Coach Sendek Press Conference Quotes...

Coach Sendek’s Opening Statement:

“We are going to open with some Late-Bearding news. On February 18, the Sun Devils host UCLA and on that evening we are going to honor James Harden by putting his jersey up in the rafters. We are really excited to have him coming on campus for this special tribute. I think one of the best things we have done in recent years is honor jerseys. Right now we have a host of great players already up in the rafters and we have some additional ones we would like to include. The next guy to go up is James Harden.”

On what this team needs to do to take the next step:

“I think it is more a function of this team as opposed to a comparison to last year or the year prior to that. Every team is unique. For example, what this year’s team has to do may be different than last year or even next year. We have to be a team in every sense of the concept. We don’t have any NBA draft picks right now on our roster. We have good players who have to make each other better on offense and are going to have to play great team defense. I think that is as much a key as anything for us.”

On the development of Eric Jacobsen:

“We are very proud of the development of our frontcourt players through the years. That is something that we work really hard to accomplish. You look at guys like Jeff Ayres, Eric Boateng, and Jordan Bachynski. Those guys have gotten significantly better throughout the course of their careers and I really believe Eric (Jacobsen) is on the same trajectory. He is an upperclassmen now, he is in great physical shape, and he moves well for a young man his size. I can’t say enough about his basketball IQ at both ends of the floor. He is really a smart player. We are looking forward to him having an outstanding year. You can make the argument that Eric’s ability to play his best will have as much to do with our team’s success than anything. Obviously that is an over simplification, there is a lot that goes into because it is a team sport, but I say it in that manner only to highlight his importance to our team.”

On where the team is at defensively:

“I thought we made a lot of progress last week. Early in the season we got up and down a lot to learn how to play with each other. Over the course of the last week or so we have taken a step back and broke some things down and put a highlight on our technique and fundamentals. I think over the course of the last week we have made some progress defensively. I do think ultimately we can be a very good half court defensive team, but we just have to honor the process and stay with it. This team is going to have to do that to be successful.”

On whether he plans to continue to pressure:

“We will on free throws and dead balls. Selectively we will be able to do that. I think one of the assets we have is pretty quick perimeter players so we want to make sure we take advantage of that where the case warrants.”

On how the incoming freshmen are adjusting:

“The one thing I love about this team is their character, they are really good guys. They have a sense of humility, I think they are very hungry. The young guys are eager to listen to the old guys and learn. Everybody on the team right now has been exceptionally coachable. From that stand point it has been a fun group to be in the gym with because they work really hard, they have great energy, and they want to be coached. If you have that combination, it typically leads to improvement.”

On the rotation:

“I think it is going to be pretty fluid. There are years when you pretty much know how it is going to go. I think last year was probably one of those years. This year there is not a lot of separation between guys as of yet and it is much more difficult to define roles this early in the season. There hasn’t been this gulf of separation or consistent dominance of one player over another.”

On Roosevelt Scott:

“Roosevelt is doing exceptionally well in large part because he has a great motor. He plays so hard and he plays with such energy that even if he makes mistakes, he is capable of quickly making up for it with his athleticism and his motor. Most of our guys are still on the beginning stages of a lot of intricacies and so we have to make up for that with great energy. Roosevelt delivers that on a consistent daily basis.”

On Tra Holder’s transition:

“I think it is quite challenging at arguably the most difficult position. No different than your quarterback in football and so it is a transition for a freshmen. Having said that, I have been extremely pleased with the transition Tra is making and he is getting better each and every day. The improvement he has made from week-to-week has been significant. Throughout the early practices, he has down a great job of setting his teammates up for good shots. I think he is very promising and we are going to rely on him immediately to help our basketball team.”

On what he is looking for in his starters:

“Consistency more than anything else. There are a number of guys who are capable of doing different things, but who is going to consistently do those things. We are still really emphasize taking care of the ball and limiting turnovers. We are still trying to define what is a good shot and what isn’t a good shot. Those would be two things that really stand out.”

On Jonathan Gilling’s status:

“Jon right now is day-to-day. I haven’t got a report yet for this afternoon. Hopefully he will be back sometimes this week, but he is really day-to-day. It is something that has been lingering all fall and it got aggravated in practice last Thursday. He was playing really well especially shooting the basketball.”