Pac-10 Basketball Coaches Discuss Incoming Recruits

Los Angeles -- With the Pac-10 Conference holding its Basketball Media Day Thursday at LA Live's Nokia Theater, many of the coaches were eager to discuss some of their top freshmen recruits.

Here are excerpts from a few of our one-on-one interviews:

Oregon State Head Coach Craig Robinson

Q: What will freshman recruit Roberto Nelson add to the program when he becomes eligible later this year?
A: He will add a few things. First of all, he has tremendous athleticism. He is elite in his athleticism. He's got a great touch. But what I like about him the most is that with guys who have scored a lot of points in their career, they have a tendency to be a bit selfish - he is absolutely the opposite of that. He would much rather pass, go with the "W," and have six points, then have 40 and be losers. And that is great when it comes to a really good player.

So we are all really looking forward to having him out there. Soon as we hear, everybody will know because we will do a press release. But it's all good because we either have him in the beginning or we'll have him right in December. So either way, we are better off than we were.

Q: Given that unselfishness, do you see him also playing with the ball rather than always off the ball in your sets?
A: We're going to use him as both. But he's so good at scoring. He's a really good scorer. The fact that you are asking about him, you probably know about him. But we can play him off the ball or with the ball. I'm hoping he can do a little bit of both.

Q: Who do you see helping out Calvin Haynes in the scoring department?
A: I think you are going to see Angus Brandt, who is going to replace Roeland Schaftenaar, pick up some of the scoring. And then you are also going to see either Jared Cunningham or Lathen Wallace pick up some of the scoring. Both of them have the ability to score points.

Q: How's Barack doing?
A: Oh good, good. He was just up in Oregon last week. So I got to see him. He's doing fine. Fighting the battle as you know.

Stanford Head Coach Johnny Dawkins

Q: I want to talk to you about this year's recruiting class and if you see anyone who can fill the void left by the departure of Landry Fields?
A: No one! We are excited. We are going to have to do it by committee. Landry was terrific. Starter in the NBA. He developed terrific for us as a player. We're going to need a number of guys to step up and contribute.

Q: You have a highly touted recruiting class coming in this year. Which of those guys seems a little ahead of the curve right now?
A: All of our kids have had their moments. They have a great couple of practices, and then like freshmen, they get lost a little bit. As of right now, there's a lot of parity.

Q: Right now what's the biggest concern for Stanford basketball going into the season?
A: Experience. We have no seniors.

Washington Head Coach Lorenzo Romar

Q: I want to talk about freshman Terrence Ross. Highly touted guy, is he ready to be in your rotation, and if so, what does he add to the team?
A: He is perhaps our most talented wing player. As a freshman, you have a learning curve. You have to adjust to the game and to the system. But I don't think we have a more talented basketball player than Terrence Ross.

Q: Is his defense Division I ready yet?
A: Oh he's working on it. There are very few freshmen that come in and from Day One can play defense at a high level. So you have got to learn.

Washington Point Guard Isaiah Thomas

Q: Which of the freshmen have stood out in practice thus far?
A: Terrence Ross. That guy, he's got talent. He's going to be special. He's just learning things right now, but you can tell once he gets the things we're trying to teach him, he'll be special.

Q: Venoy Overton is one of the league's best defenders. After facing him in practice, does it make the games seem easier?
A: Definitely. Facing him and then facing someone that's not as good on defense makes it so much easier for me. He makes me a better player, I make him a better defender. It just rubs off on both of us.

Q: With Q-Pon gone, how does that change your role this year. Do you still be a distributor or become more of a scorer with him gone?
A: You could say that. But at the same time I'm just out there making basketball plays and doing what's best for the team. If the team needs me to score more, that's what I'm going to try to do. If the team needs me to dish more, I'm going to try to do that too. Nothing really changes my game, we just need more help from others to fill his role.

Q: Finally Abdul Gaddy. What do you see being the big difference with him this year and last year.
A: He's just more experienced. More mature. He knows what to do now. All last year was him thinking too much and trying to be perfect. Now he's just out there playing basketball.

Q: After working with Jason Terry in the offseason, what do you think is the biggest difference in your game this year from last year?
A: Shooting the ball way better. More consistent. All summer that's all I really did. Just get a lot of shots up, make a lot of shots.

Q: Extend your range? NBA three-point range?
A: Yeah, yeah. Working with Jason Terry, that's the only thing we shoot - NBA threes and midrange. Dictating the in-between game, pull-ups and midrange.


By Mike Elliott
Staff Editor for TheDailySportsHerald.com