Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Chris Lowery press conference transcript
11/04/2009 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 4, 2009
By Tyler Wooten
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Saluki men's basketball head coach Chris Lowery met with the media on Wednesday as the team prepares for Saturday's exhibition game versus Southern Indiana.
Coach Rodney Watson has been around a long time. Can you talk about how it's going to be looking down the hall there and seeing him across from you?
"It will be different, obviously. He's been in my life since 1989, and now all of a sudden, he's my enemy. It'll be different for our kids, too. The good thing about it is that we'll be seeing a mirror image of what we're trying to do defensively, and we'll get a chance to see our practice actually play-out on the floor and happen with two similar teams. Our kids are really looking forward to playing."
They're a pretty good team - is it nice being able to play a good team in the exhibition season?
We wanted to play somebody with a high-end scorer this preseason, and Jamar Smith is capable of getting 30 or 40 in a game. We wanted to address that. If it wasn't Southern Indiana, it was going to be somebody else that caliber, because we wanted to test these guys right away. We just need to see if we can hold a good guy under 20, which we couldn't last year.
Did you see Syracuse fall to a D-2, and does that help get everybody's attention?
"I think it does. Syracuse played all man-to-man the whole game, and they never do that. It was probably (Jim Boeheim) testing them, trying to convince them to play how he wants them to. It doesn't matter what's on the front of your chest or the back of your shirt. It's an eye-opener for everyone across the country. Several teams have lost already to Division II. I have their attention. Even before that loss, I think we had a group that was going to focus on doing the right thing."
"Is there a guy on your defense who can stop Jamar Smith, or will it be a team defense?"
"No, we need to get it back to where it doesn't matter who guards who. We've had some very good individual defenders, but team defense is what we've been special at, and hopefully this team can be that. As the season progresses, somebody will develop into that. I'm pleased with how everyone is defending, as opposed to one person."
"What kind of improvement have you seen in your rotation since Saturday?"
"I thought our defensive rotation looked pretty good. We missed way too many layups, though. You give a guy 15 defensive boards, that's a lot of misses in close. He had at least six or seven off of layups, and Eugene (Teague) missed six free throws, so he got all six of his, too. We just have to finish plays off in the interior."
