Matt Painter Talks Injuries, Mackey, Rankings In Meeting With Media

The Boiling Point: Matt Painter had a teleconference today where he talked about the recoveries of Robbie Hummel and Jacob Lawson from injuries, as well as the team’s view on next season.

Coach Matt Painter talked to local media today via teleconference, where he discussed things such as the progress Robbie Hummel and Jacob Lawson are making coming back from ligament tears, as well as his team’s view on the upcoming season and what it’s been like dealing with the Mackey construction. Below are some selected quotes, along with the entire 15+ minute audio clip.

On being ranked much lower in preseason polls compared to last season:
“We still have a lot of experience. We have seven guys returning that have started at least a couple games for us. We have six of those guys that have played major minutes. I’m really looking forward to blending some experienced guys together and obviously we’re going to have to have some younger guys be able to play for us and contribute. It’s always a challenge that next year – even when you return a lot of the same guys – it’s always different team. We’re probably going to be ranked a lot lower than we’ve been, and the last time we were in this position we almost won the league. So we’re taking it as a challenge that some people aren’t talking about us as much as they have been, but last time I checked it’s a team sport. I think we have some very good pieces and our strengths will lie in our defense and our ability to stay together.”

On Jacob Lawson’s recovery:
“He looked fine. I’ve seen him look out one day so far. He didn’t look like he had the same spring to him as when I watched him in high school, but for someone that tore his achilles and has only been cleared to do everything for about a month, I thought he was great.”

On Robbie Hummel’s recovery:
“Rob looked fine. He looked like he had good lateral movement and good spring. He stopped on a dime for his pullup. He just looked good. It’s one of those things where time always tells, but for not seeing him for such a long time, he looked pretty good.”

On Anthony Johnson and Travis Carroll’s overseas experiences this summer:
“I just think any time guys don’t play or play a little bit, any game experience that you can help them get helps them to kind of knock off the rust a little bit, especially in terms of Anthony. You want them to be able to learn from their experiences, even if they don’t play, but its still difficult even when you’re not in competition, to make improvement. So it’s something that we’ve really encouraged our players who redshirt or don’t get as many minutes as we’d like to do. Just to get that experience and help them in that next year.”

On the Mackey construction:
“We’re encouraged by it, because we’re looking forward to the day when it’s complete. I really think it’s going to help us from a recruiting standpoint, but also keep Mackey and the homecourt advantage that it gives us. I think we definitely have an advantage with our crowd and our students. It’s been difficult though, like any time you go through construction, but its a sign of progress and I think that’s definitely a positive.”

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