PhilliesDeacs
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Didn't see this posted - delete if so:
http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/40798/acc-hoops-coaches
Here's the transcript - mostly softball questions:
Martin Connor (Austin, TX)
Coach [Redacted].. Wake alum here living out in Austin! Will you miss the NBA, especially the postseason, if the season gets cancelled?
Jeff [Redacted] (8:58 AM)
I am so wrapped up in my own collegiate season that I find little time to watch the NBA. However, the NBA playoffs, especially when the NCAA tournament is over, they're a wonderful thing to watch. It's basketball played at the highest level. It's enjoyable to watch! Not only from a fan's standpoint, but as a technical standpoint as a coach. Having spent 17 years in the NBA, I have many friends in the business, and it's fun to watch them compete. I'm sure that they'll salvage enough of the season to make sure those playoffs do take place in the spring.
David Turner (North Carolina)
Coach [Redacted] I'm guessing you used every tool in your coaching toolbelt last season ... did you learn anything during that process that maybe you didn't know before that will be useful moving forward?
Jeff [Redacted] (8:59 AM)
Last year was extremely tough. We had extreme inexperience coupled with extreme immaturity. Our basketball program is in a great place -- we have a collective group of mature young men who are humble and hungry, and who gained valuable experience last year. They are stronger and wiser, and are a much more together basketball team. What I did learn from last year is to never again spend 90 percent of my time with 10 percent of the players for as long as I endured without moving forward in the right way.
Jeff (Charlotte)
Coach [Redacted].. what are some of the areas you felt the team needed to improve on this year to be a real Final Four threat?
Jeff [Redacted] (9:01 AM)
Obviously, you must defend and rebound. You must share the basketball. Defending and rebounding are the areas in which we're making a conscious effort to improve. Young players don't understand the intensity and urgency of that on every possession. We need to guard the ball better and rebound consistently, which will allow us to get easy points in transition. We're working on those areas daily to improve upon them.
Peter Carlton (N.C.)
Coach [Redacted] .. I'm curious what you guys think of all this conference realignment going on and how it will impact college basketball. Do you think when all the moving is said and done we will be better off than we are now? Or will this all be for football and basketball will wind up being all messed up? That's what I fear.
Jeff [Redacted] (9:03 AM)
The ACC is a great league in so many ways. It's a league of high integrity and careful planning. The addition of Pittsburgh and Syracuse and potentially other schools enables us to strengthen our league. Not just from a basketball and football standpoint. It'll be great for other sports and will expand our media coverage. It'll benefit our alumni, as they'll be able to see their teams play more often now. The schools that will be added onto our league are that of high integrity, and from top to bottom we define class in college sports. I think it's great.
Joe Faxon (Wake Fan)
Coach Bz .. are all you guys in the same room today? What do you guys talk about when you all get together?
Jeff [Redacted] (9:04 AM)
They're all great guys. So often we find ourselves in so many competitive situations, whether it be in recruiting or playing against one another. It's fun to be around everyone in a relaxed setting, as there's nothing to compete about in this very moment. We talk about family, some of the rule changes, our sport in general. We talk about people that we know that are common to us. It's actually an enjoyable time, it really is.
Jackson (Ashville)
[Redacted] what would you say is the real bright spot for this team heading into the season?
Jeff [Redacted] (9:06 AM)
The fact that we are a high-energy, more-together basketball team, from the standpoint that we have a collective group of young men that are playing for each other, not for themselves. They want to do well. They will play extremely hard and have gained valuable experience from last season. We were the youngest team in the ACC last year, and no team played more freshmen in more minutes than we did. We took a beating, but they are stronger, faster, and more together because of it. We have talent, and it's going to be a much more efficient basketball team because of it.
Chris Kelly (New York)
Coach [Redacted] - this is an early chat! Did you have time to eat breakfast?
Jeff [Redacted] (9:06 AM)
There's always time for breakfast!
Timothy (Wake Alum)
Coach [Redacted] - How frustrating was last season and how challenging is it to try and change the culture of a team to get the talent to shine through?
Jeff [Redacted] (9:08 AM)
Changing the culture of a team is the hardest thing to do. You have to change attitudes individually and collectively. Those who want to do well are brought down by those whose attitudes need adjusting. I'm sure it was equally as frustrating for the fans, if not more so for myself. But we're in a much better place right now, as we've eliminated the immaturity, and those that remained have bought into the culture that we need to be successful.
Stevenson (Dorm Room)
For Coach Biz .. how much easier is it in Year 2 with a new team compared to the first year where you are still having to get used to your surroundings, staff, etc.?
Jeff [Redacted] (9:09 AM)
I think what makes it easier -- and it's never easy, not at this level -- what makes it enjoyable is that the players here all want to do well, and want to be coached. Coaching effort, you don't need to do that. Now we can coach and teach the way we're supposed to, by improving the team individually and collectively. It's like pruning a tree. You get rid of the weeds, and healthy plants can grow.
Jeff [Redacted] (9:10 AM)
Thank you everyone!
http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/40798/acc-hoops-coaches
Here's the transcript - mostly softball questions:
Martin Connor (Austin, TX)
Coach [Redacted].. Wake alum here living out in Austin! Will you miss the NBA, especially the postseason, if the season gets cancelled?
Jeff [Redacted] (8:58 AM)
I am so wrapped up in my own collegiate season that I find little time to watch the NBA. However, the NBA playoffs, especially when the NCAA tournament is over, they're a wonderful thing to watch. It's basketball played at the highest level. It's enjoyable to watch! Not only from a fan's standpoint, but as a technical standpoint as a coach. Having spent 17 years in the NBA, I have many friends in the business, and it's fun to watch them compete. I'm sure that they'll salvage enough of the season to make sure those playoffs do take place in the spring.
David Turner (North Carolina)
Coach [Redacted] I'm guessing you used every tool in your coaching toolbelt last season ... did you learn anything during that process that maybe you didn't know before that will be useful moving forward?
Jeff [Redacted] (8:59 AM)
Last year was extremely tough. We had extreme inexperience coupled with extreme immaturity. Our basketball program is in a great place -- we have a collective group of mature young men who are humble and hungry, and who gained valuable experience last year. They are stronger and wiser, and are a much more together basketball team. What I did learn from last year is to never again spend 90 percent of my time with 10 percent of the players for as long as I endured without moving forward in the right way.
Jeff (Charlotte)
Coach [Redacted].. what are some of the areas you felt the team needed to improve on this year to be a real Final Four threat?
Jeff [Redacted] (9:01 AM)
Obviously, you must defend and rebound. You must share the basketball. Defending and rebounding are the areas in which we're making a conscious effort to improve. Young players don't understand the intensity and urgency of that on every possession. We need to guard the ball better and rebound consistently, which will allow us to get easy points in transition. We're working on those areas daily to improve upon them.
Peter Carlton (N.C.)
Coach [Redacted] .. I'm curious what you guys think of all this conference realignment going on and how it will impact college basketball. Do you think when all the moving is said and done we will be better off than we are now? Or will this all be for football and basketball will wind up being all messed up? That's what I fear.
Jeff [Redacted] (9:03 AM)
The ACC is a great league in so many ways. It's a league of high integrity and careful planning. The addition of Pittsburgh and Syracuse and potentially other schools enables us to strengthen our league. Not just from a basketball and football standpoint. It'll be great for other sports and will expand our media coverage. It'll benefit our alumni, as they'll be able to see their teams play more often now. The schools that will be added onto our league are that of high integrity, and from top to bottom we define class in college sports. I think it's great.
Joe Faxon (Wake Fan)
Coach Bz .. are all you guys in the same room today? What do you guys talk about when you all get together?
Jeff [Redacted] (9:04 AM)
They're all great guys. So often we find ourselves in so many competitive situations, whether it be in recruiting or playing against one another. It's fun to be around everyone in a relaxed setting, as there's nothing to compete about in this very moment. We talk about family, some of the rule changes, our sport in general. We talk about people that we know that are common to us. It's actually an enjoyable time, it really is.
Jackson (Ashville)
[Redacted] what would you say is the real bright spot for this team heading into the season?
Jeff [Redacted] (9:06 AM)
The fact that we are a high-energy, more-together basketball team, from the standpoint that we have a collective group of young men that are playing for each other, not for themselves. They want to do well. They will play extremely hard and have gained valuable experience from last season. We were the youngest team in the ACC last year, and no team played more freshmen in more minutes than we did. We took a beating, but they are stronger, faster, and more together because of it. We have talent, and it's going to be a much more efficient basketball team because of it.
Chris Kelly (New York)
Coach [Redacted] - this is an early chat! Did you have time to eat breakfast?
Jeff [Redacted] (9:06 AM)
There's always time for breakfast!
Timothy (Wake Alum)
Coach [Redacted] - How frustrating was last season and how challenging is it to try and change the culture of a team to get the talent to shine through?
Jeff [Redacted] (9:08 AM)
Changing the culture of a team is the hardest thing to do. You have to change attitudes individually and collectively. Those who want to do well are brought down by those whose attitudes need adjusting. I'm sure it was equally as frustrating for the fans, if not more so for myself. But we're in a much better place right now, as we've eliminated the immaturity, and those that remained have bought into the culture that we need to be successful.
Stevenson (Dorm Room)
For Coach Biz .. how much easier is it in Year 2 with a new team compared to the first year where you are still having to get used to your surroundings, staff, etc.?
Jeff [Redacted] (9:09 AM)
I think what makes it easier -- and it's never easy, not at this level -- what makes it enjoyable is that the players here all want to do well, and want to be coached. Coaching effort, you don't need to do that. Now we can coach and teach the way we're supposed to, by improving the team individually and collectively. It's like pruning a tree. You get rid of the weeds, and healthy plants can grow.
Jeff [Redacted] (9:10 AM)
Thank you everyone!
