Marquette University Athletics
Remarks From Tom Crean's March 27 Press Conference
3/27/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 27, 2002
(On the seniors...) "The four seniors are all on track to graduate. They will graduate in May. Cordell Henry will head to the Portsmouth Invitational next week, which is an extremely prestigious event with 65 of the top seniors in the country. He is fortunate to be there. Oluoma Nnamaka and Jon Harris I think plan to play professionally. David Digs plans to go to graduate school here. I'd like to find a way to keep him in the program."
(On next year's captains...) "For the first time in my time here at Marquette, I'm naming captains. With only one senior and this being his second year in the program (Robert Jackson) and with the group we have there now, I felt that it was important that we had leadership that started immediately. The four captains I'm naming for this season right now, we'll revisit it in September are Odartey Blankson, who has the most experience of anyone on this squad, Dwyane Wade, Robert Jackson, our only senior and Travis Diener. Those are the four captains, those are the four guys I expect a lot of leadership from. It is time they show leadership on a consistent basis. I feel very confident, it was a one man decision and I feel very confident in it."
(On the injuries...) "Scott Merritt had his shoulder operated on yesterday, he'll be discharged from the hospital today. He will be out of action, immobilized for a good four weeks. Dwyane had his knee scoped on Friday. I was there with him, it was a good experience, it was very successful and went well."
(On the season...) "We got a lot better as the season went along. We learned a lot early about our team when we got in some tough battles that we could succeed in them. Every game we had was an experience that led us to something else. More than half the battle was mental."
(On what he learned about himself...) "I think more and more, you get more comfortable with every decision you make. I think what we've proven is our system works. To be playing for a championship to the last day of the season and to enter the NCAA tournament, we learned a lot and I feel better than ever about the way we are doing things here."
(On a back up for Travis Diner...) "Recruiting-wise, that is something we have tried to address. We'll be able to talk about that more after the signing day in two weeks. In a pinch, Dwayne Wade can play that position. Ron Howard we've tried at that position, I'm not sure that is his strongest suit."
(On the contract...) "I think that will get done real quick. I haven't been around much, with recruiting and travelling. We are just trying to do everything to do to make the program better. I have every intention of signing that and being here for a long time and coaching these guys."
(On Wade heading to the NBA...) "Every conversation and indication I've had with him is that he is 100% in this program and wants to see it get better and he understands that he needs to improve. I'm very pleased with his progress since he's gotten here. I do think that the next level is in his future down the road and we all understand that. It is our job to make each other better."
(On Scott Merritt...) "This is a big summer for him. Obviously, his injury is a set back. We've got a break coming, with Easter break. When next Tuesday comes, we will start with our spring phase of workouts and he will miss that. There are definitely signs of Scott seeing what kind of player he can be. He had games this year where he was very good and games where he wasn't as good. He's a big body and has a presence. He needs to continue to get stronger. With Robert here, he can get better facing the basket. He needs to understand what kind of complete player he can become. The scoring is secondary. He's got to become a better defender and a more consistent rebounder. If he does that, he will get the minutes. I told him the other day that it will be mental for him until he can get back physically."
(On Kevin Menard and Ron Howard...) "Ron's competitiveness improved. He needs to tighten every facet of his game, he could be one of the better defenders here. We will be very competitive for minutes next year, they have to respect that some guys are going to play and others aren't. Kevin should be excited for the summer and getting better. Both of them have to compete at a high level. Them being freshman, I can't give them the benefit of the doubt in understanding what toughness is. Todd's (Townsend) skills improved, but he didn't go beat anybody out. It is not my job to make sure everybody is happy, it is my job to have the best team on the floor. That is the hard part because you love your kids, but they have to earn their right."
(On Conference USA...) "I still think it is on the verge of being a power conference. I think with the magnitude of teams and coaches, the league will continue to recruit great players and that will help build the league. Every year there is a league that doesn't do so well in the tournament, which happened to be us this year. I don't think Bob Huggins stays in a league that he doesn't think is competitive."
(On Bob Huggins...) "I think that means one of the best coaches in the country is still in our league. He wins titles. Until somebody takes that away, he's got that. He's established himself as one of the premier coaches in the country and he is in our league. I respect him a great deal as a coach, I think that is great he is in our league."
(On next season's schedule...) "I've been out of the loop on that a little, but I know we have Wake Forest at home and I know we have Wisconsin at home. As your program grows, you try to get more national television coverage so you have to be creative with that. We are going to Fordham to play at Madison Square Garden and we will play at Dayton. We've got the ability to play one more game on the road and I want to make the right decision. We are at the point where if we will play a national team, it is going to be at the Bradley Center as well. We want to continue to play a very competitive schedule."
(On expectations...) "I think that players raised the bar as the season went along. I think it is up to them to raise it. I don't think the expectations of the media or the fans or what this magazine says is real relevant. That can either excite you as a player or scare you as a player. I do think the players in our program wanted to get better everyday and we did. If we sit here and rest on the rankings and the wins then we will have a hard time duplicating that."
(On Steve Novak...) "I think in Steve's case, he had a fantastic career. He's a gym rat who loves to play. I want him to remember what the weight room smells like, because that is where he needs to spend his summer. At the end of next year, I hope he puts about 25-30 pounds on his body. He's got a gift of shooting the ball and now he needs to get better at the other things. He gives us a dimension that we didn't have before."
