Oct. 29, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - With the beginning of the 2009-10 Samford basketball season less than two weeks away, Head Coach Jimmy Tillette sat down and answered some questions regarding his talented and experienced Bulldogs squad.

Samford, which begins its second year in the prestigious Southern Conference this season, returns four starters and an additional seven lettermen from last year's squad.

In 2008-09, the Bulldogs concluded the year with a 16-16 overall record and a 9-11 mark against conference opponents. Samford finished its inaugural season in the SoCon as the third-place team in the North Division and qualified for postseason play for an unprecedented 16th-consecutive year.

At the 2009 SoCon Tournament, the Bulldogs knocked off Furman and The Citadel to advance all the way to the semifinal round of the competitive 12-team tournament. Samford ended up losing to eventual-champion Chattanooga at The McKenzie Arena in downtown Chattanooga, Tenn.

Samford will begin competitive play in its 2009-10 season on Nov. 9 at 7:30 p.m., as the Bulldogs welcome Tennessee Wesleyan to the Pete Hanna Center for an exhibition contest. Samford's regular season opener will be at 6 p.m., Nov. 13, on the road against Kent State.

The following is a transcript from Tillette's preseason question-and-answer session with Assistant Sports Information Director Zac Schrieber.

How do you think the team adjusted to the Southern Conference last year?
"I thought that we grew into the league. I felt that we got better as the year went on and I think that we played our best basketball at the end of the year, which is what you want to do. Hopefully, that will have some carryover to this year."

The team really seemed to gel during the Appalachian State game and heading into the tournament, is there anything you can attribute that to?
"Heading into the Appalachian State game, we were really fatigued. We were coming off the Western Carolina game on the road where we had a season-high in turnovers and we'd already played so many games in February that our win at Appalachian State was huge. I think we built upon that momentum in the SoCon Tournament and our guys were also feeling more and more comfortable about playing in the league.

"After we beat Furman in the first round, we felt that we really had something to prove against The Citadel, because we didn't show up against them the first time we played. I really think that our guys picked up their focus and intensity in the SoCon Tournament."

Last year, there was great improvement from the guys during the offseason; do you see that happening again this season?
"I hope so. We would like to think that with Trey (Montgomery) and Bryan (Friday) being three-year starters that they will realize that sense of urgency. This is their last go-round and our team has a lot of veteran players returning. We have an opportunity to do something special this season, so we hope that everyone understands that."

Sadly, senior forward Jim Griffin passed away during the offseason, talk a little bit about him and what he meant to the program.
"As a person, which was evidenced by everyone that showed up for his memorial service here on campus, as well as the thousands that went to his funeral in Chicago, Jim meant a lot to people. I don't know anyone who didn't really love talking to Jim or being around Jim, so I miss that for sure. I miss him. Tactically, we're going to miss all of his intangibles. We're definitely going to miss his talk in practice. He was one of our most spirited players. So that's going to hurt our team and diminish our team."

How do you see the team reacting from the tragedy this season?
"I'm not really sure. I know that I'm never going to say `Jim would have wanted this', or try to use it as a motivational tool or anything like that. Everybody's going to have to deal with the sadness on their own. We're going to remember Jim and we're going to do some things to honor his memory, but everyone has to take away what they can and try to move forward one step at a time."

With four returning starters and 11 returning letterwinners, what are your expectations for the team this season?
"If we stay healthy, I think we'll have enough weapons to be competitive from day one. Now, what that translates into victory-wise, I can't tell you because we stepped up our schedule this year based on our experience. Our pre-conference schedule is as challenging as we've ever had here."

What will be some of the strong points of the team this year?
"Our experience will be key for us. The players will know what they're supposed to do. I think that we have a pretty good balance of being able to score the ball around the post and score the ball from the perimeter. I would hope that we could make some significant advances defensively and rebound the ball better. We were more consistent towards the end of the year last year, and now we have to try to be consistent all year long."

What are some things that the team will have to improve on this season?
"I think we'll definitely need to be a better team at rebounding the basketball, particularly from a defensive aspect of things. Other than that, we seem to have a solid grasp of what we're trying to accomplish offensively. I also expect us to shoot the ball well because we have good shooters. I don't really envision any huge problems to overcome at this point. We may have an injury here or there, but defensively it's going to be all about rebounding."

What young players do you see stepping up this season and playing a bigger role on the court?
"I think for sure that all of last year's freshmen will play bigger roles this year. Jeffrey Merritt was ticketed for double-figure minutes for sure last year and then he sustained an injury and that set him back. John Peterson and Kaylin Johnson will also be counted on to play. Kaylin, right now is our backup point guard and John Peterson is Bryan Friday's backup, so all of those guys will be asked upon to contribute."

2009-10 Basketball Schedule