Texas men’s basketball coach Shaka Smart held a press conference on Tuesday to discuss Mo Bamba NBA future. With Dustin McComas in Omaha covering Texas’ baseball team, I came off the bench to fill in for him.
For full disclosure, I was more interested in asking Smart about his team than Bamba. Everybody knows Bamba is going to be a top five pick this week. The biggest story is team-related news, so just know Smart said a lot of positive things about Bamba.
Here is what Smart said about histeam:
- When asked about his team, Smart said, “I like our guys.” Smart said Kamaka Hepa, who recently hit campus, will not work out with the team until he is passes a team physical. The freshmen have a lot to learn, but Smart said they are very eager.
- I asked Smart for his impression of Kervin Roach II's and Matt Coleman’s shooting during workouts, and he said, “They shot the ball well in our workouts. We’ve not done a ton of live-play in practice because they NCAA increased the amount of hours we can use from two to four in the summer time and offseason. We want to make sure we dedicated a lot of that extra time on skill development. We don’t want these guys to feel like we’re practicing year-round. At the same time, we’re getting a chance to implement some things in terms of what we want to do offensively, defensively. Coleman and Roach have been really good. Snoop has taken another step with his shooting, which has been impressive. Matt has done a really good job as a leader. We just want to keep those guys developing. I told those guys it’s been a while since Texas has had a backcourt that people would consider one of the elite backcourts in the Big 12. I said this is a year if we do our jobs, that can be a reality. That’s what we’re working towards.”
- In addition, I asked Smart to describe the shape Dylan Osetkowski is in, and if his conditioning is a point of emphasis for the staff. Smart said, “It’s a huge point of emphasis. He’s in really good shape. He’s worked his butt off since April when we got back going after the season. He’s dropped about 20 pounds, and he looks really good. He’s moving well. The key, obviously, is getting in better, better shape and staying in that kind of shape during the course of the season. As I’ve always tried to communicate to him, I think it’s a combination of mind, body, everything together. His work ethic has been terrific. The way that he’s been disciplined with his diet. The way he’s treated his body has been really good.”
- Smart said Jericho Sims will have more opportunities with Bamba in the NBA. He believes Sims averaged around 12 points and nine rebounds when Bamba missed games due to a toe injury, and Smart said he’d take that this year.
- Smart said assistant coach Neill Berry has been a great addition to the team. He described Berry as a great relationship guy who has a special combination of confidence and humility.
- When asked about wearing the KD logo on Texas gear more often, Smart said Nike prefers to have its “Swoosh” symbol prevalent.
- Here is Smart’s response when I asked if he is putting any pressure on himself to improve his program and eventually win an NCAA tournament game: “Yeah, of course. The pressure, to be honest, that you put on yourself, or what you’re trying to do as a coach, is more on growth and improvement. What you’re talking about is a byproduct of that. To be honest, if you look at a season like last year, if we’re two points better, four points better, six points better on the offensive end and defensive end in a lot of those games … you allude to the NCAA tournament, that game, in particular. Our focus would be misguided if it was only on the results. It needs to be on what are the things that go into us being better the next time we get into that game situation. I think for us as a team, focusing this summer, a lot of our attention, on what we call a low-hanging fruit, particularly on the offensive end that we can improve on, that is the better way to approach pressure. When you apply pressure on something that you know you can go do, you just have to have a disciplined approached, and you have to be committed as a group to the same, that to me is a good thing. That creates the results, but no question, we think we can take a real step this year. Obviously, in a lot of cases, when teams do take a step, part of that of is having a level of good fortune, and certain things going your way. In terms of things we can control, absolutely. That’s where our emphasis is.”
- Smart said freshman guard Courtney Ramey has shot the ball well during skill workouts. In fact, Smart said Ramey has shot better than any of his guards. Texas had a guard workout at 6:45 a.m. on Monday, but Ramey was in the gym at 6 a.m. Smart loves Ramey’s approach and work ethic, but still has a lot to learn about the game.
- In addition, freshman forward Gerald Liddell has been a pleasant surprise, according to Smart. The key to Liddell is how he will respond when things get challenging, according to Smart.
- Smart said the two biggest points of emphasis on offense are improving as a three-point and free-throw shooting team. Texas is spending a lot of time trying to improve those areas this summer.
For full disclosure, I was more interested in asking Smart about his team than Bamba. Everybody knows Bamba is going to be a top five pick this week. The biggest story is team-related news, so just know Smart said a lot of positive things about Bamba.
Here is what Smart said about histeam:
- When asked about his team, Smart said, “I like our guys.” Smart said Kamaka Hepa, who recently hit campus, will not work out with the team until he is passes a team physical. The freshmen have a lot to learn, but Smart said they are very eager.
- I asked Smart for his impression of Kervin Roach II's and Matt Coleman’s shooting during workouts, and he said, “They shot the ball well in our workouts. We’ve not done a ton of live-play in practice because they NCAA increased the amount of hours we can use from two to four in the summer time and offseason. We want to make sure we dedicated a lot of that extra time on skill development. We don’t want these guys to feel like we’re practicing year-round. At the same time, we’re getting a chance to implement some things in terms of what we want to do offensively, defensively. Coleman and Roach have been really good. Snoop has taken another step with his shooting, which has been impressive. Matt has done a really good job as a leader. We just want to keep those guys developing. I told those guys it’s been a while since Texas has had a backcourt that people would consider one of the elite backcourts in the Big 12. I said this is a year if we do our jobs, that can be a reality. That’s what we’re working towards.”
- In addition, I asked Smart to describe the shape Dylan Osetkowski is in, and if his conditioning is a point of emphasis for the staff. Smart said, “It’s a huge point of emphasis. He’s in really good shape. He’s worked his butt off since April when we got back going after the season. He’s dropped about 20 pounds, and he looks really good. He’s moving well. The key, obviously, is getting in better, better shape and staying in that kind of shape during the course of the season. As I’ve always tried to communicate to him, I think it’s a combination of mind, body, everything together. His work ethic has been terrific. The way that he’s been disciplined with his diet. The way he’s treated his body has been really good.”
- Smart said Jericho Sims will have more opportunities with Bamba in the NBA. He believes Sims averaged around 12 points and nine rebounds when Bamba missed games due to a toe injury, and Smart said he’d take that this year.
- Smart said assistant coach Neill Berry has been a great addition to the team. He described Berry as a great relationship guy who has a special combination of confidence and humility.
- When asked about wearing the KD logo on Texas gear more often, Smart said Nike prefers to have its “Swoosh” symbol prevalent.
- Here is Smart’s response when I asked if he is putting any pressure on himself to improve his program and eventually win an NCAA tournament game: “Yeah, of course. The pressure, to be honest, that you put on yourself, or what you’re trying to do as a coach, is more on growth and improvement. What you’re talking about is a byproduct of that. To be honest, if you look at a season like last year, if we’re two points better, four points better, six points better on the offensive end and defensive end in a lot of those games … you allude to the NCAA tournament, that game, in particular. Our focus would be misguided if it was only on the results. It needs to be on what are the things that go into us being better the next time we get into that game situation. I think for us as a team, focusing this summer, a lot of our attention, on what we call a low-hanging fruit, particularly on the offensive end that we can improve on, that is the better way to approach pressure. When you apply pressure on something that you know you can go do, you just have to have a disciplined approached, and you have to be committed as a group to the same, that to me is a good thing. That creates the results, but no question, we think we can take a real step this year. Obviously, in a lot of cases, when teams do take a step, part of that of is having a level of good fortune, and certain things going your way. In terms of things we can control, absolutely. That’s where our emphasis is.”
- Smart said freshman guard Courtney Ramey has shot the ball well during skill workouts. In fact, Smart said Ramey has shot better than any of his guards. Texas had a guard workout at 6:45 a.m. on Monday, but Ramey was in the gym at 6 a.m. Smart loves Ramey’s approach and work ethic, but still has a lot to learn about the game.
- In addition, freshman forward Gerald Liddell has been a pleasant surprise, according to Smart. The key to Liddell is how he will respond when things get challenging, according to Smart.
- Smart said the two biggest points of emphasis on offense are improving as a three-point and free-throw shooting team. Texas is spending a lot of time trying to improve those areas this summer.
