Coach Mullins at Saluki Basketball Media Day
10/16/2019 | 5:56:00 | Men's Basketball
SIU men's basketball head coach Bryan Mullins met with media on Wednesday to preview the 2019-20 season. SIU has four returning players and 10 newcomers on the team. The Salukis host Minnesota State on Tuesday, October 22, at 7 p.m. CT in Banterra Center for Community Appreciation Night, with all tickets being half-price. The regular season opens on November 5 vs. Illinois Wesleyan. Purchase season tickets, single-game tickets, or mini-plans at SIUSalukis.com/tickets.Â
Watch the full press conference here
OPENING STATEMENT
It's been an amazing six months for me and four months for our team. We've been together since June. I love the group that I'm coaching right now. We have four returning guys with Aaron Cook and Eric McGill being the two guys that played the most last year. Brendon Gooch has played a little bit in the last couple years, and Sekou Dembele, who redshirted last year. We really have a new locker room. The thing we've stressed the most throughout summer, throughout the fall and practice right now is accountability and doing your best at everything. 'How you do anything is how you do everything,' has been our team motto so far.
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Yesterday we scrimmaged for the first time. We're 15 practices in, and we're trying to form our identity as a basketball team. Throughout the summer, the main focus was becoming a team, in terms of on the court, off the court, in the classroom, and in the community. I was really pleased with our guys throughout the summer. Especially the second half of the summer, after those first couple weeks of being together, they really started to grow. The best thing about this team is that they care about each other; they care about the program; and they care about this university; and they have a lot of pride. That was a huge thing for recruiting: We weren't going to budge on character. It means too much. You win with good people; and in terms of the staff and players we have in this locker room, they're all great people.
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Since the start of practices, we've talked about having a sense of toughness about us and being together. We really want to hang our hat on being the toughest team on the court and also playing together and being connected on the offensive side of the ball and the defensive side of the ball. It's going to start with seniors. In this league, you look at every team that has won championships since I've been playing, it has always been upper classmen. You have to have the seniors completely bought in, to have the leadership and to have the ownership of the program. I tell them every single day, 'This is your program.' They have to have that type of ownership, that sense of responsibility. I think for us, especially for AC (Aaron Cook) and Eric (McGill), even though they have been here, everything we're doing is new in terms of the basketball, the X's and O's, the teaching, how we're running offense, how we're doing defense. It's still new for them, but they have been trying to grasp the concepts and then teach the younger guys. What they've been doing is teaching with their work ethic and their energy, making sure everyone is on time every single day, and that's been awesome. Barret (Benson) and Ronnie (Suggs), those two guys came in here from different programs, and both of them have been to the NCAA tournament with their other programs. I think to have those four seniors for the younger guys in our program has been a huge advantage. I know for me, a first-time head coach to take over the program, I couldn't ask for a better seniors right now.
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Like I said, as the season goes along, our focus is going to be how much better can we get every single day. We want to play our best basketball in February and March. The team we are right now is going to be drastically different than the team we are in three or four months. Barrett, Ronnie, Eric and AC are the only guys who have really played D1 basketball before. Brendon Gooch has played a little bit here, but we do have a lot of new guys, so the teaching part has been huge for us through practices. They have been picking things up every day. We go over the same habits because those same habits lead to success. I'm extremely pleased with this group's effort and this group's energy every single day. With this group, the thing I have said the most and what is rare, is that all 14 guys that we have in our locker room, they love to play basketball. They're in the gym; they're in the arena by themselves all the time without us, without coaches. I think when you have a group that cares about each other and a group that loves to play, you have a chance to have success throughout the year.
Â
The younger guys in the program, they're learning every single day. They're learning how to be student-athletes in college; they're learning what it takes to be successful as D1 college basketball players, and their attention to detail has been really good, especially for freshmen and sophomores. I'm really happy with the seniors but then even the freshmen: Trent (Brown), Marcus (Domask) and Lance (Jones). I think those guys have had great energy every single day. We just found out this morning that Karrington Davis has been approved for his (transfer) waiver, so I know he's happy about that. He's been working extremely hard to get healthy; and hopefully, he can start practicing live in a couple weeks with our team. All of our guys, in terms of off-the-court—academic success, community—they've been great. On the court,we've been working extremely hard and I think when you get to practice 15, you're looking forward to playing someone different. We've been going four hours a week in June, July, in August, part of September; and now we've had three weeks of practice. I think Tuesday when Minnesota State comes here, the guys are going to have a sense of energy and a sense of excitement that they've been looking for.
Full press conference on YouTube
Watch the full press conference here
OPENING STATEMENT
It's been an amazing six months for me and four months for our team. We've been together since June. I love the group that I'm coaching right now. We have four returning guys with Aaron Cook and Eric McGill being the two guys that played the most last year. Brendon Gooch has played a little bit in the last couple years, and Sekou Dembele, who redshirted last year. We really have a new locker room. The thing we've stressed the most throughout summer, throughout the fall and practice right now is accountability and doing your best at everything. 'How you do anything is how you do everything,' has been our team motto so far.
Â
Yesterday we scrimmaged for the first time. We're 15 practices in, and we're trying to form our identity as a basketball team. Throughout the summer, the main focus was becoming a team, in terms of on the court, off the court, in the classroom, and in the community. I was really pleased with our guys throughout the summer. Especially the second half of the summer, after those first couple weeks of being together, they really started to grow. The best thing about this team is that they care about each other; they care about the program; and they care about this university; and they have a lot of pride. That was a huge thing for recruiting: We weren't going to budge on character. It means too much. You win with good people; and in terms of the staff and players we have in this locker room, they're all great people.
Â
Since the start of practices, we've talked about having a sense of toughness about us and being together. We really want to hang our hat on being the toughest team on the court and also playing together and being connected on the offensive side of the ball and the defensive side of the ball. It's going to start with seniors. In this league, you look at every team that has won championships since I've been playing, it has always been upper classmen. You have to have the seniors completely bought in, to have the leadership and to have the ownership of the program. I tell them every single day, 'This is your program.' They have to have that type of ownership, that sense of responsibility. I think for us, especially for AC (Aaron Cook) and Eric (McGill), even though they have been here, everything we're doing is new in terms of the basketball, the X's and O's, the teaching, how we're running offense, how we're doing defense. It's still new for them, but they have been trying to grasp the concepts and then teach the younger guys. What they've been doing is teaching with their work ethic and their energy, making sure everyone is on time every single day, and that's been awesome. Barret (Benson) and Ronnie (Suggs), those two guys came in here from different programs, and both of them have been to the NCAA tournament with their other programs. I think to have those four seniors for the younger guys in our program has been a huge advantage. I know for me, a first-time head coach to take over the program, I couldn't ask for a better seniors right now.
Â
Like I said, as the season goes along, our focus is going to be how much better can we get every single day. We want to play our best basketball in February and March. The team we are right now is going to be drastically different than the team we are in three or four months. Barrett, Ronnie, Eric and AC are the only guys who have really played D1 basketball before. Brendon Gooch has played a little bit here, but we do have a lot of new guys, so the teaching part has been huge for us through practices. They have been picking things up every day. We go over the same habits because those same habits lead to success. I'm extremely pleased with this group's effort and this group's energy every single day. With this group, the thing I have said the most and what is rare, is that all 14 guys that we have in our locker room, they love to play basketball. They're in the gym; they're in the arena by themselves all the time without us, without coaches. I think when you have a group that cares about each other and a group that loves to play, you have a chance to have success throughout the year.
Â
The younger guys in the program, they're learning every single day. They're learning how to be student-athletes in college; they're learning what it takes to be successful as D1 college basketball players, and their attention to detail has been really good, especially for freshmen and sophomores. I'm really happy with the seniors but then even the freshmen: Trent (Brown), Marcus (Domask) and Lance (Jones). I think those guys have had great energy every single day. We just found out this morning that Karrington Davis has been approved for his (transfer) waiver, so I know he's happy about that. He's been working extremely hard to get healthy; and hopefully, he can start practicing live in a couple weeks with our team. All of our guys, in terms of off-the-court—academic success, community—they've been great. On the court,we've been working extremely hard and I think when you get to practice 15, you're looking forward to playing someone different. We've been going four hours a week in June, July, in August, part of September; and now we've had three weeks of practice. I think Tuesday when Minnesota State comes here, the guys are going to have a sense of energy and a sense of excitement that they've been looking for.
Full press conference on YouTube
Players Mentioned
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