Notes from today's media availability:
Coach Rodney Terry
How do you see Jordan and Julian playing together, both as point guards, and how do they complement each other?
"Jordan is one of those guys that can score on and off the ball, a lot like the way Max did for us last season. Julian is more of a more traditional kind of point guard who can score a little bit as well, makes open shots, but makes other guys around him better. They can totally play together; we played those guys together in both of the last games at some point. We'll do that from time to time. They complement each other."
What do you think were some of the takeaways from the two scrimmages for your program?
"You know what, I think we had great effort, great energy. I thought we had great bench energy. We didn't have any guys moping around or pouting about playing time. I thought everybody was really connected together and locked in, in both of the scrimmages. I thought we did a better job in our second scrimmage taking care of the ball than we did in the first one, which is to be expected, especially early in the year just learning the value of taking care of the basketball, making simple plays and then at the end of the day just getting used to playing with each other. You can only assimilate so much in practice. When you get out there between the lines guys have to have a feel for what guys are capable of doing, what they're not capable of doing, what positions they're good at. All that comes into play in a game situation. I think early in the year one of the things we got better at from one game to the next was fouling. You can't put teams on the free throw line."
One of the things you emphasized heavily last season was taking shots early in the shot clock; might be the best shot you get in the possession. Is that still something you're emphasizing with this team this season?
"Yeah, if it's the right guy shooting it, right? We're not equal opportunity. If you're equal opportunity, you lose by 50, you know? We're not trying to do that. No, our guys know the green-light shooters, the guys that put the time in in the gym. If Tre Johnson is open down the side/up the floor, if Jordan Pope is open, that's a good shot for us. As the season goes along you really want to try to condition your guys to always put pressure on the basket."
You don't really see a lot of power conference teams agreeing to play each other this early; forget opening night, what compelled you to say yes to this matchup, to play [Ohio St] game 1?
"Can we change that? No… No, you know you get challenged right off the bat. Well coached team, Jake has done a great job with his program there. He's got some great returners. Thornton's back, Thornton is one of the best guards in the country. Again, you want to find out early who you are. We jump right in there playing well-coached teams, teams with older players. Again, what it does for you, it really helps you set the tone. For us in November it's going to be about our identity. Who are we going to be in November? Will we be a team every night that comes in and tries to guard really hard, are we going to be a team that values taking care of the basketball? We're going to get tested on all those things at an elite level right off the bat. We're on neutral court. I think it'll be great for us. It's great exposure, we're playing at a prime-time slot, there will be a lot of eyeballs around the country on Texas Basketball."
Do you experiment a whole lot, do you feel like you have a long bench?
"We're two deep at every spot. We've got eight starters on our team, you could say nine starters on the team. We've got different guys that on any given night could be our leading scorers. We are pretty deep and we have a number of different guys who are interchangeable and complement each other very well. With that we can play a lot of different lineups, we can play small, we can play big."
Last week Chendall said one of the most surprising things about Tre Johnson's game was his defense and the intensity he plays with; can you touch on that?
"He's really bought into that. Tre's a highly skilled player with size, real NBA size. But the one thing too, you've got to be able to put on both sides of the ball. The best guys in the world, the guys who make the most money, they're two-way players. They're efficient on offense, but they play really hard on defense and they take pride in their defense. I think he's really bought into that. Just like any young player, just like a lot of our players right now. We have to continue to play hard without fouling."
There's going to be a lot of people who come to games to watch y'all and to watch Tre. How do you think Tre is prepared for that?
"Tre's a team guy. Tre's about winning, it's not about him. He's been one of the best kids to recruit. Great smile, great personality. He's cut from the old cloth, he just wants to win. Whatever it takes to win, he'll do it. He's a great teammate, he's great with the guys, he's a super competitor in terms of really wanting to win. A lot of similarities in regards to when we had Kevin Durant here. Tre loves the ball."
Jordan Pope
What do you think is the biggest strength of the team so far and what needs the most work?
"Our biggest strength is we have a lot of versatility at a lot of different positions, a lot of different skill sets that complement each other. I think we all play really well off each other. And I think our weakness right now is just, you know, still early-on in our playing days, so just learning each other a little better and getting to know each other better on the court in different situations."
You talk about building that chemistry, how do you think the TCU and Colorado scrimmages helped with that?
"I think it was good for us, it was finally a chance for us to compete against different people and see different lineups and different actions, see how we play with, you know, a real environment, real competition out there. It was good for us. There were some high moments, there were some low moments but it was a good showing."
You don't see a lot of power conference teams opting to play another power conference team on night one, and you don't see that on a neutral floor very often. How much of a challenge is this night one against Ohio State?
"Like you said, not really the first game to be thrown into the fire like that, but I think we're excited for the opportunity, you know, just a great night, to be able to go out there and show people what we have on our team and a great game that being against Ohio State, and I think it will be a good challenge for us and a good stepping stone for us moving in the right direction."
So, what would you say right now in your game, outside of scoring, are your best strengths?
"Playmaking. You know, I'm still a point guard so just getting guys their shots, making defense play on their heels and just creating opportunities for us to make winning plays."
Julian Larry
How does it feel being back home. Everyone looking forward to seeing you in burnt orange?
"It's been a lot of fun being back home, seeing a bunch of people that I haven't seen in a long time. Getting to reconnect with them, it's just exciting to be back home and play in front of those people."
What do you make of this team, a lot of new faces and different experiences? How do you think you've gelled?
I think we've gelled really well, you know it started off the court, in the summer. And then you know, really just getting in, getting our fundamentals. Then just cranking it up once we got back here."
There's some similarities between you and Jordan, are y'all going to be on the court some together and how do you complement each other?
"That's not really a me question, but I would think we'll be on the court together. We've played together a lot in the summer and in the fall, so we really complement each other a lot, just with me being able to get downhill and create off action and being able to kick to him for an open shot, and him being able to do that for me as well. Being able to help each other get easier shots."
What do you think you learned from the two scrimmages?
"I've learned how to really just stay solid, because I've got a bunch of guys around me who are really good too, so I know if I stay solid and continue to do my job over and over and over again, it's all going to work out and get us to the goal that we want to be at."
What have you seen as the biggest strengths of this team?
"The strength of this team is, when we're running, when we're running we're really, really good. I would say how fast we are, how we are on the defensive end, we're really good on the defensive end, got a lot of guys that can guard, got a lot of length, and we've got some dudes that can clean up some stuff on the glass as well. So I really like us defensively and I really like us running up and down the floor."
Can you talk about what EBE means to you and everyone on the team?
"EBE means, everybody eats. So if everybody does their job at a high level, then everybody is going to eat. And what it means to me, you know, like I say, me doing my job is really how everyone else will eat because I'm really the one who gets it out to everybody, make sure everybody is good and ready to go."
Coach Rodney Terry
How do you see Jordan and Julian playing together, both as point guards, and how do they complement each other?
"Jordan is one of those guys that can score on and off the ball, a lot like the way Max did for us last season. Julian is more of a more traditional kind of point guard who can score a little bit as well, makes open shots, but makes other guys around him better. They can totally play together; we played those guys together in both of the last games at some point. We'll do that from time to time. They complement each other."
What do you think were some of the takeaways from the two scrimmages for your program?
"You know what, I think we had great effort, great energy. I thought we had great bench energy. We didn't have any guys moping around or pouting about playing time. I thought everybody was really connected together and locked in, in both of the scrimmages. I thought we did a better job in our second scrimmage taking care of the ball than we did in the first one, which is to be expected, especially early in the year just learning the value of taking care of the basketball, making simple plays and then at the end of the day just getting used to playing with each other. You can only assimilate so much in practice. When you get out there between the lines guys have to have a feel for what guys are capable of doing, what they're not capable of doing, what positions they're good at. All that comes into play in a game situation. I think early in the year one of the things we got better at from one game to the next was fouling. You can't put teams on the free throw line."
One of the things you emphasized heavily last season was taking shots early in the shot clock; might be the best shot you get in the possession. Is that still something you're emphasizing with this team this season?
"Yeah, if it's the right guy shooting it, right? We're not equal opportunity. If you're equal opportunity, you lose by 50, you know? We're not trying to do that. No, our guys know the green-light shooters, the guys that put the time in in the gym. If Tre Johnson is open down the side/up the floor, if Jordan Pope is open, that's a good shot for us. As the season goes along you really want to try to condition your guys to always put pressure on the basket."
You don't really see a lot of power conference teams agreeing to play each other this early; forget opening night, what compelled you to say yes to this matchup, to play [Ohio St] game 1?
"Can we change that? No… No, you know you get challenged right off the bat. Well coached team, Jake has done a great job with his program there. He's got some great returners. Thornton's back, Thornton is one of the best guards in the country. Again, you want to find out early who you are. We jump right in there playing well-coached teams, teams with older players. Again, what it does for you, it really helps you set the tone. For us in November it's going to be about our identity. Who are we going to be in November? Will we be a team every night that comes in and tries to guard really hard, are we going to be a team that values taking care of the basketball? We're going to get tested on all those things at an elite level right off the bat. We're on neutral court. I think it'll be great for us. It's great exposure, we're playing at a prime-time slot, there will be a lot of eyeballs around the country on Texas Basketball."
Do you experiment a whole lot, do you feel like you have a long bench?
"We're two deep at every spot. We've got eight starters on our team, you could say nine starters on the team. We've got different guys that on any given night could be our leading scorers. We are pretty deep and we have a number of different guys who are interchangeable and complement each other very well. With that we can play a lot of different lineups, we can play small, we can play big."
Last week Chendall said one of the most surprising things about Tre Johnson's game was his defense and the intensity he plays with; can you touch on that?
"He's really bought into that. Tre's a highly skilled player with size, real NBA size. But the one thing too, you've got to be able to put on both sides of the ball. The best guys in the world, the guys who make the most money, they're two-way players. They're efficient on offense, but they play really hard on defense and they take pride in their defense. I think he's really bought into that. Just like any young player, just like a lot of our players right now. We have to continue to play hard without fouling."
There's going to be a lot of people who come to games to watch y'all and to watch Tre. How do you think Tre is prepared for that?
"Tre's a team guy. Tre's about winning, it's not about him. He's been one of the best kids to recruit. Great smile, great personality. He's cut from the old cloth, he just wants to win. Whatever it takes to win, he'll do it. He's a great teammate, he's great with the guys, he's a super competitor in terms of really wanting to win. A lot of similarities in regards to when we had Kevin Durant here. Tre loves the ball."
Jordan Pope
What do you think is the biggest strength of the team so far and what needs the most work?
"Our biggest strength is we have a lot of versatility at a lot of different positions, a lot of different skill sets that complement each other. I think we all play really well off each other. And I think our weakness right now is just, you know, still early-on in our playing days, so just learning each other a little better and getting to know each other better on the court in different situations."
You talk about building that chemistry, how do you think the TCU and Colorado scrimmages helped with that?
"I think it was good for us, it was finally a chance for us to compete against different people and see different lineups and different actions, see how we play with, you know, a real environment, real competition out there. It was good for us. There were some high moments, there were some low moments but it was a good showing."
You don't see a lot of power conference teams opting to play another power conference team on night one, and you don't see that on a neutral floor very often. How much of a challenge is this night one against Ohio State?
"Like you said, not really the first game to be thrown into the fire like that, but I think we're excited for the opportunity, you know, just a great night, to be able to go out there and show people what we have on our team and a great game that being against Ohio State, and I think it will be a good challenge for us and a good stepping stone for us moving in the right direction."
So, what would you say right now in your game, outside of scoring, are your best strengths?
"Playmaking. You know, I'm still a point guard so just getting guys their shots, making defense play on their heels and just creating opportunities for us to make winning plays."
Julian Larry
How does it feel being back home. Everyone looking forward to seeing you in burnt orange?
"It's been a lot of fun being back home, seeing a bunch of people that I haven't seen in a long time. Getting to reconnect with them, it's just exciting to be back home and play in front of those people."
What do you make of this team, a lot of new faces and different experiences? How do you think you've gelled?
I think we've gelled really well, you know it started off the court, in the summer. And then you know, really just getting in, getting our fundamentals. Then just cranking it up once we got back here."
There's some similarities between you and Jordan, are y'all going to be on the court some together and how do you complement each other?
"That's not really a me question, but I would think we'll be on the court together. We've played together a lot in the summer and in the fall, so we really complement each other a lot, just with me being able to get downhill and create off action and being able to kick to him for an open shot, and him being able to do that for me as well. Being able to help each other get easier shots."
What do you think you learned from the two scrimmages?
"I've learned how to really just stay solid, because I've got a bunch of guys around me who are really good too, so I know if I stay solid and continue to do my job over and over and over again, it's all going to work out and get us to the goal that we want to be at."
What have you seen as the biggest strengths of this team?
"The strength of this team is, when we're running, when we're running we're really, really good. I would say how fast we are, how we are on the defensive end, we're really good on the defensive end, got a lot of guys that can guard, got a lot of length, and we've got some dudes that can clean up some stuff on the glass as well. So I really like us defensively and I really like us running up and down the floor."
Can you talk about what EBE means to you and everyone on the team?
"EBE means, everybody eats. So if everybody does their job at a high level, then everybody is going to eat. And what it means to me, you know, like I say, me doing my job is really how everyone else will eat because I'm really the one who gets it out to everybody, make sure everybody is good and ready to go."
