Q&A - Assistant Coach Stephen Gentry
10/15/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin men's basketball team is in their second week of team practice. SFAJacks.com caught up with assistant coach Stephen Gentry following Tuesday's practice to assess his thoughts on the progress of the Lumberjacks.
On first week of practice:
"I like our effort. We demand they bring it every day and they have thus far. The first week of team practice has been a lot of teaching and building the foundation of what we are about. It is a process though and we are moving through it. It was ugly at this point last year and it is ugly right now, but overall, I'm really pleased with the effort they continue to show."
On relating to players:
"Relating to players is about communication and investing in them. All good players want to be pushed and coached and once you show you are sincere in your efforts to make them the best student-athlete they can be they will be all in. My experiences as a player certainly help in that process as well. I've been in their shoes and know the highs and lows they go through over the course of a season. I always try to think back to how certain situations were for me and what helped me get through it, so I can pass it along to the guys."
On working with the new players:
"It is a lot of teaching. We stop practice and break things down for them. We grab them afterwards, just trying to walk them through things, and we also show them on film, which is what has actually been really good for a lot of them the last few days. We bring the guys in individually and slow it all down for them and go through it. We show them, we tell them and we teach them and then show them more and start over. I'm really excited about each of our new guys. I think they each bring something different to the table. We've had very competitive practices this season, maybe even more so than last season, and they certainly play a big part in that."
On using returners to help the new players:
"In terms of our offense, the returners have all been in it for over a year now. Last year, we didn't really have anyone on the court that could help bring along their teammates. Now we can have the returners on the court running a play and the new guys can see what they do and try and mirror and replicate it. The new guys can look at Thomas Walkup or Jacob Parker and say `ok, that's what I need to do' when coach calls this play or want them to do that. They have a guy who plays their position who has done it before, rather than last year when it was new to the entire team. We've been able to show them film from last season, so they can see the plays we breakdown at game-speed. The film is also something we didn't have last year, so combining that film with our practice film has been a really good teaching tool, not just for our offense, but for our defensive concepts too. More importantly I think the veterans have set a great standard of being everyday guys and that's something the new players can look up to and follow."
On preparation for 2014-15 season:
"First off, I thought we had a great off-season in terms of individual skill development and getting stronger in the weight room. I think two of our most improved players are Tom and Jake, which is exciting. Our preparation now is focused on building habits in practice and learning how to play with each other. As the season progresses, we will begin to focus on scouts and scheming for each particular opponent."
-SFA-
