Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Chris Lowery press conference transcript
10/19/2009 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Oct. 19, 2009
By Tyler Wooten
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Saluki men's basketball coach Chris Lowery met with the media prior to Monday's practice in SIU Arena.
"Practice is going well. They've practiced hard. Our older guys are really doing a great job of being leaders. I think that's the biggest difference between now and last year. We really tried hard not to talk at all about last year. I think they've done a good job of being what we need them to be."
Could you talk a little bit about what happened this weekend, and how it's affected the focus of this team?
"It hasn't affected the focus at all, because Ryan hasn't been with us through anything. It's an unfortunate situation, because I love him like a son. It was a hard thing for me to do. But there is a social responsibility that goes along with being in our family, and he didn't live up to those definitions that we set aside for him. It was very unfortunate and very hard for me to do, but he understood what it means now. It was a tough decision. We didn't want him to leave. He didn't want to leave, but it was a situation where it's more than just putting on a uniform and playing basketball. You have to do things as a human being that I require."
"Was it a certain incident that happened recently, or was it a series of things?
"It was a series of things. We set the groundwork for where he needed to be in order to come back to the team. And when you're suspended, you have to follow a certain guideline. Because those weren't met, and because we didn't see any future in that, we had to part ways with him. Like I said, it was extremely difficult. You never want to lose good players, but hopefully it's a life lesson for him."
What do you think the other guys on the team have learned from this situation?
"This isn't the first time we've had to dismiss someone, so they know that I'm not playing. I think they understand that they have to be a certain way, and it's all the time. So many kids say they don't want to be role models, but it's too bad, you are. Having a social responsibility and being conscious of that is important to me, because it's important that our kids and the kids in this community see our kids in a different light, other than just being a basketball player."
Who on the team right now do you see filling in his role or emerging as a playmaker?
"I think you have to look at Tony Freeman. He transferred, and we knew he was the guy who can score for us, him being a three-year Big Ten guy. Ryan has never been involved in any individual workouts or the team stuff, so it was like he was never here. And you hate to say that about somebody that's important to your program, but at this point, the guys are ready to move forward. It's tough. He's very close to most of the guys on the team. Obviously, living with Kevin Dillard and Anthony Booker, it was extremely tough on them, because it's more than just their teammate. The team right now isn't letting this bother them, because they understand that they have no control over it."
What does it mean for the scholarship situation for next year?
"It means we have another scholarship, that's all that means. And now we have two. So obviously, with the addition of Diamond Taylor it changed everything up. We have two junior college guys the same size as Ryan. You always have to keep recruiting, because you never know what can happen. Fortunately for us, we have Jack Crowder and John Freeman in the roster spots anyway."
Did you tell the players anything after the incident?
"They knew. They were his roommates, so obviously they're going to know some things. When you're in a family, they find out usually before the coach does. He's with them, it's their age group. They're obviously disappointed, and they wanted him to play, because we would have been extremely deep with Ryan. We still have a chance to be deep, but when you lose a guy who started most of the games as a true freshman and was a great contributor for us, it's always hard."
Was he going to be a big contributor this year, too?
"We expected him to be, but he was already suspended anyway. So, he was already going to give the other guys a chance to get ahead of him. We addressed it in recruiting, just in case. We addressed everything in recruiting, not knowing that this was going to happen."
Will he finish out the semester in school here?
"At this point, we're not sure. We're trying to decide the best thing for him, whether that is staying here or maybe transferring somewhere else. Right now, we don't have an answer for that. We met with him again this morning, and we're going to meet with him again tomorrow. We're just trying to find the best avenue for him to travel from here on out."
Coach, what does this mean for Diamond this year?
"He's not playing, he's redshirted. He's going to get his butt kicked the whole year anyway, so this just means he's going to get it a little bit more. It means he'll be in practice a lot more, and it means he's going to get a lot of reps. In his situation, I've known his mother and father since 1990. He visited here before going to Wisconsin. His mother and father wanted him to go somewhere that discipline was demanded. It was done before it even got to me, just from me knowing his family and being close with his father. It was done before I even got word that he was coming here."
You had Twittered on your page about being in the public eye, about it being unfortunate, and at the same time being an honor. Is your mindset on that still the same?
"It has always been. I played here and was always very conscious of what people perceived me as, and I think if I would have not went about it that way, I would have never been able to coach. There's a saying, `You make the bed, you gotta lay in it.' If I did some things here that I wouldn't have been very proud of, I don't think I would have been able to come back here and be an assistant or a head coach."
Does Taylor sign a financial agreement?"
"He signed a financial agreement. That's why we couldn't say anything publicly about it. There were some things released that I didn't know or didn't want to know at the time. That's how it is with the media and Twitter, even though some things weren't cleared up with Wisconsin. It is what it is, and Diamond is a good player. He made a mistake. He grew up in the Catholic school system, and kids make mistakes. This is a good place for him to come and play and get what his mom and dad want him to get, like dealing with the media and having to be a teammate and a player."
Can he start practice today?"
"Yeah, he can start today. He signed his financial papers Friday, so could have gone and done Maroon Madness, but that wouldn't have been fair to the other guys, so he started on Saturday."
For people that haven't seen him play, how can he help out next year?
"He's a Top 100 player. He's a talent, he's an athlete, he's 6'4", he can score the basketball. It came down to us, Wisconsin and Illinois, so that's telling you how good a player he is. His visit here was big, not only because of his parents and my relationship as his AAU coach."
Is there a guy out here so far that has impressed you more than you thought?
"Not really, because we've had very spirited workouts, and it's been the same people who worked hard. don't want to be surprised, because that means that some of the other guys are aren't doing what they're supposed to be doing. I'm pleased where we are right now. Obviously, we have some work to do, but it's good to see the kids playing hard right now."
"Were you pleased with the offseason work they put in?
"Look at Kevin Dillard. He was 150 pounds last year. I don't even know what we listed him as. He wasn't what we listed him as, but physically, he's gotten a lot better now that he's 165--that's huge for him. He's a scorer and a playmaker and having added weight is helpful. They're starting to look like I want them to look. If you look at us last year, everybody was skinny and gangly, and we fell down a lot, we got pushed down a lot, we complained about fouls a lot, so now we're intent on being a lot more physically aggressive this year."
