Bowling Green State University Athletics
Interview With John Reimold
June 26, 2002 | Men's Basketball
June 26, 2002
John, for you it has probably been a long 18 months since you last played. How anxious are you going to be to get out there and practice and work and know that you are going to have an opportunity to show what you can do in games next year here at BGSU?
"Oh, I can't wait. Last year was really tough for me. It was great to get to a team that was winning but I didn't feel like I was really a part of it and I just can't wait to play the game next year and hopefully win."
BGSU was a school that recruited you initially out of high school. How much of that weighed in your decision to decide to come to BGSU after one year at Loyola?
"I knew Coach Dakich pretty well from the camps that I went to and I knew that he ran a tough program like I was used to in high school and my high school coach actually had a lot of influence in me coming here. I just wanted to get back to working hard like I was used to before I went to Loyola. I knew that this was a place where you work hard at."
You were faced with a situation for about a week when it appeared that Coach Dakich was going to go to West Virginia and you were going to be playing for your third college coach in three years. How much of a relief was it for you and can you describe the feelings that you had when it was apparent that Coach was coming?
"That was a crazy situation but when I heard that he was coming back I knew that we would start right where we left off and we could get back to doing what everyone came here to do. To have three different coaches in three years, that was going to be a little difficult for me to get used to, but I am glad that he came back."
Has it been easy for you guys to get back to where you were in terms of your personal relationship with him and your teammates?
"I mean, it's not like he was gone for a long time. He was only gone for a week and it wasn't that difficult to get used to doing what we were doing just the week before that. It's not like he was gone for a whole year and came back after that."
Knowing that Coach has told you that this is where he wants to, does that make it easy for you to build something that eventually leads you to contend for a championship?
"Yeah, I think security is something you need to have a winning program. You can't just be going through a revolving door, with a bunch of different. When you know everyone is in it for the long haul, it's much easier to focus on the things that lead to winning."
You came here as someone who was an outstanding shooter averaging double figures in a very good Division I league. Is there anything that you are bringing to your game that maybe you've improved on since coming to BGSU?
"I've gotten a lot stronger because Coach Hillmann always puts us through brutal workouts, so everyone on the team gotten a lot stronger and I think I have, too. I'm hoping I can rebound a little bit for us. I just try to play smart."
You guys spend an awful lot of time together in terms of being here throughout the summer, with many of you are taking classes to get farther along in your degree programs. What is the chemistry with this group right now at BGSU?
"Everybody is really close to each other. We spend all year together. I think that when you really like the people that you're playing with it makes it a lot easier to get along both on and off the court. I think that's definitely a plus here at BGSU."
Coach Dakich talked a lot about the seniors (last year) and their leadership. Is that something that your group is starting to develop?
"Yeah, I hope that we can be compared to those people he always talks about: (Anthony) Stacey, (DeMar) Moore and Keith (McLeod) and all those guys. "I just hope that we can be looked up to like they were."
What about if people don't get to see you play every day over the summer, they don't see how hard you're working in the weight room. If there's any player that you feel has grown leaps and bounds in the off season? Who is the guy that is going to come in next year and maybe surprise people with their improvement?
"I would say that Cory Eyink and Jabari Mattox are the players that people will really notice. Everyone has improved, but I think that those two really stand out as players who will make this team really good."
What personality do you think is going to best fit this program next year?
"I think we are going to be a tough team. We don't have any one guy like Keith last year that we can say hey, get a basket for us, we really need one. I think that we are all just about even and equal. We have a lot of different players that can do different things and everyone can contribute."
How have you enjoyed your stay so far at BGSU? If a parent was to talk to you on a recruiting visit as far as why this is a great program and why they should consider sending their son to play basketball for BGSU, what would you tell them?
"I would tell them that they would learn a lot about life as well as basketball. I would think that we work just as hard as any one in the country. When you get out of here not only are you going to improve greatly as a basketball player but as a person, too."
You are going to have an opportunity next year where your brother Nolan is going to come here and play baseball. How important is that to you?
"I think it's great that he's coming here. I'm really glad that I get to see family everyday, someone that I know from home. That's going to be great. I'll go to all his games and I'm sure he'll come to mine. We've got a great baseball team, too, we won the MAC. So, he'll really enjoy it here.
Are you guys going to live together?
"No, we're not. We lived together for 18 years, but we'll be around each other a lot."
You came from a great high school program and if you look at a lot of the guys that are in this program they all come from good winning programs. How important is that when you are trying to put together a great basketball program at the college level?
"It is very important because if you come from a winning program you obviously know what it took to become a winning program. If you already know how hard you have to work and how much dedication it takes to be a winner then you already got a head start on a lot of other teams. There are no shortcuts to winning a championship"
