Talked to Ron Hunter, Teshaun Hightower and Jordan Walker after a practice yesterday that went more than a hour longer than anticipated because Hunter was not happy with the way a scrimmage finished Saturday. Learned that Tylan Pope will become eligible in November, Nic Thomas's hand injury will keep him out of at least the regular season opener and found out the starting lineup.
HUNTER
You are getting close to your exhibition opener. How excited are you?
"I'm excited because I like the basketball team, but the next step for us isn't so much what we do in practice. I've got to get a feel for them and they've got to get a feel for me. I want to see how they handle crowds. There are certain things I can't get in practice that I get in games, so I'm looking forward to that, but I'm also looking forward to getting my era started here at Tulane. I'm excited about that."
How much does it mean for this team that Teshaun Hightower is eligible?
"Well, let me put it this way. I don't usually drink. I'm not a drinker. I've had a drink every day to celebrate. No, it's big. He's either our first- or second-best player (along with K.J. Lawson). His athleticism, the depth that he gives us, he really gives us a chance. Without him, it would have been tough. I'm not going to lie. I was getting about four or five hours of sleep every night worrying about it, so that's huge for us."
Just from watching one half of your recent open practice, my first thought was what the heck was (Georgia coach) Tom Crean doing not playing this guys much in the second half of last year.
"Oh, man. I'm happy about it. He would be the second best player at Georgia right now. He's really talented, and for our level to have him that's a big deal."
What do you think makes him special?
"He's one of those guys who has what I call, 'it.' I don't have to run a play for him. Everybody on this team looks at him. He's the guy that gets us up. When he's up, our team stays up."
How hard was it to conduct practices not knowing whether he would be able to play this year?
"I tell you what, it was killing us at practice. I had to make a decision, do we practice as if he was going to make it or practice him on the scout team. I practiced him on the scout team one day and we got beat by 30. I said, nope, no more. I'll be honest with you. If it had gone the other way, I would have had to do a mental job with the team because we started practicing as if he was going to be with us. When we went to media day and we were at the airport, K.J. just looked at me and said, man, I hope he's eligible. I was wondering how I was going to sell these kids on the dream that we want to do if he's not here because he's a big part of it."
Have you settled on a starting five?
"I'm close. We're probably going to go with Jelly (Jordan Walker) at the point. We'll go with Christion (Thompson), Kevin (Zhang), K.J. (Lawson) and Teshaun. The only reason right now is today is Ray (Ona Embo)'s first full practice with his injury. He's had a setback, but he's back. That's the six that we've got. We still need Nic (Thomas) back. He's a big part of what we do, and we hope to have him back by our second or third game and get our full body of guys. And then (Tylan Pope) doesn't play for us until December. We don't have the depth that I want and normally would have, but our top guys can play with anybody on the schedule. It's just do we have the depth to sustain it all year."
How are the bigs coming along?
"Good. You got to remember, Ibby's a freshman. He didn't play (at Arkansas last year). (Buay) Koka didn't play (much) last year, so our bigs, they're coming, but right now we're playing Kevin at the 5, so we're going to play small ball a little bit where we can space you out. How many centers can get out on the floor and guard (Zhang), so we want to create mismatches that way. So you have to pick and choose do you want to guard K.J. or do you want to guard Kevin, which gives us an advantage."
You've played that way a lot in the past.
"It's weird. I feel like I've got my Georgia State team the way we're going to play. I like to create disadvantages."
You will get hurt on the boards with that lineup, so you will have to make up for it by creating turnovers. Do you feel like this team will do that?
"Yeah, no question. One of the things that I think is the most overrated stat of all is rebounding. Some people get carried away with rebounding, but you also have to remember the steals and deflections that happen on the other end and our 3-point shooting. There are certain things I look at for rebounding, but this is actually a better rebounding team than probably the last 10 years I've had because of the length. This is the biggest team I've ever had, and so I think that we can do some things to eliminate that."
How is Charlie Russell doing? He had a rough half in the practice I watched.
"Like freshmen, they are up and down, which is why I don't want to count on them, so when they get their opportunity. The best part about what we're doing is we don't have to rely on freshmen. I think at some point they are going to be able to help us, but right now it's not a big part. I think that's what happened here in the past. In the American, when you're trying to play freshmen, they are going to get beat. I don't care how good they are, so I like where we're at. I like our top seven or eight, especially when everyone's healthy. Right now you will probably see one freshman get in a game. We'll rotate that and see they handle it."
HIGHTOWER
What did you do when you found out you were eligible (Hunter told him and Ibby Ali in front of the entire team at the end of a practice)?
"I just screamed and just thanked the Lord. It was just exciting for the whole team."
How would you describe your game?
"I love to play defense. That gets me going. On the offensive end I like getting my team involved and I like them to follow me. I'm a great leader."
Your 3-point shooting percentage (.284) was not high at Georgia but you look like you have a smooth stroke. How do you feel about your outside shot?
"Well, that just come with timing and confidence, so we just get in the gym more than usual, two-a-days, and I'm just comfortable now."
You started some at Georgia but ended up not getting a lot of minutes in the second half of the year under Tom Crean. What happened?
"It was a process. You can't get bored with the process. You don't know what's going to happen. You don't know what tomorrow's going to bring, so I just found a better place for me."
What was your specific appeal to get eligible this year?
"I'm not going to talk about it."
You guys are picked last in the league. How excited are you to prove everybody wrong?
"I really like that. I like playing with a chip on my shoulder and everybody else that transferred from different schools, we all have chips on our shoulders. We are just going to show what we can do."
Were you confident, not sure, how did you feel about the whole process?
"I mean, I was pretty confident. My coaches just told me not to worry about it, so I didn't really worry about it that much. I just practiced hard."
What are this team's strengths?
"Even when we can't score that much, even when the ball is not going in the rim, our defense is going to be excellent. We have the athletes. We play a zone and we are going to get better at it."
How easy was it to adjust to the matchup zone?
"No, it wasn't easy. It took the summer. It took some time. It's way different than the defense I was used to playing."
HUNTER
You are getting close to your exhibition opener. How excited are you?
"I'm excited because I like the basketball team, but the next step for us isn't so much what we do in practice. I've got to get a feel for them and they've got to get a feel for me. I want to see how they handle crowds. There are certain things I can't get in practice that I get in games, so I'm looking forward to that, but I'm also looking forward to getting my era started here at Tulane. I'm excited about that."
How much does it mean for this team that Teshaun Hightower is eligible?
"Well, let me put it this way. I don't usually drink. I'm not a drinker. I've had a drink every day to celebrate. No, it's big. He's either our first- or second-best player (along with K.J. Lawson). His athleticism, the depth that he gives us, he really gives us a chance. Without him, it would have been tough. I'm not going to lie. I was getting about four or five hours of sleep every night worrying about it, so that's huge for us."
Just from watching one half of your recent open practice, my first thought was what the heck was (Georgia coach) Tom Crean doing not playing this guys much in the second half of last year.
"Oh, man. I'm happy about it. He would be the second best player at Georgia right now. He's really talented, and for our level to have him that's a big deal."
What do you think makes him special?
"He's one of those guys who has what I call, 'it.' I don't have to run a play for him. Everybody on this team looks at him. He's the guy that gets us up. When he's up, our team stays up."
How hard was it to conduct practices not knowing whether he would be able to play this year?
"I tell you what, it was killing us at practice. I had to make a decision, do we practice as if he was going to make it or practice him on the scout team. I practiced him on the scout team one day and we got beat by 30. I said, nope, no more. I'll be honest with you. If it had gone the other way, I would have had to do a mental job with the team because we started practicing as if he was going to be with us. When we went to media day and we were at the airport, K.J. just looked at me and said, man, I hope he's eligible. I was wondering how I was going to sell these kids on the dream that we want to do if he's not here because he's a big part of it."
Have you settled on a starting five?
"I'm close. We're probably going to go with Jelly (Jordan Walker) at the point. We'll go with Christion (Thompson), Kevin (Zhang), K.J. (Lawson) and Teshaun. The only reason right now is today is Ray (Ona Embo)'s first full practice with his injury. He's had a setback, but he's back. That's the six that we've got. We still need Nic (Thomas) back. He's a big part of what we do, and we hope to have him back by our second or third game and get our full body of guys. And then (Tylan Pope) doesn't play for us until December. We don't have the depth that I want and normally would have, but our top guys can play with anybody on the schedule. It's just do we have the depth to sustain it all year."
How are the bigs coming along?
"Good. You got to remember, Ibby's a freshman. He didn't play (at Arkansas last year). (Buay) Koka didn't play (much) last year, so our bigs, they're coming, but right now we're playing Kevin at the 5, so we're going to play small ball a little bit where we can space you out. How many centers can get out on the floor and guard (Zhang), so we want to create mismatches that way. So you have to pick and choose do you want to guard K.J. or do you want to guard Kevin, which gives us an advantage."
You've played that way a lot in the past.
"It's weird. I feel like I've got my Georgia State team the way we're going to play. I like to create disadvantages."
You will get hurt on the boards with that lineup, so you will have to make up for it by creating turnovers. Do you feel like this team will do that?
"Yeah, no question. One of the things that I think is the most overrated stat of all is rebounding. Some people get carried away with rebounding, but you also have to remember the steals and deflections that happen on the other end and our 3-point shooting. There are certain things I look at for rebounding, but this is actually a better rebounding team than probably the last 10 years I've had because of the length. This is the biggest team I've ever had, and so I think that we can do some things to eliminate that."
How is Charlie Russell doing? He had a rough half in the practice I watched.
"Like freshmen, they are up and down, which is why I don't want to count on them, so when they get their opportunity. The best part about what we're doing is we don't have to rely on freshmen. I think at some point they are going to be able to help us, but right now it's not a big part. I think that's what happened here in the past. In the American, when you're trying to play freshmen, they are going to get beat. I don't care how good they are, so I like where we're at. I like our top seven or eight, especially when everyone's healthy. Right now you will probably see one freshman get in a game. We'll rotate that and see they handle it."
HIGHTOWER
What did you do when you found out you were eligible (Hunter told him and Ibby Ali in front of the entire team at the end of a practice)?
"I just screamed and just thanked the Lord. It was just exciting for the whole team."
How would you describe your game?
"I love to play defense. That gets me going. On the offensive end I like getting my team involved and I like them to follow me. I'm a great leader."
Your 3-point shooting percentage (.284) was not high at Georgia but you look like you have a smooth stroke. How do you feel about your outside shot?
"Well, that just come with timing and confidence, so we just get in the gym more than usual, two-a-days, and I'm just comfortable now."
You started some at Georgia but ended up not getting a lot of minutes in the second half of the year under Tom Crean. What happened?
"It was a process. You can't get bored with the process. You don't know what's going to happen. You don't know what tomorrow's going to bring, so I just found a better place for me."
What was your specific appeal to get eligible this year?
"I'm not going to talk about it."
You guys are picked last in the league. How excited are you to prove everybody wrong?
"I really like that. I like playing with a chip on my shoulder and everybody else that transferred from different schools, we all have chips on our shoulders. We are just going to show what we can do."
Were you confident, not sure, how did you feel about the whole process?
"I mean, I was pretty confident. My coaches just told me not to worry about it, so I didn't really worry about it that much. I just practiced hard."
What are this team's strengths?
"Even when we can't score that much, even when the ball is not going in the rim, our defense is going to be excellent. We have the athletes. We play a zone and we are going to get better at it."
How easy was it to adjust to the matchup zone?
"No, it wasn't easy. It took the summer. It took some time. It's way different than the defense I was used to playing."