FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University men's basketball team (5-7, 1-3 SSC) will begin a three game road trip Wednesday when they travel to Winter Park, Fla. to take on the Rollins Tars (7-7, 0-3 SSC) at 7:30 p.m. on Radio X 88.5 FM. NSUSharks.com spoke to Gary Tuell prior to the matchup.
Q: Florida Tech was another close loss for the Sharks against a much bigger squad. What have you taken away from Saturday's contest? A: Saturday's loss to Florida Tech was our sixth in the last seven games, and four of those losses have been by three points or less. In the other two losses – by 18 at Lynn and 15 at Barry – I don't think we played poorly, but we just didn't have the depth or athletes to keep the games as close as we wanted, although we did have a four-point game with Barry with under 10 to play. Our starters played together a grand total of 14 minutes at Lynn, because of foul trouble, and during that 14-minute stretch we out-scored their starters by something like 10 points. Harrison Goodrick was limited to 20 minutes because of fouls, but in those 20 minutes we out-scored Lynn by close to if not 10 or so points. So obviously our bench did not play well, which points to our lack of depth. Our bench played 42 minutes against Lynn and went 1-for-6 from the field and had six turnovers. To say we missed
Brian Cahill (Sr., Arlington, Va.),
Casey Carroll (Jr., Youngstown, Ohio) and
Nick Rosa (Fr., Coral Springs, Fla.) in that game would be an understatement.
In the loss at Barry we battled hard, but they are just a terrific team that also played extremely well on that day. Look, Barry has three very good Division II players who play – Adrian Gonzalez, Arie Williams and Savad Garner. All three of those guys would be the nucleus of a very good DII team for most teams in our league. All three are excellent players on our level. But they have a whole other team – a Division I team – with Deric Hill, Juan Ferrales, Yunio Barrueta, Anders Haas, Jevoni Robinson and Trey Leonard. That's six DI transfers who ought to be playing and probably starting if they were in the right DI situations. In reality, Barry is a pretty good little DI team carving a swath through a DII league. Which brings us back to your question.
We've tried to analyze our situation as fairly and accurately as possible. Obviously we came away from the Florida Tech loss feeling frustrated. We understand our limitations based on our size and our lack of depth, but our guys have done a great job of battling and hanging in there with some pretty good teams. We're not going to overwhelm anyone because we just don't have that kind of athletic talent. We can't pound you inside or out-run you down the floor. We have to fight for every inch of the floor and if we do that, we will be close at the finish. For the most part we've done that. A four-point win against a darn good Tampa team, a three-point loss on the road at Eckerd after coming back from being 19 down, a three-point loss to No. 7 Florida Southern, a two-point road win at Rollins, a two-point loss on the road against a very, very underrated Palm Beach Atlantic team. So the three-point loss to Tech looks a lot like the other games we've played. But it did not have the same feel about it. My wife, who is brilliant and also understands basketball, thinks our guys did an amazing job staying close to a much larger, more athletic Florida Tech team. My assistant coach, Marquise Kiffin, who is also brilliant and understands basketball, thinks we lost that game and other games because our players might not have the necessary body parts to step up when victory is in their reach. I think there's some truth on both sides. But I tend to think it's a question of not knowing how to win more than not being talented enough to win or not being hungry enough to fight for the win. We have to keep teaching and preaching how to win: make the extra pass, SEE the extra pass, refuse to be the guy who was the reason we lost, stay disciplined, do your job, share the ball, be a thinker on defense instead of a spectator, put pressure on the other team, be the aggressor and not passive, go out and TAKE the game instead of waiting for the other team to hand you the game, block out, block out, block out… and bust your butt every single defensive possession.
The best teams understand those things. They don't talk about it. They do it. To be great you have to dream it, you have to believe it, then you have to do it. We had some guys in Saturday's loss to Tech who completely no-showed and that's inexcusable. Our effort was the worst it's been since way back in the exhibition season. We made the game easy for Tech. Sure, some of it was Tech's ability and talent and execution. Give them credit, they deserve it. They played harder than we played and they played much better than we played. And still… it was a three-point game in the end. If we had done the things you have to do to win… if we played the game like we KNOW HOW TO WIN… I think the outcome would have been different. We were not good Saturday. And we can't and won't accept it.
Q: Stian Berg (Sr., Baerum, Norway) had one of his better shooting nights against the Panthers. Was there a change in his approach that triggered that? A: Stian's father was here, so that probably gave him a little extra juice. We also are tinkering with our offense and some of the stuff we've put in gives him a few more scoring opportunities, especially if the defense goes to sleep on him. I thought Stian played well.
Q: With the loss, you're still only two games removed from fourth place with more than half of conference season remaining. Is the team staying positive through this rough patch? A: I have no idea what the mindset of the players is at the moment. I felt great about our team, even after the loss at PBA last Wednesday, but their effort and performance against Florida Tech disgusted me. I hope it disgusted them, too, because it doesn't get any easier. If they do the things I mentioned in your first question, we can be a very good club and join the battle for fourth place. If we play like we did against Tech we will miss the postseason tournament. It's up to them. It's their team. But we don't help each other on either end of the floor and right now we're still not a good team. Do I believe in these guys? Absolutely. Do I believe they can win a bunch of games in the next month? Without question. Do I believe we have the smallest margin for error of any team in the league because of our lack of size and depth? Undoubtedly. So how big do they want to dream, and how courageous are they willing to be knowing how hard they have to fight? We'll find out. We're walking through hell's gates every night we take the floor. Do we have enough brave hearts and warriors to come back out unscathed? I know
Justin Jeangerard (Sr., Weaverville, Calif.) has what it takes. I know he will give his best effort. I think
Harrison Goodrick (So., Sydney, Australia) will do it. There are a lot of question marks about some others.
Q: Saturday was another productive outing from Brian Cahill. Do you believe he has moved on from his eye injury, and in your opinion, did the time off help him in other areas? A: Brian has an uncommon passion for the game, loads of self-confidence and a very high IQ. Anytime he's healthy enough to suit up, it makes us better. But he can still get better finding the open man, making the extra pass and especially blocking out.
Q: Saint Leo is the last new team on the schedule, what can Shark fans expect the Lions Wednesday? A: I love Lance Randall. He is a terrific coach and has done a great job with the Saint Leo program. They're coming off a 17-point loss at home to – and I will say it again – a very, very underrated Palm Beach Atlantic team. I'm sure Coach Randall was as unhappy with his team's performance Saturday as we were with our effort. They've been playing great defense, playing with great energy and passion, and they just came out Saturday – as will happen to every team over the course of a long season – and delivered a clunker game. I wish they had saved that one for us on Wednesday night! I expect they've had two very tough, very physical days in practice and will come here to deliver some pain. They are a strong, physical team that doesn't shy away from contact and enjoys dishing out the punishment. We will see them at their best, and probably twice this year. They will play angry after what happened to them Saturday at home, and the next time we see them will be the final game of the regular season at their place on Senior Day, so I know we're going to get their best shot twice this year.
Q: Saint Leo has scored less than 50 points in two of their last three outings. Is this a team that struggles to score, or are they trying to slow the pace against teams? A: I really don't know. They've had some great scoring guards the past few years and may not be quite as explosive there as they have been. But Coach Randall's teams have always been built around a physical man defense, toughness and rebounding. They're patient offensively. They move the ball and probe your defense until they get the shot they want. If we defend like we did against Florida Tech then Saint Leo will hang 90 or 100 points on us. Marcus Dewberry might be the fastest guard in our league going end line to end line. And Devin Crisosto is a very quick, clever guard who makes plays for other people. Ron Foxx was a monster inside a year ago and now he's added a 3-point shot to his arsenal, so he's even better and that's hard to believe because he was one of our league's best players last year.
If Dewberry is able to push the pace and if they knock down shots from the perimeter – which they can do – we will have a tough time. They can beat you in transition, beat you on the glass, beat you in the paint and when they shoot it well, beat you from the perimeter. And if all that fails they can still beat you with one of the best half-court man defenses in our league. If they can impose their will on our guys, and if we don't fight back, we will struggle. On the other hand, if we share the ball, move it and make good decisions, knock down our shots and if Justin and Harrison can find three guys who will go to war with them, we might make it a tough night for Saint Leo. It should be interesting.
Q: Wednesday is Shark Night at the arena, and the student-athletes have planned a blue-out. How much do the Sharks feed off the crowd when the lower bowl is packed? A: Anytime you have a loud, supportive crowd it amps up the players and raises the energy level at a game. Crowd support and noise – a pep band, chants, clapping – those things make a difference in our sport unlike any other sport. I hope the students bring their best effort Wednesday because we need it and, quite honestly, these little guys deserve all the support they can get. They are great ambassadors for the university on and off the floor and we should be proud that this group of young guys represent us so well in everything they do. Go Sharks!
