Kurtis Townsend on 810 A.M.

Kurtis Townsend was on 810 A.M. this morning...here are a few tidbits....

*Thought the kids played hard and really shared the ball. They played unselfish.
*Brandon can score 15-20 points and make it look easy. He played pretty good defense and rebounded the ball really well.
*Christian gives you "that steady hand and he's been there before".
*Russell Robinson--"Russell's had a great fall and a really good summer. He's gotten a lot stronger. I thought Russell did a good job. He can shoot the ball really good and didn't shoot it as good as he wanted to."
*Stephen Vinson--"Coach rewards guy that work the hardest and do the best. He doesn't have the talent that the other guys do. Coach sends the other guys a message on this is how hard you have to work. He's a great leader in practice. He's been the best of the guys in practice for 3 weeks. I thought he played hard like he does every day in practice and Coach rewarded him for that."
*Most important things to work on before Maui---Every day in practice, try to get better. We really have to get better defensively. Good teams aren't going to turn it over that much (as FHSU). We want to get the ball up the court and run. We've got things we definitely need to work on. I'm impressed on how hard they played and shared the ball.
*Best freshman last night--Rush--really impressed with how he played...and shot the ball so well from the FT line.
*Mario has unbelievable poise. He doesn't look or play like a freshman.
*Free throw shooting is always a concern, but they haven't worked on free throws much because they've been working on so many other things in practice. If you take Sasha out, the team didn't shoot that bad. Sasha has to get better because he is going to get fouled a lot. We'll work on it and get better.
*Different approach for coaching such a young team--Last year's group was great, but there is something about youth...they come in and are wide eyed....they are like sponges....even the sophomores....they all like each other...it's a challenge every day and it's fun....it's a good group and we're looking forward to the season.
*Darnell Jackson---has an eligibility issue--more precautionary thing--I can't say more than that--Coach Self would have to address that. I expect him to be ready for the season, but that's in somebody else's hands.
*Matt Kleinnmann--Matt's a fan favorite...he's a kid that works very, very hard....he works as hard as anybody...he's one of our best sealers of all of the big men, but doesn't have the athletic ability of the other big men...I think he's going to be able to help us before he gets done...that was fun to see him get out there and score enough last night.
*Sherron Collins--one word: TOUGHNESS...he grew up on the streets....he is a really tough kid that hates to lose...he'll be a really exciting player and I think you guys will really like him.
*Brady Morningstar--great feel for the game---great local kid---great program player--someone that will work hard every day, understand the fundamentals, and do the things that will help you win.

Mic