November 24, 1998
BERKELEY - The following are quotes from head coach Ben Braun at his weekly media luncheon.
On the game against Hawaii:
"I felt we came out with good intensity early. We faced a pretty good crowd, and facing that early in the season, I think that's great for our team.
"I think we made some progress. We just have to do things fundamentally and use our abilities and depth on the bench.
"A lot of teams try to schedule a couple of games early to get their feet wet, but for us to go right into Hawaii, that's a tough game."
On center Francisco Elson's confidence in the second half at Hawaii:
"I think the key is his confidence. As a coach, you always want to instill confidence in your players, but the players have to have it, too. Confidence is a feeling of certainty. It would be great for Francisco to have that kind of confidence on a daily basis; we'd be that much better of a team if he does."
On forward Michael Gill:
"When Michael is in his range and in his rhythm, I think he's a good shooter, and that gives us some versatility with him playing as the small forward. He can give us some versatility on our floor. He is showing us some good scoring and rebounding early. It's just good to have him healthy.'
On Guard Dennis Gates:
"Dennis really solidifies our defense, and also gets us into a rhythm offensively, moving the ball and coming of screens well. He just really brings us a winning type of atmosphere. He is just doing the little things that help us to succeed and to win. I think what people miss with Dennis is the leadership and how solid a player he is. He has an attention to detail and a great basketball IQ."
On Center Shahar Gordon:
"I thought he was solid. He played the first half filling in for Francisco and kept us in the game, and that is good for Shahar's credit, to play in his first collegiate game to play solid and defensively holding his own."
On Guard Geno Carlisle:
"We don't want Geno to not be aggressive. Nobody said that the point guard can't still look to be aggressive. In our offense, he is going to have opportunities. He's got to be sure to make use of those opportunities and to make sure that he is a constant threat on defense."
On the team defensively:
"I think that defensively, we have the opportunity to be a pretty solid team because we have more depth, and with more depth you can play a little bit harder, you can play a little more sustained with what you are doing, and you don't have to worry about foul trouble. So, basically, I think we have a chance to be a solid defensive team. We've got some big guys in the middle and some guards on the perimeter that can pressure, and I like that."
On the team offensively:
"Offensively, I think we have some firepower. I don't think that putting the ball in the basket is going to be an area we are going to have to worry a lot about. We've got some guys that can do that, and now it is just a matter of playing together and making sure we get some good shots off every time we come down the floor."
