The Prohm Presser: UNI game week
Iowa State basketball coach Steve Prohm met with reporters to look back on three wins last week and look ahead to Saturday's game with UNI. Here's a complete transcript of all he had to say in his regular weekly press conference in Ames.
Opening comments:
"This is a new week, obviously finals week. We're off today and will get back on the floor tomorrow just with some individual workouts, shooting groups and will start getting ready for UNI on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. We're glad to be 9-0 going into finals week and now we've got to take care of business academically. Dooley (Abdel Nader) will graduate after a good semester here and then Jameel (McKay), Naz (Mitrou-Long) and Georges (Niang) will all be on pace to finish up in the spring."
On how he'll go about getting Deonte Burton ready to play on Saturday:
"That's a tough thing. Right now, dealing with Naz's situation being beaten up a little bit, Deonte's role could change based on if Naz is or isn't healthy. We've been having success and Deonte is a terrific player, but we've got to slowly work him into the lineup in practice and in games. I'm going to meet with Deonte this week just to talk about his role, my expectations and our expectations for him. There's no perfect scenario; you've just got to slowly ease him into the transition."
On what Burton will add that team might not already have:
"I think he'll add some depth up front. He'll add some toughness into our front court, to really where you have Jameel and Georges right now. Then, you go to Dooley as your next big. Deonte has great athleticism. Those are the biggest things."
On what his impressions were from afar watching UNI in past years:
"It's a great program and a program that's about winning and doing things the right way. It's a terrific culture they have there. (Greg) McDermott did a great job there and then (Ben) Jacobson has taken over and done a phenomenal job and won a ton of games. I've had a chance to watch them off and on. I remember watching them last season at Stephen F. Austin in the 24-Hour marathon game. The guard Washpun was really good that day, watching him play. We've got to do a great job against him. They have a terrific program and I have a lot of respect for what they've been able to accomplish."
On what the goals are for Burton in practice this week, inserting him into the mix:
"It's not just going to be a super-quick thing. We've got our rotation and I feel good about. Deonte can just add to that. We'll slowly do that in practice. Our numbers aren't great, so just because you're on gold doesn't mean you're not going to play and just because you're on red doesn't mean you're going to play so many minutes. We'll ease him into that in practice. It's not a one-game shot on Saturday. We've got 22 games left of the regular season, so it's a process and you've got to work it as a process."
On how Burton contributed to the team on the scout team during his absence from active role:
"He's been great and loved that role. He can shoot all the balls and loved it. Sometimes, wherever you go and whatever program, the coach is really going to focus on that top group or for us the red team. The gold team, they kind of freelance at times. The biggest thing we have to do with Deonte now is get him into structure and make sure he knows what we're doing. He did a great job of competing and pushing. He goes at Georges and Georges goes at him. They enjoy that and all like competing, so that's a good thing."
On how Burton will be brought along physically to work up his conditioning:
"I think it's just a process and is not going to happen come Saturday against Northern Iowa. We have two games and then we take four days off with the break, then come back to play Coppin State, and then we get right into the Big 12. It's going to be a process of getting better in practice and now being a little bit more focused on the attention to detail with him to make sure he knows what we're doing at all times. This is a long-term thing and not a short-term thing. I'm not looking at it as a short-term fix."
On the increased role Matt Thomas has played in recent games:
"He's been great. Matt works extremely hard. Everybody knew he could make shots, but what he's been able to do of late is really defend on the perimeter and also rebound. If you look at his rebounding numbers, five rebounds per game at the guard position is very good."
On the process of dealing with Mitrou-Long's injury in hopes of getting him back on the court:
"It's really just dealing with Naz and how he feels and how his body feels. It's a day to day thing. I've got to do a good job of handling it and communicating with my players and communicating with Naz. We've got to deal with the situation each and every game. Hopefully he'll feel good and be able to be out there with us."
On how much Long has been available for workouts between games:
"He hasn't practiced a lot. He's really been just game playing. He practices some, but he hasn't practiced much at all. It's not even day to day, but more game to game is how we've handled him. Because he's a senior, because he's a good player, has experience and knows what we're doing, he's able to do that and still be very productive. If you look at his numbers, two or three games ago he was leading us in scoring averaging almost 18 points when we were coming back from Florida. Then he's had a couple of games where he hasn't shot it well. He brings so much more to this team."
On what his plans are for team around the upcoming holidays:
"I'll get the guys some Christmas gifts. My wife was texting me about that today. I'll probably do something at my house for New Year's more than Christmas, because it's kind of rushed right now. We're playing Northern Iowa and then are at Cincinnati. I'm finally settled into my house, so we'll do something with the guys for New Year's over there. I'll always get the guys something nice for Christmas. It's been something different every year - managers, everybody.
"Christmas is important. The biggest part of Christmas is Jesus was born and died for our sins. That's the meaning of Christmas. That's big for me and my beliefs. For me, this is my first Christmas in Iowa and I've got my family all here. This is my son's first Christmas. Hopefully we're (still undefeated)."
On if he's going to be taking in the new Star Wars movie:
"No, I'm a Rocky fan so I'll go watch Creed. I don't know if I'll watch Star Wars."
On how much tape he's watched of UNI:
"I haven't yet. I'll start watching Northern Iowa sometime today or tomorrow. That's the first game I'll start watching. They really scored the ball well against Carolina and we've got to do a good job in that area."