BIG 12 CONFERENCE MEDIA DAYS

October 19, 2005

Billy Gillispie

Joseph Jones

Acie Law IV

Chris Walker

COACH BILLY GILLISPIE: Happy to be here. Billy Gillispie. Texas A&M basketball. I am joined by Joseph Jones, Chris Walker and Acie Law. Just a couple of comments. He said that we're ready for A&M basketball. I hope that A&M basketball is ready for us this year. I think that we're going to be. I think we're heading in the right direction. We had a fun year last year. We established a few things as far as getting our program off to building the program back to what we need to build it to. I think we're on the right track. We have a long, long way to go, but I do think we had a good start to get going.

ACIE LAW: I think it was developing a work ethic. I mean because coming in at my freshman year, I don't think I was on my game. My sophomore year I think developing a lot coming in every day and practice and coming every day and practice. Developing as a team and get better. I think that was the toughest thing to work hard every today to bring it every day.

COACH BILLY GILLISPIE: If you yell at them, they respond better. They're used to it better.

COACH BILLY GILLISPIE: He is off to a good start. I think sometimes foreign players to the United States get labeled, a lot of people will say that most of those guys are kind of soft. Very, very, very skilled and kind of soft. He is definitely not a soft guy. He's been in the States for a couple of years. He is a really, really, really tough guy. He is struggling right now just like every new player across America I am sure is. As far as trying to adjust to practice and the speed of the game, physicalness of the game, those kinds of things. He has got to make a major impact for us this year. He is a lot better than we thought. We thought he was pretty good, but I think he is going to be a very, very good Big 12 player. As far as his language, he speaks as well as most of the players on our team and I hope that doesn't disrespect anyone on our team. He really has mastered the language. He is a great student. He is eager every single day to be here in the United States and he is really excited about the opportunity he has to play. So he is a unique individual.

COACH BILLY GILLISPIE: This year? What will it have?

COACH BILLY GILLISPIE: I think that he is not the only guy that we have that is going to make it probably a little easier for Joseph. I think that last year Chris did an unbelievable job being a powerless forward 6'2 1/12" or 6'3" or whatever. He started out 6' 5" and now he is about 6'2" because he got banged on so much. But Chris was able to shoot the ball and spread the defense out at the four spot. What I think is really going to help Joseph a lot is going to reduce the banging that Joseph took because Joseph had to bang the biggest guy on defense. He got banged by the biggest guy when we were on offense. So I do think that they're going to have to -- it's going to change a little bit. I think he will be a very, very good defender for us, very good interior defender. And he along with some other players on our team, I think are going to be much bigger and I think it is really going to reduce the wear and tear it is going to take on Joseph, so I really do think it's going to be a positive for us.

COACH BILLY GILLISPIE: Well, we really had a starting four last year. That's when Chris really emerged. We had four guys that we're going to start for the most part and nobody else is doing very good at the four spot, so we just told Chris that he is going to be the guy. Once you got in there, he wouldn't turn loose of the starting spot. This year I think we have a lot better depth, but all our depth is going to be very inexperienced, so hopefully these experienced guys will bring those inexperienced guys along. They're going to put those guys in a position of where they can learn on the run a little bit, run on the fly, and hopefully those inexperienced guys are going to continue to grow and learn to where they're going to be able to make a difference in our team. Just because you have more numbers or maybe you recruited to what I think is fairly well, it doesn't mean that they're going to be able to make impacts in the conference such as the big 12. So hopefully these guys have too grow up. Last year, you know, Joseph didn't have the opportunity to come along slowly. Dominique Kirk was put in the situation where it was probably too much for him too soon. But that way the roster dictated we had to do things. I think we do have leeway now do have some experience, some guys that understand what we're going to try to do, so some of those guys are probably going to come along a little bit more slowly. A guy like Eddie Smith. He's got one year to go. I mean he is a junior college transfer. He's only got one year. We have to have improved play in side from Anatanas Kalaliaskas and some of those other guys. So even though we have some experience, we want them to contribute fairly early in our season.

COACH BILLY GILLISPIE: Nobody, and we probably can't replace Antoine. Antoine every knows he was a really good offense player. Everyone knows -- I think he turned into as good of a defense perimeter player in the conference and one of the best in the country. That's what everyone talks about in the NBA now is how hard he works and how well he plays defense. When they were talking about drafting that's what everyone is talking about. He can really guard two's and three's in the NBA, which I think is great deal for us. I think it is a great deal for him. It added lot to his game. The best thing he was a great rebounder. But the best thing he turned into was he was a hardest worker on our team and was the best leader on our team, and those are the things that while it is very different to replace 17 or 18 points a game, it's going to be even tougher to replace his leadership and work ethic. I think we're work into that, but right now it's missing. So we're not to the point right now in our program to where we can replace a guy like that with recruiting. Hopefully our recruiting will continue to get better, better, and better, There is not too many places around the country that can replace the guy like him. Some in our conference that can, but we're not at that point yet.

COACH BILLY GILLISPIE: It changes from day-to-day. I think that for us to be able to enjoy some success, every single player on our team has to do a little bit more. I assume that Joe's numbers will be better. I assume that Acie's numbers will be better. I know that Chris at this time last year all he was thinking about was the interviews that he had with IBM or Accenture, those kinds of things. He didn't even know he was going to be a basketball player. He is going to a better player for us. Dominique Kirk is much better. I think just familiarity is going to make us better. I think everyone is just going to have to do a little bit more to piece it together. I don't think we're going to have one player that going to be able to fulfill the role that Antoine was able to perform for us.

COACH BILLY GILLISPIE: Yeah, we learned that we really don't want to be in the conference, but they make us play in there because it's so good. Totally respectful of everyone in the conference, the players, the coaches, the home crowds, the institutions and, man, it's a challenge every single time and but that's why you come to Texas A&M to play. That's why you come to play at the Big 12 at one of the good schools. You are going to play against the best programs in the country. And there is two or three times in our conference this year that will have a chance to be in final four participants. There is probably about nine or ten teams in or conference right now that definitely be post-season teams. So what a great place to play. As far as learning what you learn is you can't sleep on anything. The coaches are fantastic. There are five or six times that are eventually Hall of Fame guys. The players are the best. We have had a many guys drafted in the last five or six years as any conference, top draft choices, home crowd advantages that are impossible, almost impossible to win at their place and so it's fun. It's challenging. But those things you really have to step your program up to be able to compete at that level.

CHRIS WALKER: I will take this question. I think that the last year, actually, a lot of teams respected us before the season -- before the conference began because we had a lot of success in the non conference schedule. At the same point, I think that respect grew and grew, you know every subsequent game that we play throughout conference, and I believe we somewhat shocked the conference when we beat Texas, and I think whenever you beat a great team like Texas, I think he people are going to look and evaluate what they I think about you. I think that's really happened in the conference after that game.

COACH BILLY GILLISPIE: You know it has been -- it has been great. As far as we rarely see them. And not that we don't want to see them, but it's not been hard at all for us, and you know, even if it was hard, that's what we need to be doing, and they got a tough time right now. So if it were difficult, we would make it happen. But they have been very accommodating to us, hopefully we have been very accommodating to them. They're in a tough deal. You know they're away from home and we're going to try to make them as comfortable as possible but we haven't seen any problems is far. Practice just began last week. If there is problems probably start to arise right now, but it has been very easy for us.

COACH BILLY GILLISPIE: Do you want to go first, Joe.

JOSEPH JONES: If it was us, it would be hard. But I don't know how they practice. I don't know how everything will go with them. If it was it would be very, very hard for us not to play any games. The way we practice is everything is very have, just go out and hit it every day. I don't know.

COACH BILLY GILLISPIE: As far as me, I think I feel for them as far as not getting to play, but time will pass very shortly and they'll have all that behind them which is going to be a major help for them. But it must be difficult. But I think all coaches would rather practice all the time and never play any games. So I am not making light of their situation. I am just saying if we didn't play any games that will be all right with me, but I don't think the players would go for it. It would be very difficult to recruit I think if we just practiced all the time and never played.

COACH BILLY GILLISPIE: I asked him the other day about one, but I can't remember. I don't know what he said how he said it. But I asked him he said a couple of other day in practice. Couldn't understand anything that he was saying this?