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PACIFIC-12 CONFERENCE MENS' MEDIA DAYOctober 23, 2014David KravishCuonzo MartinLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA THE MODERATOR: Introducing California head coach Cuonzo Martin and senior forward David Kravish. Coach, opening remarks. COACH MARTIN: Very excited to be here.  Tremendous opportunity. Humbled to be in the PAC‑12. Great league, great exposure. Things are going well for our guys. Working extremely hard. A couple things we talk about with our guys, playing with passion, energy, getting out of your comfort zone, playing with a high level of confidence. At the end of the day your results are driven by your preparation. I think that's very important we talk to our guys about. We have to consistently perform at a high level every day. THE MODERATOR: We'll go ahead and take questions. Q. Coach, speaking of David Kravish, coming in off the bat, what struck you about him as a player for this program? COACH MARTIN: I had a chance to watch him when he was home at Missouri. Thin framed, very talented. He's about 240 pounds now. Plays both ends of the floor, blocks shots, can score the ball. Really improved his perimeter shot for us in the off‑season. I wanted him to stress shooting the high post three‑point shot. But the guy is just battle tested. Understands what it means to win. Probably one of the better leaders I've ever been around. Q. David, can you tell us a little bit about the transition from Coach Montgomery to Coach Martin? DAVID KRAVISH: I played under Coach Montgomery for three years and learned a lot, had a good experience. The transition has been really great. Coach Martin and his staff have really brought a lot of energy and a lot of passion. It's been a great off‑season, great pre‑season. Guys are working really hard. Look forward to the first game so we can really show our hard work. Q. David, a fan question for you. After you beat Arizona last year, what was going through your mind when that 'mass of humanity' rushed the floor? DAVID KRAVISH: The first time it rushed the floor or the second time (laughter)? That was great. When Justin hit the shot, I was standing right there under the basket. It was really exciting. I think there was like .9 seconds on the clock. I wanted to run back to the basket as soon as I could to make sure they wouldn't get a basket. Everybody ran on the floor, they cleared them off, and then everybody ran on the floor again. It was really exciting. Got a little claustrophobic. Have to remember I was 6'10", so I could breathe. But it was really exciting. Q. Coach, who else other than this guy is stepping up for you guys in practice? COACH MARTIN: They're all doing a good job of playing hard. We practice two hours a day. Probably one of the few groups I've been around, the way they practice from start to finish at a high level. They get after each other, individual skills, push each other. It's hard to say an individual guy because they're all working very hard. Jabari Bird is a guy getting out of his comfort zone, playing both ends of the floor, defending on both ends, working hard, attacking the rim, rebounding the basketball. I think that's the biggest key to this game, getting rebounds out of his comfort level, be able to defend at a high level on the perimeter. Q.  David, as a skinny barely 200‑pound forward in high school coming into Cal, did you ever see yourself being the primary post? How has your increased strength and weight gain over the years helped your game? DAVID KRAVISH: Coming in, like you said, I weighed a little under 200 pounds. I came into college from my recruitment knowing I was going to have to work really hard to play because I was undersized, I was going to get pushed around. I knew I was going to have to compete and work hard in practice, compete for minutes. I had to have confidence in myself because they had confidence in me to bring me here. I just played hard, learned as much as I could from my teammates. Now that confidence has carried over to my 240‑pound self. Just keep playing hard, playing within myself. Really enjoying my teammates and enjoying the experience. Q. Coach, you're one of three new coaches in the league this year. As a coach, how do you know when it's the right time to make a change? COACH MARTIN: I think for me it's always based on my family. That's the most important thing. I think as a coach you put yourself in the best situation to be successful. That's me individually, not just taking any job, but the one you feel like is the right job for you, so you can have an extended stay. I just feel like this is right for me as a coach. Q. Coach, you have three sophomore wings, among the most talented players on the West Coast, but inconsistent at freshmen. What have you spoken to them this off‑season about taking the next step? COACH MARTIN: I think the thing we always talk about is you have to defend, rebound and play hard. I think what happens when you tell players that, it's more of relax mode because with most young guys, they're consumed with the offensive side of the ball. When you say defend, rebound and play hard, that's my only gauge. If a guys score 30 one night and he scores zero the next night, if he does those three things, he'll have an opportunity to play and be successful. Don't consume yourself on the offensive side of the ball. I think all three of those guys have done a great job on working on individual skills, improving their games, mental toughness. It shows when you have an opportunity to see those guys on the floor. Q. Coach, is there a significant basketball culture change going from Tennessee to Cal, SEC to PAC‑12, in depth or emphasis or anything like that? COACH MARTIN: I think coaching is coaching. I think for me personally, my style is a level of toughness, defend, rebound, play hard, try to push the ball in transition if you have an opportunity. Execute what you're trying to do, defend, maximize your talent, put your guys in a situation to be successful. I've never really been a zone guy. We will be playing zone until we get to the level that we need to be defensively as far as our man‑to‑man is concerned. I think PAC‑12, SEC, I think it's coaching. I think you coach according to your personnel. I think out west it's more of a fast‑paced, free‑flowing style of offense. Back east, more physical, banging type of game. At the end of the day, talent wins out. You put your guys in a position to be successful. Q. Coach, Tyrone Wallace is a guy who stepped up in his shooting. What is the next step he needs to take? COACH MARTIN: Last year he shot 121 threes, the most on the team. When I watch film of all the games last year, I thought he had an opportunity to drive and attack the rim. He's one of the best I've been around as a player of attacking the rim and making individual plays off the bounce. 68 times a game. You want to put him in a position to score and not settle for three‑point shots. Even though he can make that shot, don't settle for it. THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, thank you for your time. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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