On what the team got out of the trip
“From a basketball standpoint, really a ton, really from the practices more than the experiences over there. Although, we gained a lot from being able to play three games over there against a different opponent. But the extra hours the NCAA gave us, we took advantage of. We did a lot of installing this summer, where today is a little different than the last few years the way we’ve approached it because we have a lot of the meat and potatoes in right now. We’re a little bit ahead of where we were a year ago.”
Where is team, what does he want to learn
“A lot of parity and a lot of depth. This team is pretty competitive. Practices have been very spirited; they get after it. This team likes to work, it likes to compete. I really have enjoyed working with this group, I’m excited for practice. Our guys are fired up.”
How do you gauge if a player is going to be competitive and 'bring the juice'?
“You do your best. There are ways you can study film, and you can make educated guesses when you do your homework. Some of these guys, you’re able to call other people in the recruiting process, people within their circle, former coaches. You do as much homework as you an. It is recruiting though. It’s evaluation, it is inexact to a certain extent. But we’ve got some guys who for the most part … we brought in nine new guys ... seven who won at a really high level and two who I’ve been very pleased with their work ethic and willingness to be part of something bigger than themselves, and hopefully help Georgia take that next step.”
How close is this team? Jabri said it’s the closest he’s seen
“It’s refreshing to be part of a team where a bunch of guys really like each there. This team hasn’t been through a lot of diversity yet, but I do think the amount of character on and off the court with these guys and in the locker room will help these guys, especially considering the opportunities from this summer. We’re going to continue to challenge them to have real, authentic relationships with one another, not just everything being positive. We talk about family a lot. There’s going to be some arguments, like hey, I was open. It’s how to do we talk that out. Is it healthy, or is it going to be avoided? The strongest cultures have real conversations with each other consistently, we above me, we win we all win, and I think this team has a chance to do that, to help us become our best version. What is that? Who knows, but again, I think they really like each other. They compete at a really high level in practices, and hopefully even higher when we get practice underway today.
What makes Jabri stand out?
“His overall approach, he’s just provided more maturity. His responses to a missed shot or two, or blown defensive assignment. We’re all going to make mistakes, but he’s understanding the part of basketball that’s inches and milliseconds and being able to respond to the last mistake, or made shot, can I stay in the moment and move on? He accepts responsibility, and I think he’s grown a lot in that regard. He puts pressure on himself, as are a lot of young men who are as talented as he is. He’s one of the best shooters in our league and I expect him to have a good year. He’s tried to get out of himself a little more, too. I think the more he is communicating with his teammates and leading, helps him stay in that moment.”
How much have you seen the returning guys be leaders knowing that they've been through a season with you?
"They've all grown. Jabri the most from a vocal standpoint. Justin too. M.A. probably the most from an exertion standpoint, from an intensity level standpoint — not that those other guys aren't playing hard. They are. We don't have a guy right now that's not playing hard, which gives you a chance of course to have good practices and to stack days. But M.A.'s played really hard. He's played with a lot of intensity on the glass and on the defensive end."
How much of the schedule did you inherit versus adding and what does the elevated schedule do?
"Not much this year did we inherit. This was, if I'm not mistaken other than Georgia Tech, right? I believe that might be the only one. So this was us just wanting to get better and wanting to take the next step and challenge ourselves as a program and as a team. And, you know, the signees that came to Georgia wanted these types of opportunities for development and, also, who knows? You win enough of them, and we'll see where those opportunities come March."
Does that help focus in practice when you know you've got to line up against some of the teams you're playing against?
"I would hope so or, you know, we'll be in trouble with our schedule. But I think this group will embrace it. They're excited about the tough schedule that's in front of us. Excited about competing with one another in practice every day and getting better."
If you were breaking it down, what are some of those key things standing between Georgia and taking the next step to the NCAA Tournament?
"Boy, a lot. Putting it in the hoop, getting some stops, rebounding it better. You know, as much as we talk about being process driven and not results driven and we're running our race and Jabri's running his race individually and Russel Tchewa's running his race, let's get better today, let's attack today, right? All those things we're huge believers in, and at the same time we want to go to the NCAA Tournament. Georgia wants to go to the NCAA Tournament. These guys want to go to an NCAA Tournament. So I've probably talked about that goal more so with this team, to be totally transparent with you, than I have in a long time. I left it alone as a head coach really the whole time I've been in it. This year we've actually talked about it a little bit — like, hey, what's the goal for this program? It's to break through and to get back to a tournament. Now, 95 to 99% of the time, we need to talk about that process in order to get there. How are we going to shoot free throws at a higher rate? How are we going to respond to one another and communicate effectively, all of those type things. How are we going to be a top upper tier, upper half defensive efficiency team? How do we get our assists up and turnovers down? And that's all process-driven stuff that we'll work on today. But ultimately, if we're not trying to get to the tournament we're wasting time in this league. And obviously the teams in this league that get to the tournament have a chance to make a run, and we want to be there one day."
Was there something about this team that made you feel comfortable addressing that?
"I just think that we've got three grad transfers. We've got four other guys that'll potentially transfer or stay — that'll graduate in the spring. We've got seven older guys. We've got freshmen that came here with big aspirations of doing something special at the University of Georgia and laying a foundation. I feel like sometimes you wonder if those young people feel like you're avoiding it, right? So let's just talk about it. Let's just put it out there. We all want to get there, but we should be — if we're going to get there — way more concerned with how to get there and at the end let the results — see what those results [are]."
How receptive are recruits to process given so many people want immediate results?
"Well, I think that at the end of the day they're embracing the honesty, right, that we're trying to build something, right, and we are building something. We laid the foundation last year, really like the pieces that we brought in. I feel strongly that we'll be better this year. Third in the league last year in tempo, committed, convicted on playing fast, hoping to be first or second in tempo this year. Really getting up and down the floor. But the process pieces I think is really important in recruiting because this is a team sport but it's also an individual sport, and that process is extremely important for their individual aspirations for our guys to continue to get better individually as we all get better together collectively as well."
What do you want the identity of this team to be, and how important are these next few weeks in establishing that?
"Toughness, attitude, mental toughness, physical toughness, doing what's hard all the time, attitude, the way we approach everything, the way we respond to everything on the court and off the court. Growth daily. Growth. Let's get better today, stack a bunch of days. Let's get a lot better over the next month and the following month and see where it goes, you know? Great attitude, connectivity, those are things that we're talking about on a daily basis. If we get all those things, good things will happen for this group."
On if he ever reflects on what he did at Ole Miss, if that same 'grit' is what he wants to see out of his players at Georgia...
"Yeah, I was out there playing football but my teammates were really good at playing basketball. I threw it to them in the corner before I turned it over. We build something special though. Rob Evans texted me yesterday wishing luck on the first practice. Meant a lot to me as he's a big mentor in all of our lives. We had a great group of guys that really got along, got after it, sold out on the defending and rebounding. Certain nights it's be Keith (Carter)'s night to go get 20. Other nights it'd be Ansu (Sesay)'s night to go get 20. That's how you build something. We talk about this a lot actually, let's take our shot, not my shot. I'm not going to get going on the cliches again, but it's day one. We're all excited."
On the upgrades at Stegeman...
"I haven't spent a lot of time thinking about it honestly. It's something I can't control. I stuck my head in there the other day, it looks great. Ceiling looks great. I'm sure at some point they'll say, 'Hey, this is when you can get back in the building,' and we'll take advantage of that. We've taken advantage of our facilities up here to this point. Got a great facility up here. When I took the job we were the only program in the league out of 14 schools that didn't have a weight room devoted to just men's and women's basketball. That has been fixed. We're in it. It's beautiful. From what I gather it's the largest in our league, and it's devoted to just men's and women's basketball. It not only gets us up to par but maybe gives us an advantage, something to sell in recruiting. I was down there this morning trying to work off some of that Italy pizza."
On Noah Thomasson...
"Noah Thomasson is really good. He's a guy that was close to 3-1 assist to turnover at Niagara as a big usage guy, their best defender and got 19.5 (points) a game. Played well against the high-major opponents that they played, some of the better teams in their league. He's really good and good at a lot. He's also a leader, he's positive, he's incredibly smart, he's always talking, he's a split second thinker. He brings a ton of positive energy to practice. Love coaching him."
On early impressions of the freshmen...
"Really like them. Seems like every other day you say, 'Boy, he was our best freshman today,' or 'This guy played better today.' They've each had their own days whether it's Dylan (James) or Blue (Cain) or Mari (Jordan) or Silas (Demary). They're all a little bit different. They complement each other well. They've all won at different places in their process and journey to this point. I feel like those are four really good building blocks to build around, guys that have a chance to be really good players, and they're great people."
On the maturity of the freshmen...
"A couple of them are just winners. Not a couple, all four of them are. A couple of them have been banged up a little bit at different times. We haven't had a day yet where all four play really well, but that's part of the process for freshmen. Really like those guys, the character of them. They get along well. And it is unique that you've got a guy like Noah Thomasson in Italy going to lunch with a guy like Silas Demary. Here's a freshman with a fifth year senior. Part of that connection, those relationships can be fast tracked by the maturity level and the understanding of importance by these older guys to speed up these young guys."
On connection and honesty and importance of that in this program...
"It's huge. Everyone thinks they've got good chemistry right now because we're all 0-0. I do think this team, I'm positive about the expectation of this team to handle adversity. Again, because of the character on and off the court, what they've shown through some hard practices, some travel adversity. It's what we're building this thing around. We want to have a strong culture, because it's something a little bit easier to control than whether or not shots go in that night. We want to have as strong of a culture as we can possibly have, and that's built through real relationships, something we talk about every day, work ethic, honesty, 'today wasn't your best practice but yesterday you were unbelievable, let's talk about why, let's watch a little film.' The staff's doing a great job just helping these guys get better and having fun at the same time."
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“From a basketball standpoint, really a ton, really from the practices more than the experiences over there. Although, we gained a lot from being able to play three games over there against a different opponent. But the extra hours the NCAA gave us, we took advantage of. We did a lot of installing this summer, where today is a little different than the last few years the way we’ve approached it because we have a lot of the meat and potatoes in right now. We’re a little bit ahead of where we were a year ago.”
Where is team, what does he want to learn
“A lot of parity and a lot of depth. This team is pretty competitive. Practices have been very spirited; they get after it. This team likes to work, it likes to compete. I really have enjoyed working with this group, I’m excited for practice. Our guys are fired up.”
How do you gauge if a player is going to be competitive and 'bring the juice'?
“You do your best. There are ways you can study film, and you can make educated guesses when you do your homework. Some of these guys, you’re able to call other people in the recruiting process, people within their circle, former coaches. You do as much homework as you an. It is recruiting though. It’s evaluation, it is inexact to a certain extent. But we’ve got some guys who for the most part … we brought in nine new guys ... seven who won at a really high level and two who I’ve been very pleased with their work ethic and willingness to be part of something bigger than themselves, and hopefully help Georgia take that next step.”
How close is this team? Jabri said it’s the closest he’s seen
“It’s refreshing to be part of a team where a bunch of guys really like each there. This team hasn’t been through a lot of diversity yet, but I do think the amount of character on and off the court with these guys and in the locker room will help these guys, especially considering the opportunities from this summer. We’re going to continue to challenge them to have real, authentic relationships with one another, not just everything being positive. We talk about family a lot. There’s going to be some arguments, like hey, I was open. It’s how to do we talk that out. Is it healthy, or is it going to be avoided? The strongest cultures have real conversations with each other consistently, we above me, we win we all win, and I think this team has a chance to do that, to help us become our best version. What is that? Who knows, but again, I think they really like each other. They compete at a really high level in practices, and hopefully even higher when we get practice underway today.
What makes Jabri stand out?
“His overall approach, he’s just provided more maturity. His responses to a missed shot or two, or blown defensive assignment. We’re all going to make mistakes, but he’s understanding the part of basketball that’s inches and milliseconds and being able to respond to the last mistake, or made shot, can I stay in the moment and move on? He accepts responsibility, and I think he’s grown a lot in that regard. He puts pressure on himself, as are a lot of young men who are as talented as he is. He’s one of the best shooters in our league and I expect him to have a good year. He’s tried to get out of himself a little more, too. I think the more he is communicating with his teammates and leading, helps him stay in that moment.”
How much have you seen the returning guys be leaders knowing that they've been through a season with you?
"They've all grown. Jabri the most from a vocal standpoint. Justin too. M.A. probably the most from an exertion standpoint, from an intensity level standpoint — not that those other guys aren't playing hard. They are. We don't have a guy right now that's not playing hard, which gives you a chance of course to have good practices and to stack days. But M.A.'s played really hard. He's played with a lot of intensity on the glass and on the defensive end."
How much of the schedule did you inherit versus adding and what does the elevated schedule do?
"Not much this year did we inherit. This was, if I'm not mistaken other than Georgia Tech, right? I believe that might be the only one. So this was us just wanting to get better and wanting to take the next step and challenge ourselves as a program and as a team. And, you know, the signees that came to Georgia wanted these types of opportunities for development and, also, who knows? You win enough of them, and we'll see where those opportunities come March."
Does that help focus in practice when you know you've got to line up against some of the teams you're playing against?
"I would hope so or, you know, we'll be in trouble with our schedule. But I think this group will embrace it. They're excited about the tough schedule that's in front of us. Excited about competing with one another in practice every day and getting better."
If you were breaking it down, what are some of those key things standing between Georgia and taking the next step to the NCAA Tournament?
"Boy, a lot. Putting it in the hoop, getting some stops, rebounding it better. You know, as much as we talk about being process driven and not results driven and we're running our race and Jabri's running his race individually and Russel Tchewa's running his race, let's get better today, let's attack today, right? All those things we're huge believers in, and at the same time we want to go to the NCAA Tournament. Georgia wants to go to the NCAA Tournament. These guys want to go to an NCAA Tournament. So I've probably talked about that goal more so with this team, to be totally transparent with you, than I have in a long time. I left it alone as a head coach really the whole time I've been in it. This year we've actually talked about it a little bit — like, hey, what's the goal for this program? It's to break through and to get back to a tournament. Now, 95 to 99% of the time, we need to talk about that process in order to get there. How are we going to shoot free throws at a higher rate? How are we going to respond to one another and communicate effectively, all of those type things. How are we going to be a top upper tier, upper half defensive efficiency team? How do we get our assists up and turnovers down? And that's all process-driven stuff that we'll work on today. But ultimately, if we're not trying to get to the tournament we're wasting time in this league. And obviously the teams in this league that get to the tournament have a chance to make a run, and we want to be there one day."
Was there something about this team that made you feel comfortable addressing that?
"I just think that we've got three grad transfers. We've got four other guys that'll potentially transfer or stay — that'll graduate in the spring. We've got seven older guys. We've got freshmen that came here with big aspirations of doing something special at the University of Georgia and laying a foundation. I feel like sometimes you wonder if those young people feel like you're avoiding it, right? So let's just talk about it. Let's just put it out there. We all want to get there, but we should be — if we're going to get there — way more concerned with how to get there and at the end let the results — see what those results [are]."
How receptive are recruits to process given so many people want immediate results?
"Well, I think that at the end of the day they're embracing the honesty, right, that we're trying to build something, right, and we are building something. We laid the foundation last year, really like the pieces that we brought in. I feel strongly that we'll be better this year. Third in the league last year in tempo, committed, convicted on playing fast, hoping to be first or second in tempo this year. Really getting up and down the floor. But the process pieces I think is really important in recruiting because this is a team sport but it's also an individual sport, and that process is extremely important for their individual aspirations for our guys to continue to get better individually as we all get better together collectively as well."
What do you want the identity of this team to be, and how important are these next few weeks in establishing that?
"Toughness, attitude, mental toughness, physical toughness, doing what's hard all the time, attitude, the way we approach everything, the way we respond to everything on the court and off the court. Growth daily. Growth. Let's get better today, stack a bunch of days. Let's get a lot better over the next month and the following month and see where it goes, you know? Great attitude, connectivity, those are things that we're talking about on a daily basis. If we get all those things, good things will happen for this group."
On if he ever reflects on what he did at Ole Miss, if that same 'grit' is what he wants to see out of his players at Georgia...
"Yeah, I was out there playing football but my teammates were really good at playing basketball. I threw it to them in the corner before I turned it over. We build something special though. Rob Evans texted me yesterday wishing luck on the first practice. Meant a lot to me as he's a big mentor in all of our lives. We had a great group of guys that really got along, got after it, sold out on the defending and rebounding. Certain nights it's be Keith (Carter)'s night to go get 20. Other nights it'd be Ansu (Sesay)'s night to go get 20. That's how you build something. We talk about this a lot actually, let's take our shot, not my shot. I'm not going to get going on the cliches again, but it's day one. We're all excited."
On the upgrades at Stegeman...
"I haven't spent a lot of time thinking about it honestly. It's something I can't control. I stuck my head in there the other day, it looks great. Ceiling looks great. I'm sure at some point they'll say, 'Hey, this is when you can get back in the building,' and we'll take advantage of that. We've taken advantage of our facilities up here to this point. Got a great facility up here. When I took the job we were the only program in the league out of 14 schools that didn't have a weight room devoted to just men's and women's basketball. That has been fixed. We're in it. It's beautiful. From what I gather it's the largest in our league, and it's devoted to just men's and women's basketball. It not only gets us up to par but maybe gives us an advantage, something to sell in recruiting. I was down there this morning trying to work off some of that Italy pizza."
On Noah Thomasson...
"Noah Thomasson is really good. He's a guy that was close to 3-1 assist to turnover at Niagara as a big usage guy, their best defender and got 19.5 (points) a game. Played well against the high-major opponents that they played, some of the better teams in their league. He's really good and good at a lot. He's also a leader, he's positive, he's incredibly smart, he's always talking, he's a split second thinker. He brings a ton of positive energy to practice. Love coaching him."
On early impressions of the freshmen...
"Really like them. Seems like every other day you say, 'Boy, he was our best freshman today,' or 'This guy played better today.' They've each had their own days whether it's Dylan (James) or Blue (Cain) or Mari (Jordan) or Silas (Demary). They're all a little bit different. They complement each other well. They've all won at different places in their process and journey to this point. I feel like those are four really good building blocks to build around, guys that have a chance to be really good players, and they're great people."
On the maturity of the freshmen...
"A couple of them are just winners. Not a couple, all four of them are. A couple of them have been banged up a little bit at different times. We haven't had a day yet where all four play really well, but that's part of the process for freshmen. Really like those guys, the character of them. They get along well. And it is unique that you've got a guy like Noah Thomasson in Italy going to lunch with a guy like Silas Demary. Here's a freshman with a fifth year senior. Part of that connection, those relationships can be fast tracked by the maturity level and the understanding of importance by these older guys to speed up these young guys."
On connection and honesty and importance of that in this program...
"It's huge. Everyone thinks they've got good chemistry right now because we're all 0-0. I do think this team, I'm positive about the expectation of this team to handle adversity. Again, because of the character on and off the court, what they've shown through some hard practices, some travel adversity. It's what we're building this thing around. We want to have a strong culture, because it's something a little bit easier to control than whether or not shots go in that night. We want to have as strong of a culture as we can possibly have, and that's built through real relationships, something we talk about every day, work ethic, honesty, 'today wasn't your best practice but yesterday you were unbelievable, let's talk about why, let's watch a little film.' The staff's doing a great job just helping these guys get better and having fun at the same time."
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