Q&A: Coach John Groce
December 28, 2012 3:31 PM
Tell us a little about Auburn, what can we expect?
JG: "Well the biggest thing that concerns me is their rebounding. They've got 40 percent or more back on the glass for five consecutive games. I think it's one of the things - maybe the best thing - that they've got. And you know, you can say well I can see where you'd be concerned because we got hammered on the backboard on Saturday night. We've got to compete better on the glass than what we did on Saturday. A large part of that is not as simple as just blocking out. I think a big reason why they got us on the glass on Saturday was because Phil Pressey was inside our defense creating rotations, and when you create rotations it's hard to block out, so obviously keeping the ball out of the paint helps in being able to rebound the basketball better. Their two guards, Denson and Sullivan are really good off the dribble. They're gonna challenge us as well in terms of getting into the paint. We gotta try to keep them out of the paint, but rebounding is really where that thing starts, and we gotta make a ton of strides in that area."
Fletcher Page
JG: "Well the biggest thing that concerns me is their rebounding. They've got 40 percent or more back on the glass for five consecutive games. I think it's one of the things - maybe the best thing - that they've got. And you know, you can say well I can see where you'd be concerned because we got hammered on the backboard on Saturday night. We've got to compete better on the glass than what we did on Saturday. A large part of that is not as simple as just blocking out. I think a big reason why they got us on the glass on Saturday was because Phil Pressey was inside our defense creating rotations, and when you create rotations it's hard to block out, so obviously keeping the ball out of the paint helps in being able to rebound the basketball better. Their two guards, Denson and Sullivan are really good off the dribble. They're gonna challenge us as well in terms of getting into the paint. We gotta try to keep them out of the paint, but rebounding is really where that thing starts, and we gotta make a ton of strides in that area."
Fletcher Page
Filed under: Illini Basketball
