FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University men's basketball team (1-1) host Embry-Riddle Tuesday, Nov. 25 in the NSU Arena at 7:30 p.m. After Thanksgiving, NSU will host the Thanksgiving Classic from Nov. 28-29, hosting Lynn, Seton Hill and Puerto Rico Mayaguez. NSUSharks.com interviewed head coach Gary Tuell to talk about his team's start to the year, its upcoming opponents and how the team will spend the holiday.
 
Q: Injuries and setbacks have been a theme of the preseason, but with a depleted roster, your team still game Florida Gulf Coast fits. What did the Sharks do to make things so difficult for a DI team with a lot of promise?
 
A: First of all, we had a great mindset going into the game. At the DII level you don't get many opportunities to play in front of a full arena with a band and a packed student section that was boisterous and very loud. Performance is very often driven by emotion, and when you play at the DII level most nights you have to create your own emotion because there won't be a big crowd to get you going. That's just the nature and culture of DII basketball.
 
Look at the national attendance leaders in DII and the figure is somewhere around 2,000. And very, very few teams come close to drawing 2,000 fans. With so many games on TV today, people would rather stay home and watch D1 games or NBA games or NFL games on TV than come out for a D2 basketball game. So when your guys get the opportunity to play in front of a packed house against a D1 opponent with a loud crowd, a tremendous college basketball atmosphere and ESPN broadcasting the game to boot, then it's much easier for guys to get excited and play at a high level. When our guys play with that kind of energy and determination they can be very good.
 
From an X and O standpoint, I thought our zone bothered them. They were not a great perimeter shooting team and our players worked extremely hard in their shifts and coverage. Offensively, we are smaller than what they generally play against, so while we had problems competing with them on the glass, they had some matchup problems for their big guys playing against our smaller, quicker forwards and centers. We didn't play well, we didn't execute very well, which is to be expected on November 15. But we played with great energy and determination.
 
Q: You had a friend in attendance scouting Florida Gulf Coast players for an NBA franchise, what was his take on NSU's performance?
 
A: Yes. Scott Howard, who I had the good fortune to work with as an assistant coach at the University of Miami several years ago is now a veteran scout for the NBA's Charlotte Hornets. I told our guys before the game that Scott wasn't here to see any of them, so don't get too excited about having an NBA scout in the house. That got a laugh from the guys and helped them relax a little. Scott was very complimentary of our team after the game. He had several nice things to say about our effort, our execution, our game plan and how hard we competed. He was surprised at how well we competed against a much larger, more athletic team. He made a point of saying how much he enjoyed watching us play, and that's always nice to hear from someone with his expertise and experience.
 
Q: Embry-Riddle is undefeated, but they are a NAIA school in the Sun Conference. What kind of opponent will the Sharks face on Tuesday?  
 
A: Embry-Riddle will be our toughest game to date. I say that in part because there won't be 5,000 people in the seats, there won't be a pep band and a lot of student crazies next to our bench giving us motivation, nor will there be ESPN. All those things made it easy to play at a high level against Florida Gulf Coast. We talk with our guys all the time about learning how to compete internally. We're trying to learn how to play at a high speed… whether it's cutting through the defense, running lanes in offensive transition, shifting in our half court defense or either getting back in transition defense or applying pressure in a full court press. But to play at that speed you have to win the battle with yourself. You have to learn to compete with yourself, to push yourself, to see the value in going hard and then finding that button to push that drives you to play harder and at a greater pace than your mind tells you to. That's internal competition. You can't compete externally – play your best against an opponent – until you learn to master your own mind and drive yourself to play at a level that's uncomfortable. You have to force your mind out of its comfort zone before you can force an opponent out of his comfort zone.
 
Embry-Riddle has a veteran team, a talented team, a very big team and in a lot of ways they are similar to us because they shoot the three so well and that includes their big men, who are very good perimeter shooters. We zone almost exclusively and that probably helps Embry-Riddle because they are such a good shooting team. They're bigger than us and they are deeper than us and certainly more healthy than we are. We won't have our best player, Casey Carroll (Jr., Youngstown, Ohio), who has back surgery on Monday, the day before we play Riddle. We won't have Chris Page (Jr., Plainfield, Ind.), last year's team MVP, as he sits out the final game of his suspension. We probably won't have Brandon Patchan (So., Tampa, Fla.), our backup center, who is struggling to overcome an Achilles tendon injury. So we're very thin and nowhere near our best for this game.
 
Steve Ridder, the Embry-Riddle coach, has been a great friend for a long, long time. He does a tremendous job every year with his team. They play the right way and they do great things on the court and off the court. He recruits the same kind of guys we recruit and in many ways our programs are mirror images. Embry-Riddle is coming into our league and this will be their first game against a Sunshine State Conference opponent since accepting an offer to leave the NAIA and join the NCAA and the SSC. You KNOW his team will be very emotional for this game because this is their coming out party in a sense. This is their first opportunity to make a statement, to let the SSC know that they are worthy and belong in this league.
 
When I scheduled this game I knew it was going to be a tough test against a very well-coached, talented and veteran team that has an outstanding chance to win the NAIA national championship this year. I didn't know we would play without Casey or Patch. So we will need to find that button, find that drive to compete at our very best, if we hope to win this game. In the two or three games I've seen of Embry-Riddle on film I would say they are a top four or five team in our league. Extremely talented guards, very big inside with post guys who shoot the three, and a difficult team to attack because they play multiple defenses. This may not be pretty but it will be a great test for us and we certainly will be able to use this game to get better, which is the whole idea of playing games in November and December.
 
Q: Two more unfamiliar opponents follow in your Thanksgiving Classic Tournament in Puerto Rico-Mayaguez and Seton Hill of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. NSU is 2-0 all time against Mayaguez and have never played Seton Hill. How familiar are you with either of these two teams?
 
A: I know next to nothing about either of those teams but I'm looking forward to the games because Chris Page will return to the lineup. If Brandon Patchan is able to play, this will be the first time this season that we'll have an opportunity to experiment with different lineups and different combinations. We can finally take the guys we know we have to rely on this year and begin looking at them in different situations. These games will be valuable to us because we can begin to work on some different things that we haven't been able to work on without Chris. I also expect both Mayaguez and Seton Hill to be very competitive. UPR-Mayaguez may be the best Puerto Rican team to come to the States in quite some time. They upset Montevallo, the preseason fifth ranked DII team in the nation. And they played a heck of a game against Lynn this past week before losing by 12. And I've gone on record as saying Lynn will be one of the best teams in our league and the surprise team of the year in the SSC. Seton Hill has a solid program with very good players and an outstanding coaching staff who do a terrific job with that team every year. 
 
Q: Where does Page fit into your current offense and will we see any changes to the game plan?
 
A: We're excited to have Chris Page back in the lineup. He can do a lot of things at both ends of the floor to impact a game. But most of all he gives us another veteran in our rotation, which helps take some pressure off the older guys who have been carrying the load and also takes pressure off the young guys who have had to play too many minutes before they were ready. Chris has had a great preseason. His attitude has been terrific, and I'm so proud of him. He's dealing with a tough situation at home in Indiana with his dad's cancer. But he's been terrific in practice. He's working much harder at both ends of the floor than last year and he's a much better leader, much more vocal than at any time last year. His game has improved with his work ethic. He'll probably try to do too much too early, and there will be adjustments other people will have to make to accommodate what Chris does best. But it's great having him back. His return allows us to start building for January and February.
 
Q: Lynn will also be here to play both visiting teams at 6 p.m. this weekend. They were picked last in the preseason poll, but you've been a repeated advocate for them as a contender in our league. As a coach, are you measuring your team's results with theirs? Will there be pressure on your guys to outperform them at home?
 
A: I could care less about measuring my team against Lynn's team. We're two completely different animals. I suspect the coaches who voted Lynn last in the league would like a 'do over' about now. Lynn will be in the hunt for one of the top spots in this league… they are very athletic, big, talented and extremely deep. They're very similar to the DI Florida Gulf Coast team we played. You can't compare teams based on scores and results. Every night is different, especially at the DII level. For a multitude of reasons, playing at a high level on a consistent basis is one of the toughest things to achieve in DII. That's why we stress 'internal competition' with our players. We have a lot of young players like Troy Spears (Fr., Martinsville, Ind.) and Nick Rosa (Fr., Coral Springs, Fla.) and Harrison Goodrick (So., Sydney Australia) and Mike Chalas (Jr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) that we're relying on to improve and help us become a quality team sometime in January or February. They have a long way to go in terms of understanding what we do and how we do it. Some teams take longer to get there than others based on experience, based on the system or style of play. I hope we win twice in the Classic and I hope Lynn wins twice because that's good for our league. But more than anything I'm just concerned with my team and our ability to make gradual improvements day by day. We need to exercise patience and not get too hung up on results at this time of the year.
 
Q: You've said on numerous occasions that Casey Carroll is irreplaceable because of his versatility. Two games into the season, how have the guys dealt with that loss? Has there been one of two guys that have stepped up to fill that production void?
 
A: Casey is such a unique talent. How many 6-7 guys can play four positions and be the best player on your team at any of four different places? Casey is so much better than people realize. A year ago he was playing through back pain and spasms. He was playing after sitting out for two years. He was trying to figure out his role, carve out his place on the team. He was trying to figure out what we needed from him and where he could best help us. He was a much different, more confident and aggressive player this fall. We can't replace Casey. His our best three-point shooter, our best post player, our best rebounder and our highest IQ guy on the court. By far. I always say you can't play in our offense with a room temperature IQ. Casey's basketball IQ is off the charts. Hopefully he recovers from the back surgery and is able to come back and play for two more years at a level close to where he was before surgery. Even if he isn't the old Casey again, his basketball IQ and ability to shoot will not go away. He will be an impact player for us for the following two years and I can't wait to get him back. We all recognize what he brings to the table and we all miss him, especially the four seniors and the coaches.
 
Q: You've also been open about the back issues that Brian Cahill (Sr., Arlington, Va.) and Justin Jeangerard (Sr., Weaverville, Calif.) are suffering. Can you give an update on how they have dealt with the first two games?
 
A: So far, so good for both Brian and Justin. We adjust our practice schedule to give them time off and we try to be careful about their number of reps on the court during both practice and games. Having Chris Page back will help us with that. Brian has had two back surgeries and he's limited at times. His mind is still sharp and willing, but his body doesn't always cooperate. Justin has two bulging discs in his back and I think it has limited him in a lot of ways. He's not as athletic. He's not as quick moving his feet or getting off the ground. But he has the heart of a lion and he works every day like a champion. Both those guys love the game and I have to rein them in sometimes.
 
Q: Your freshman class is averaging over 15 minutes a game individually. Is that a product of scheduling or can fans expect that through this week? What have you learned about your freshmen through the preseason and the first two games?
 
A: With Chris Page out we've had to play our freshmen a little more than we wanted. That's probably been a good thing because they've gotten some experience. I doubt if it changes too much when Chris comes back because we'll use the freshmen to spell Brian Cahill and Justin Jeangerard so they can rest their backs. Nick Rosa and Troy Spears are the freshmen who play the most minutes. Defensively both of them struggle at times to understand what's needed from them. Their recognition isn't where it needs to be. Offensively they have some typical freshman bad habits, but both guys are skilled and both know how to find the basket. Both these guys will be solid players at NSU for four years. The faster they pick up what we're doing and learn to get in a stance, communicate and execute then the more they will play because they are very talented guys who can make a big difference on our team before the year is up. The difference between high school and college basketball, even on the DII level, is enormous. The learning curve is huge. But all of our freshmen are doing a pretty good job of picking things up. I'm pleased with them overall.
 
Q: Speaking of freshmen, the major pieces to next year's crop have been signed. You sound really invigorated with next year's potential, but how does an announcement like that effect the team here and now? How does it affect the day-to-day mindset of the coaches?
 
A: Our goal was to sign three guys in the early signing period (November 12-19). Without a full time assistant that put a lot of pressure on myself and my volunteer assistant, Marquise Kiffin, who – by the way – did an amazing job. In the past I would leave a lot of the details to my assistant coach. But without a guy in that position I had to do a lot more than I normally would, and I had to rely a lot more on Marquise than we have in the past.
 
Trying to get the right guys and trying to get them signed was a distraction in terms of preparing our team. It definitely took away from the time I would normally spend doing things with my present team. But our players did a great job helping us and in the end we were able to sign Dwayne Gibson, Austin Marciniak and Nikita Orap and we're delighted to have all three coming on board next year. We're going to expect a lot from them right away because they've got to step in and replace four very smart, very experienced and very good seniors in Brian Cahill, Justin Jeangerard, Stian Berg (Baerum, Norway) and Maurice Fuller (Westfield, Ind.). But now that Dwayne, Austin and Nikita have signed, I can turn my attention back to our team and devote the time and energy to them that they deserve. We can also relax a little in the spring because we're done recruiting for this year. We can focus on hiring an assistant coach in the spring and we can begin looking for the right guys to recruit for the 2016-17 season.
 
Q: College basketball players often do not get to spend Thanksgiving like most students. What is the team doing to celebrate the holiday?
 
A: People have no idea how hard the holidays are for basketball players and coaches. Even the coaches, players and administrators in various athletic departments don't always realize what we go through and what our families have to go through over the holidays. We'll take a couple of hours to eat a good Thanksgiving dinner like most everyone else. But we will also practice on Thanksgiving Day. That means our players, our staff, our manager, our trainer will all be working that day. Our guys generally have dinner with family who come to visit over the holiday. Or they eat with a student friend's family. Or come to my house. But we work when everyone else is off. Coaches are preparing for the next game, watching film of the previous games or scouting the next opponent, getting ready for the next game, trying to figure out ways to make the team better. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's… it doesn't matter the holiday. There's really no time off for coaches and very little break for the players. Even during Christmas break they know they have to stay sharp, stay in shape, get in a gym and get up shots. It can be a grind, but we do it because we love it. And most of us are very fortunate to have loving, supportive families who get it.
 
Q: We know you've met the team's challenge of losing a pound a week. Will the turkey, stuffing, gravy, potatoes, biscuits, yams, macaroni and cheese cause your guys to get an extra day off?
 
A: No way. I've dropped 17 pounds since I started this challenge with the team and I'm not going to be the team Turkey this Thanksgiving. If I don't lose a pound every week, they get a day off… and they're not good enough yet to deserve an extra day off! I'll do the Thanksgiving dinner shopping for my family and make sure they have a great turkey and ham and provide all the things they want in order to have a beautiful holiday. Meanwhile, there are some pretty decent frozen Chinese meals out there. What a concept. Is this a great country or what? For fat guys on a diet, 'Sweet and Sour Chicken' in a Lean Cuisine box is the traditional holiday 'go to' meal. Happy Thanksgiving.