his body structure by literally running hundreds of miles on the Carbondale pavement. It wasn't very enjoyable at the time, but it has been very rewarding to see Josh become a major contributor to our program. |
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| david yeatts: Did the salukis lose their composure against the bluejays in the championship game? |
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Rodney Watson: We should give Creighton a lot of credit for the outcome of Monday night's game. Sometimes a game has more to do with the other team than your own team. Our shot selection in the first 12 possessions put us in a difficult hole that we weren't able to dig out of. |
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| Sterling, IL: Coach Watson,
What is your coaching staff's solution to rebound from Monday night's loss to Creighton? Are the players responding well to your direction?
Robert Ybarra
Class 1990 |
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Rodney Watson: This team has proven to be very focused on winning as the 16 MVC victories indicate. Before Christmas, it was not so obvious, but there's no doubt in our mind this team will put Monday night behind us and work hard for whatever is ahead of us. |
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| Jim (Belleville): With SIU having the 3rd longest winning streak in the country, is NC-Charlotte going to show up next year without invoking the penalty clause? How would you compare the last two years to '93-'95? |
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Rodney Watson: We fully expect Charlotte to play in the arena next season, and I believe we've already agreed to a date. While the individual talent on this team may not be to the same level as the 93 to 95 teams, we seem to have a little better defensive scheme, so that's how I would contrast the two eras. |
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| Bruce (Carbondale): Rodney,
What are differences in terms of coaching styles
and personalities between Bruce Weber and Rich Herrin.
Do you think that college basketball has changed
in the past ten years in terms of hype and intensity. |
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Rodney Watson: Coach Herrin was more of an offensive-minded coach, and Coach Weber is probably a little more defensive-minded. However, Coach Weber's motion offense is a very significant part of his coaching philosophy. Both guys instill hard work as their basic philosophy. There's no difference in the hype and intensity as far as I can tell. However, the 13-scholarship rule and Proposition 48 have had a significant impact on college basketball. Thirteen scholarships has helped with parity, and Prop 48 is one factor in why many prospects never compete at the Division I level. |
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| c-low & Hawk -G: Did we not work hard for you? |
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Rodney Watson: Hawk and C-Low. Thanks for being part of the chat room. I don't recall either one of you guys running with Josh and I over the last three fall conditioning programs. Please know you're always welcome to join us. |
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| chris(evansville): Where does Ian Stewart fit as one of the all-time greats? |
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Rodney Watson: Of all the players that have been at SIU in the past 15 years, Ian Stewart is certainly one of them. We wish him well. |
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| Frank (Port Washington, WI): Assuming you get in the NCAA - What do you think is the most challenging element for your 1st round game; 1) Putting the MVC championship game behind you
2) The expectations (and pressure) created by last year's success
3) or ??? |
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Rodney Watson: Frank, the number one factor in the NCAA Tournament is whether you're going to be with us or not. You were in St. Louis on Saturday and Sunday, but you went home on Monday, and the rest is history. Other than the Egan factor, matchups are the most important thing in the NCAA Tournament. What was done in the past was done in the past and really had no bearing on what our team is focused on at this time. |
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| christopher(joplin, mo): is it true that you have been know to eat in upwards of seven baby snicker bars during a road trip? |
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Rodney Watson: My personal-best is an even dozen during last year's Sweet 16 run while pouting in the lobby of the Hotel Syracuse. |
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| CJ & Lexis(Cape Girardeau): Have these past two years been your most fun coaching? Also how is your family doing? |
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Rodney Watson: There's no doubt that the addition of the Lowery family has made coaching very fun. |
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| CHARLES - HERRIN: TODAY CBS HAS SIU AT #9 PLAYING
PURDUE; AND ESPN HAS SIU AT #10
PLAYING MISS. STATE. WHO WOULD
YOU PICK TO PLAY? |
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Rodney Watson: Charles, thanks for being part of the chat room. We'd be happy to play anybody that they pair us up with. The Purdue matchup would be an interesting one wouldn't it? |
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| St. Louis: What kind of conditioning do you have in store for the newcomers next year?? Will you be their personal trainer?? |
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Rodney Watson: We're confident that our new guys will arrive on campus in fairly decent shape. I will be more than willing to help them improve. |
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| Lingle Hall: Of the members in the traveling party, who has the most ball skills? I hear that your SID works on his game the most!! |
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Rodney Watson: Without question, Tom Weber works on his game more than anyone else that's ever travelled with the Salukis. He has a mean jump shot, and when he gets that cross-over down, there will be co-ed championships waiting to be had. |
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| Jack (Springfield): who are the prospects to step in as the "big man" in 2003-4 season.. Willis can't do it alone.. |
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Rodney Watson: NCAA rules prevent us from using specific names on prospects. However, you should be very comfortable with the effort Coach Weber , Coach Painter and Coach Lowery are doing as they seem to know of every kid out there with any size and have contacted almost all of them. Certainly, Josh Warren will be an instrumental part of filling the middle next year. |
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| Wes from Cobden, IL: How are SIU's three (3) recruits already signed doing this year and will any of them have an immediate impact next year in replacing Kent Williams and J.D.? |
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Rodney Watson: It's tough to expect any freshman to come in and contribute right away, regardless of what program he's entering. All three were on good times and had very good years, so we'll just wait and see what happens when they get here. |
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| Nick Des Plaines: How does your family hold up with all the things that go on during the basketball season? |
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Rodney Watson: Hi Nick. Thanks for your constant support. My wife is a great lady, and she's a very hard worker. She certainly carries the load in our house. Like everyone else, our kids have things going on every night, but somehow you have to manage to juggle things so everything seems to come out right. You have two kids of your own, so you know how it goes. |
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| A. Dino (Indianapolis): Coach, congratulations on another great season.
Has the recent success helped the coaching staff recruit future college players that will help SIU maintain it's reputation as a quality basketball program ? |
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Rodney Watson: The noticeable difference over the last 12 months is that our credibility seems to be at a much higher level than at any other time that I've seen over the last 15 years. This allows us to at least get our foot in the door and have an opportunity to talk to prospects. |
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| Doc - Benton: Coach, You have done a super job dealing with details (especially travel arrangements) associated with your position. Many thank yous. Does probable future Saluki, Blake Watson, sign any Saluki memorabila besides programs? |
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Rodney Watson: Doc, you are the greatest. Thank you for your contributions to Saluki basketball. We are concerned that Blake's autograph may be an NCAA violation. Also, we're still trying to get him to sign in cursive. |
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| Moderator: That will do it for our chat room session with Rodney Watson. Thanks, Coach Watson, for spending time with us before tonight's practice. We are planning more chat rooms in the coming days, so stay tuned to www.SIUSalukis.com. Also, check out the link on the front page for upcoming media appearances on radio and TV by Saluki coaches and players. Things are definitely heating up! |
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