The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Men's Basketball Takes Part in Media Day Wednesday
10/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- In advance of the upcoming 2015-16 UAB men's basketball season, head coach Jerod Haase, senior Robert Brown and sophomore William Lee met with the media Wednesday as part of C-USA Media Day.
The exhibition slate opens Friday, Nov. 6 vs. Cal State East Bay at 7 p.m. at Bartow Arena. The regular season opener is slated for Nov. 13 at Auburn at 8:30 p.m.
Head Coach Jerod Haase
Opening comments
"Needless to say, I am very excited for the season. We talk a lot with our team about how we had a great week at the end of last season. I don't believe I would label it as a great season, but we had a fantastic end to it. That is a rallying cry for us moving forward into this season. We want to have consistency with our preparation. Hopefully that will lead to consistency of positive results as well. I think it can because we have a lot of good pieces in place."
"We cannot try to rely on a good tournament in Birmingham or a couple good games to get us out of the hole. We want to get the lead early in games and run with it. The guys have bought into it. The work ethic is good. We are certainly starting ahead of where we were last season in terms of offensive and defensive schemes but also physically. The guys are bigger, faster and stronger, and have a better understanding of that what the college game is as well. There is a lot of optimism and excitement around the program. It is amazing that the games will start very shortly."
On playing hungry while staying humble
"I hope we have some humility. When you really look at it, we were about four points down with 50 seconds left to be one of the few teams in UAB's history to have a losing record. I've talk to the team a lot about that. Again, we had a great week in the postseason, but heading into that we were young team that stumbled a lot along the way. The humility part is something we talk about a lot as a reminder that last season we were 4-9 heading into conference action. I do think we have smart and high character guys. I do think they have a good feeling about that.
In terms of being hungry, there are so many amazing things out there for us to achieve. We haven't done a whole lot yet. The guys last year had a nice run late in the year, but we are looking at it as a new chapter this season. The hungry part I sure hope is there."
On measuring a great season
"I like to look at the season as a whole. Obviously, the NCAA tournament is such a defining thing for all of college basketball. In my personal experiences, you have to judge the season as a whole as well. Certainly, the NCAA tournament and the conference championship were defining moments and major highlights, and you would say it was a successful season. For me, the entire body of work has to be looked at, and we stumbled along the way. We didn't finish first in the conference during the regular season. That is going to be a goal for us this year. When we look back at this year, I hope we can say, not only did we end strong, but we were also consistent throughout the entire season."
On the team having a target on their backs
"I do think there are high expectations, and a way to say that is that there is a target on our back. It is a positive thing in my mind because it means we've done something. We assembled a team that has potential and can do some big things. We have a very tough non-conference schedule, so we have to be ready. I do think when teams play us there is going to be a level of respect there. We will have to play at our best to compete with some of these teams. I do think my experiences at North Carolina and Kansas will help. I do think we have a team that is open to the things we've talked about. They want to be coachable and that is one thing we have to coach this year. It is the idea of how to prepare properly, be ready for all games and the whole idea of respect everyone, fear no one. We need to be able to get there, and I hope my experiences in the past as an assistant coach and a player with programs and teams that were preseason favorites and picked to do very well can be related to the team."
On how last season's ending can propel the team's start
"We are looking at it as a new season and a new slate. Hopefully we can take the positives of building confidence, believing in ourselves and knowing that we do have talent to play at a high level and stay away from the ideas of being fat and happy. If we can take those positives and apply them then it is going to be a positive thing. I think it is a little bit of both. We are looking at this year as a brand new season with a brand new team. We are 0-0 and starting from scratch. This year's team has not accomplished anything yet, but we do believe that we can accomplish things. We haven't done it yet, and there is going to be a ton of work before that happens."
On being named preseason favorite to win C-USA title
"Those are the things that are good for the fans and media. It is good for our conference to get fans to start talking about basketball. I don't know if there is a whole lot of value in it. I do think we have a team that has a chance to be very competitive in Conference USA. When you look at Old Dominion, UTEP and Middle Tennessee, we have a conference that has depth and quality teams. It is a sign that we have done a good job recruiting and putting the program in place to have success, but it is not something we are hanging our hat on by any means."
On last season's start
"With last year, the one thing that just hit me like a ton of bricks was were 4-9 in the non-conference season. The guys had every reason to point fingers, to blame coaches and each other and splinter, but they didn't. I think that is a credit to some degree to the coaches, but especially the players. We have made a huge emphasis on recruiting high-character kids. Our kids are not perfect by any means, but I do believe we have high-character kids. When we told them we are 4-9 but have a chance to go into conference play and make some waves and really prepare to finish the season strong, they believed us. Instead of splintering at 4-9, there was even more resolve and determination to find success."
On returning a young, but experienced team
"I still think we are a very young team. We have one senior, but I would also label our team as experienced. Those sophomores, juniors and our senior, Robert Brown, have an unbelievable amount of experience in games. They haven't just seen it from the bench. These guys have been thrown in the fire early against the North Carolinas and Wisconsins of the world. They have seen basketball at the highest level. They didn't have a lot of success early on, but hopefully the strength training, the individual work in player development and the team concepts will enable us to compete at a high level early. Our expectation is to have more competitive success early than we did last season."
On what the team needs to improve from last season
"I think a better understanding of the concepts. Defensively, we basically played man-to-man and zone defensives, but really didn't get into the intricacies and nuances like different ways of playing ball screens and adding multiple defensives. We basically kept it as simple as possible. We said these are the fundamentals and this is what we are going to get good at. We can't go to the next step without learning that step. This year in the preseason, we are playing ball screens in many different ways. We are throwing in new wrinkles. I think the guys are able to handle it with that experience. It is the same thing offensively. Our offense last year was the bare bones. It was the guts of the offense we want it to be. I think this year the guys have a better understanding and appreciation of what we are doing. It is an offense where we are trying to give them an advantage, but at the end of the day, we want them to be players and play off instincts. A year into that now, I think they can do that better."
On the strength of the team's frontcourt
"I do think we have a lot of pieces of the puzzle. It wouldn't surprise me if we have seven, eight or nine different guys lead our team in scoring this year. I do think we have a lot of firepower in many different positions. I do think our frontcourt is very good. Whether it is this year or any year I've been a player or a coach, the emphasis on the teams I have been apart of is always getting the ball inside first by dribble or pass. It doesn't mean just throw the ball in and let them try to score, but it could be penetrating guards, throwing the ball in to the bigs to get three-point shots as a byproduct of that. We certainly will have the same mentality, but we are looking to get inside first."
#4 Robert Brown | Senior | Guard
On his role with the team
"I think it is very similar to last year. I try to provide leadership when I can and do whatever the team and coach Haase ask me to do on the court, whether that is scoring, getting assists, or defending. I'm going out there trying to win."
On confidence from last season's success
"I think we have a little room to be confident, but being too confident will get you beat. Not respecting your opponent will get you beat. I think we are still focused on improving every day. More recently, it is something that coach Haase has been harping on more and more. Now we are just taking it one day at a time to try to get better and not overlook anyone."
On returning players
"I think we are more comfortable with each other. We trust each other a little more. We know the strengths and weaknesses of each other. Just being in the system an entire year and having the same coaching staff come back, the familiarity of the situation helps. It allows us to develop more."
On UAB being named preseason favorite
"The coaches have continued to keep us level headed throughout the preseason. They tell us what we need to do and what we are not doing. We are definitely not where we need to be. We had a good weekend last year, but it wasn't the season we hoped. This year, we are hopefully going to continue to build on that success."
On being the lone senior on the squad
"I feel old. They give me a hard time calling me old every now and then. I'm surrounded by friends, so it is no different than any other season. I've been around a bit longer, so helping them is something I can do whenever they need it."
On difference between this team compared to last season
"Where we were last year at this time, it is a night and day difference. I don't think we are as strong as we need to be. We are going to continue to work on that. I think it is the same team that ended last year that is trying to continue from that success and go forward."
#34 William Lee | Sophomore | Forward
On what is different in his game compared to that of last season
"Confidence. I am a lot more confident in my game than I was last year."
On difference between this team compared to last season
"Maturity. We are more mature."
On preparing for the season opener
"Coach Haase is on our back every day in practice. He wants more and more out of us. We are going hard every practice. We are staying focused."
On what success he expects in the 2015-16 season
"I want to advance deeper into the tournament than we did last season. Instead of the Round of 32, I want to see us make the Sweet Sixteen or Final Four."
On the team's biggest strengths
"We have multiple players that can do a lot more than one thing on the court. We have shooters. We have people that can drive to the net. We have a lot of pieces that can do different things."
On what improvements the team needs to make
"Defense. We need to work on defense more and more. We need to get deflections and easy layups on the offensive end in transition."
On the three-point shot being part of his game in 2015-16
"Coach Haase will have a say in that. He'd like to see me in the post more, so I've been working on my post game."
On confidence offensively to make big plays
"It is all in the moment. If I am open with a chance to knock down a shot, I'm going to shoot it. If it goes in, it goes in. I'm just trying to make the right plays for the team."
On UAB being tabbed C-USA preseason favorites
"We are no longer the hunter. We are the hunted. Teams are going to be coming for us. We have to prepare for that. With our coaching staff being hard on us every practice, it will prepare us in the future for what's coming."
On leadership role with the team
"I would say I need to take more of a leadership this season than last year, but Robert Brown is our leader. We are going to follow him."
Get your UAB men's basketball season tickets today by calling the UAB Athletic Ticket office at (205) 975-UAB1 (205-975-8221), or by clicking here.
Season tickets are available in each pricing option -- starting at just $75. Lower level seats will again be in high demand and are priced as low as $215 per seat. Season tickets are on sale now for the 2015-16 season and feature 16 regular season games, plus an exhibition at Bartow Arena. All children ages five and under are admitted free, and UAB students also receive free admission with a valid I.D.
For more information on UAB men's basketball, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_MBB), on Instagram (@blazerhoops) or on Facebook (Facebook.com/UABMensBasketball). For more information on the UAB women's basketball team, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_WBB), on Facebook (Facebook.com/UABWBB) and on Instagram (Instagram.com/uab_wbball).For more on all Blazer sports teams follow the official social media accounts of UAB Athletics on Twitter (@UABAthletics), on Facebook (Facebook.com/UAB.Blazers), on Instagram (@uabathletics) or on Snapchat (@uabathletics).
