TicketsUC men's basketball coach John Brannen
"Every day we practice is a good day. Our guys have been really resilient. It's not been the typical calendar and it certainly not been the typical rhythm that you would have going into games in November. But I think our guys have been really resilient and I've been really proud of how they have handled the last seven months.
"The world has gone through way more changes and there are people that have tougher jobs than I have, but speaking to our basketball team, it's not the greatest time to have a lot of new faces because of the inability to be around your guys for the majority of the summer. That's the challenge we have. Veteran teams are really going to have an advantage here going into the season.
"But I do think our guys have done a pretty good job of having an intensity and focus about them every day in practice and trying to mesh personalities together. We've tried to do it on the court. We've tried to do it, in a limited capacity, off the court."
On UC's predicted league finish of fourth by AAC coaches:
"I think it's good for people to talk about and get excited about the season. I think we were picked third last year and, obviously, we were the No. 1 seed (in the AAC tournament). I think my Northern Kentucky teams were picked pretty low as well. The only thing people remember is how you finish the season, certainly not how you start it."
On his early thoughts on Mike Saunders, Jr.:
"He's been really good. His speed is something that translates to our level immediately. I was really surprised by his physicality. He's got a physicality about him, particularly defensively. To play early in your career, you've got to be able to defend. That's why Mika (Adams-Woods) played so much last year. He defended and he didn't turn the ball over. Mike Saunders has shown an ability to do that every day in practice. It's fun to watch young guys progress and grow a little bit. I think we've seen some growth in Mike over the course of the last week."
On the next step for Keith Williams:
"It's not about being the leading scorer for us. Everyone knows he can score. He's elite at putting the ball in the basket. For Keith to take the next step, it's going to be about efficiency, being a really good passer and the ability to really lock down defensively.
"We were talking to Tre last year about averaging double-digit rebounds and being conference defensive player of the year. He's done that and I think he's going to be in the NBA at some point. For Keith, along the same lines, what can you do to help your team win? Put that on the defensive end, your ability to make people better because we already know he's going to be able to score the ball when he's 50. That's what he does."
On the preseason play of Mika Adams-Woods:
"He's so consistent. He brings such a calming presence. He's a multiple position guy. He's a guy that defends at a high level, doesn't turn the ball over, makes the right decisions and is a great teammate. He doesn't pop off the page with what he does if you just came to one practice. But if you came to every practice (you'd see) he's just so important to what this team does."
On David DeJulius:
"He's insanely competitive. He may have the best work ethic I've ever coached so far. His work ethic is off the charts. He's passionate about making other people better. If you have those qualities, you're going to transition to whatever position we need. And we certainly need him to be able to handle the ball."
On the freshmen class:
"What I've seen in practice so far is a freshmen class that has a chance to be really, really, really good because they are humble and because they are competitive and because they are tough. They are all the core values we have in our program. That's why we recruited them. I know what I've seen in practice. I've been pretty excited."
No. 2 Keith Williams, G
"It feels good to be around the staff, the guys again. We missed so much time off. Now, to just be back as a family, it feels good right now, a new year, a fresh start."
On beginning his second year with Coach Brannen:
"I feel like now for me it's calmer. There's no pressure on me because I trust Coach Brannen and his staff. Last year there was trust, but it was a new coach and a new playing style. It takes time to adjust to it. But now, I trust him a lot, his plan for us and the team. That's my guy."
On this year's team:
"This year's team will surprise a lot of people. We're gelling so well. Everyone is on the same page. It's different. Everyone has fully bought into the style of play. Every day guys are competing, staying in the gym. This team is different than the past teams I've had here. I think we will shock a lot of people. I know we were picked fourth but we just have to compete. We don't really feed into stuff like that."
No. 33 Chris Vogt, C
On playing with Rapolas Ivanauskas:
"I think we'll complement each other pretty well. Rap is pretty skilled for his size and moves pretty well. I think we can see him in a lot of pick-and-pop actions and he can move pretty well with the ball.
"He can shoot the ball very well for his size. He has surprisingly good footwork. He catches the ball in the low post or the mid post and he's able to create angles for himself pretty well. I feel like he fits well into our offense."
On his jump last season in minutes and production:
"As long as I put the work in there's really no potential I can't reach in my eyes. In looking from my freshman year to sophomore year to junior year, every year I took a big step. Freshman year, not really playing that much. Sophomore year, being the sixth man. Last year, being a starter and playing a key role on a championship team. The goal this year is to take another one of those big steps like I have previously."
On what he worked on this summer:
"I worked on being more versatile on offense. Primarily my points last year came off ball screens or catching the ball off drives and scoring or post ups. I've just been working on scoring different ways in the offense and working on guarding better and rebounding."
"Every day we practice is a good day. Our guys have been really resilient. It's not been the typical calendar and it certainly not been the typical rhythm that you would have going into games in November. But I think our guys have been really resilient and I've been really proud of how they have handled the last seven months.
"The world has gone through way more changes and there are people that have tougher jobs than I have, but speaking to our basketball team, it's not the greatest time to have a lot of new faces because of the inability to be around your guys for the majority of the summer. That's the challenge we have. Veteran teams are really going to have an advantage here going into the season.
"But I do think our guys have done a pretty good job of having an intensity and focus about them every day in practice and trying to mesh personalities together. We've tried to do it on the court. We've tried to do it, in a limited capacity, off the court."
On UC's predicted league finish of fourth by AAC coaches:
"I think it's good for people to talk about and get excited about the season. I think we were picked third last year and, obviously, we were the No. 1 seed (in the AAC tournament). I think my Northern Kentucky teams were picked pretty low as well. The only thing people remember is how you finish the season, certainly not how you start it."
On his early thoughts on Mike Saunders, Jr.:
"He's been really good. His speed is something that translates to our level immediately. I was really surprised by his physicality. He's got a physicality about him, particularly defensively. To play early in your career, you've got to be able to defend. That's why Mika (Adams-Woods) played so much last year. He defended and he didn't turn the ball over. Mike Saunders has shown an ability to do that every day in practice. It's fun to watch young guys progress and grow a little bit. I think we've seen some growth in Mike over the course of the last week."
On the next step for Keith Williams:
"It's not about being the leading scorer for us. Everyone knows he can score. He's elite at putting the ball in the basket. For Keith to take the next step, it's going to be about efficiency, being a really good passer and the ability to really lock down defensively.
"We were talking to Tre last year about averaging double-digit rebounds and being conference defensive player of the year. He's done that and I think he's going to be in the NBA at some point. For Keith, along the same lines, what can you do to help your team win? Put that on the defensive end, your ability to make people better because we already know he's going to be able to score the ball when he's 50. That's what he does."
On the preseason play of Mika Adams-Woods:
"He's so consistent. He brings such a calming presence. He's a multiple position guy. He's a guy that defends at a high level, doesn't turn the ball over, makes the right decisions and is a great teammate. He doesn't pop off the page with what he does if you just came to one practice. But if you came to every practice (you'd see) he's just so important to what this team does."
On David DeJulius:
"He's insanely competitive. He may have the best work ethic I've ever coached so far. His work ethic is off the charts. He's passionate about making other people better. If you have those qualities, you're going to transition to whatever position we need. And we certainly need him to be able to handle the ball."
On the freshmen class:
"What I've seen in practice so far is a freshmen class that has a chance to be really, really, really good because they are humble and because they are competitive and because they are tough. They are all the core values we have in our program. That's why we recruited them. I know what I've seen in practice. I've been pretty excited."
No. 2 Keith Williams, G
"It feels good to be around the staff, the guys again. We missed so much time off. Now, to just be back as a family, it feels good right now, a new year, a fresh start."
On beginning his second year with Coach Brannen:
"I feel like now for me it's calmer. There's no pressure on me because I trust Coach Brannen and his staff. Last year there was trust, but it was a new coach and a new playing style. It takes time to adjust to it. But now, I trust him a lot, his plan for us and the team. That's my guy."
On this year's team:
"This year's team will surprise a lot of people. We're gelling so well. Everyone is on the same page. It's different. Everyone has fully bought into the style of play. Every day guys are competing, staying in the gym. This team is different than the past teams I've had here. I think we will shock a lot of people. I know we were picked fourth but we just have to compete. We don't really feed into stuff like that."
No. 33 Chris Vogt, C
On playing with Rapolas Ivanauskas:
"I think we'll complement each other pretty well. Rap is pretty skilled for his size and moves pretty well. I think we can see him in a lot of pick-and-pop actions and he can move pretty well with the ball.
"He can shoot the ball very well for his size. He has surprisingly good footwork. He catches the ball in the low post or the mid post and he's able to create angles for himself pretty well. I feel like he fits well into our offense."
On his jump last season in minutes and production:
"As long as I put the work in there's really no potential I can't reach in my eyes. In looking from my freshman year to sophomore year to junior year, every year I took a big step. Freshman year, not really playing that much. Sophomore year, being the sixth man. Last year, being a starter and playing a key role on a championship team. The goal this year is to take another one of those big steps like I have previously."
On what he worked on this summer:
"I worked on being more versatile on offense. Primarily my points last year came off ball screens or catching the ball off drives and scoring or post ups. I've just been working on scoring different ways in the offense and working on guarding better and rebounding."