Bowling Green State University Athletics
Dan Dakich MAC Media Day Interview
October 25, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Oct. 25, 2006
Bowling Green State University men's basketball coach Dan Dakich sat down with members of the media in Cleveland for the annual MAC Media Day. The following is a portion of the interview he did with Randall Clark from the Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization.
Q: How important is size and experience in the MAC?
A: You need a little bit of size, but that size has to be able to play big. I mean I think Martin (Samarco) may have been our leading rebounder last year, or maybe second, and that's great for him, but not necessarily good for the team, you've got to have someone come up and get a ball in traffic. Hopefully the guys that were sitting out, and the guys that are newcomers, and the guys that are back will help out in that area (adding size).
There are so many games in the MAC that at some point come down to the last two possessions. A couple years ago when Josh (Almanson) and John (Reimold) were here, games came down to the last two possessions about 8 or 10 times and we were able to win it by a shot. I think that's where inexperience has a chance to hurt you or the exuberance of youth can overcome all that. We'll just have to see."
Q: You have a very young backcourt, how's is the maturation process of guys like Ryan Sims and Brian Moten coming along?
A: I think really well. I think that they have learned how to go really hard from guys like Samarco and (Matt) Lefeld. And I think at the end of the day they are going to be really good players. Moten's really impressed me--he did all summer. He made a switch in his personality academically and how hard he's worked with tough things, and I've really been pleased with him. Sims has a little longer bit longer way to go as he is just getting started. But being a coach's son, I think he understands the pace. It's just a matter of getting him to do it all the time.
Q: I've heard some of your previous interviews, you've mentioned Darryl Clements --how is his development coming?
A: Darryl has done much better this year than last--which is what you expect. But, I expect a lot out of Darryl, who has become a really good player, right now. Darryl for what ever the reason is fighting me a little bit on things that I want done. He is a thousand times better than he was a year ago; but, when I think you are really good player sometimes I have a tendency to demand more than you want to give, particularly early in the season. The other day in practice he was phenomenal, and that's the level that I expect from him.
Q: Coach I know Nate Miller is not able to play until second semester obviously, but what can fans expect to see from Nate when he is able to play?
A: Well, Nate is a guy that has a lot of ability in a lot of different areas--he understand passing, he understands where to be--the biggest problem that Nate's going to have is that he hasn't played in a year and a half and that's always a difficult thing. It's easy in practice, but a little more difficult when you have a jersey on. But I think Nate, because of his inherent enthusiasm for winning, which is a lot like Martin's, will be somebody that as we go through the MAC season will be a good player.
Q: I remember you talking about how you wanted your players to be able to do more than just score and I know that was one of Martin's key focuses. He was asking coaches how he was doing getting others involved. How is that coming along, for not only Samarco but your other young players?
A: In Martin's case, if you want to be a really good player you have to make others better. Whether you score six, 16, or 60, if you are making others better then you are a really good player. I think over the summer Martin's really worked at that. I think the other guys, in some cases the younger kids are just trying to learn what to do and get through practice. I think in other cases they are really coming along. I've been really pleased with Dusan (Radivojevic). I think that he has done a good job of understanding. I've been impressed with (Ryne) Hamblet, I think that Ryne is kind of a selfless player--he wants to get others the ball, he wants to create and I think that's what we lacked last year at times. I've been impressed with Moten. I think he's done a very good job of fitting in. I think Brian Guerin, a walk-on kid, has done a really good job of distributing the basketball. The team that Brian is on wins every scrimmage or every little game that we have. As a coach, that's what you look for, which lineups win for you. Sometimes as a fan, you look at "hey, who's really good". Well to me, if you're really good, you win. I just have been very happy with a core group of guys that includes Guerin, Samarco, Moten, and Dusan. I think they have been very good in practice.
Q: I know when Otis Polk came in he was listed at 315, now he is down to 285. Was that a big point of emphasis for you in the offseason?
A: Well, I didn't really have a number. But you've got to be able to get up and down the court and at 315 that's not the easiest thing to do. Really, you can make a joke about it, but when you are 315 pounds you can break stuff--you can break feet, you can break ankles. So we wanted to make sure that he was healthy and at a healthy weight and learn how to eat healthy. I don't think the loss of weight has effected at all how he plays. I think it's helped him a great deal. But he's a long way off and I've been impressed. He's an achieving guy, he's like Lefeld and (Marc) Larson, good students, achieving guys that just want to do well and he's going to be a really good player.
Q: You talked about Larson. How is his progression coming along, also as a freshman?
A: He's a guy that guys like to play with. I think he's a guy that maybe people will say "jeez, what does he do? Why is he in the lineup?", but at the end of the day the players that play with him know his value. He's been out of practice with the flu for three days and practice hasn't been as good--which is interesting because he is a freshman and not necessarily a great athlete not necessarily a bad athlete, not a good shooter not a bad shooter, but he makes people better. He's a 4.0 student and when you have that, and you have determination--you have a good player. As we go through this season he's going to be somebody that becomes a really good player.
