After the Stags’ recent loss to conference rival Iona, Coach Tim O’Toole sat down with Mirror online editor Mike Pignataro to discuss Fairfield’s chances for the rest of the season…
MP: You’ve started 0-5. What is the team doing wrong? What are the other teams doing better?
TO: A break here and a break there and we can be 4-1. The teams we’ve been playing have been top notch programs. Michigan has one of the top ten athletic programs in the country. DePaul is in the Conference USA, which is a different level-a much higher competitive level. Against Iona we didn’t execute and we didn’t finish at the end. I have been very pleased with our defense. We’ve been defending and that’s the cornerstone of what we’re going to be. We just haven’t executed and that’s been the difference between winning and losing.
MP: You’ve started off with a tough schedule this year. Did you think your team might be in a big hole early on in the season when looking at your schedule before the season started?
TO: No. It’s weird, you never think that way. You always think you’re going to be 5-0. We knew we were going to be a little disjointed early on with Ajou not coming in until after the St. Francis game, because he is such a presence. I just wanted to make sure we’d be coming together as a team. That’s my priority. I feel that it’s important to finish the race, but you have to be in contention to win the race. You can’t bury yourself too deep. But I think we’re doing a lot of good things. We just need to stay positive.
MP: What’s next? How do you keep your team believing you can turn this into a successful season?
TO: We lost to Iona. Iona didn’t beat us. DePaul has an entire team with top 100 players in the country. They didn’t beat us either-it’s 85-85 and we beat ourselves again. It’s not like we’ve been getting shellacked. The guys know that we are that close to getting over the hump. Once we get over that hill we’ll have the momentum the second half of the season.
MP: Do you personally have added pressure to have a successful year after three straight losing seasons?
TO: I feel much better about this team and the program where it’s at now-this is weird-than I have ever had. This is my fourth year and I think last year we took a step back, but prior to that we were building. I think it’s important for me, because if I feel additional pressure then the team is going to feel additional pressure. When you have young guys its going to make it worse. We have the kids. We have the new arena. We just have to coach this team and work with them and not let them get discouraged.
MP: You’re an extremely intense coach on the sidelines. What kind of effect does that have on your team?
TO: My philosophy is that you have to give it everything you have but you have to be smart about it. You have to have a level of passion and enthusiasm for higher achievements. I think the players have to see at the Division I level there is a high level of intensity. I think if we get our team playing at that level of intensity, we’re going to be awesome.
MP: You’re depending a lot on your freshmen this year. With five games of college experience under their belts, how has each freshman improved, and what still needs to be worked on?
TO: The freshmen have been phenomenal. Unfortunately [Brad] Feleccia had mono the beginning of the year and is still suffering the affects of that. Tyquawn Goode puts tremendous pressure on the other teams. Kujo [Sogadzi] has been shooting the ball great, and now teams are not zoning us as much as a result. Deng [Gai] is still learning, but he has great shooting ability and has the chance to finish in the top ten in the nation for blocked shots this year. Deng has a European style game and he is still learning to Americanize it. In other countries it’s not such a priority to get the ball inside. We still need to teach him to get his back to the basket. Teams are trying to beat up on him because they’re realizing that if he gets into contact he’ll back away.
MP: What about your core players? It’s been pretty much a team effort so far this season. Does Sam Spann Jeremy Logan or even Robbie Thomson need to step up and be the team leader?
TO: We need collective leadership. Spann’s numbers have been good, but he hasn’t played as well as we hoped he could play. But, he’s going to need to put up numbers for us. Ajou is going to be one of those guys. Jeremy, Nick [Delfico] and Oscar [Garcia] are starting to come into their own. They are stepping up and leading in their own way right now-which is phenomenal.
MP: Dan Galvanoni (who has been suspended indefinitely) is a senior and someone you’d rely on to be a team leader with the younger players. How has he let you down? And what’s going to happen next?
TO: It’s tough because he is a senior. You can’t be making the same mistakes you’ve made in the past. We have team rules and they need to be followed. It’s like when you continue to tell someone to not do something, but they continue to anyway-there just needs to be a point where we get on the same page. I’m meeting with him on Wednesday and after finals are over I’m going to reevaluate the situation and make a decision.
MP: How does something like this in particular and with Jermaine Clark’s dismissal last season effect the team unity and chemistry?
TO: Every situation is probably different-the kids are different. If all the guys gel, then taking one out would be a problem. I don’t know if it effects the chemistry. Everyone is aware of what’s supposed to happen. These are the rules, and they are not hard to follow. If guys don’t want to do that, then that’s their choice. In order for us to move forward-you’re either with us or you’re not.
MP: You’ve said the team is disjointed right now without Ajou Deng. He becomes eligible next week. What’s going to be the difference when he’s in the lineup?
TO: We purposely didn’t schedule a lot of games now, because we wanted Ajou to be in the lineup. We know that he can do this and he can do that. We know he can help us. But he’s going to get us over the top, because we’re right there right now.
MP: Many Fairfield students haven’t seen Ajou play before. What are his strengths and weaknesses?
TO: We need to be careful with Ajou in a sense that there’s already so much pressure on him especially since we’ve dug ourselves such a deep hole. Ajou needs to understand that he’s here for the next two years and that he’s going to make mistakes. He just needs to do what he does-and not worry about getting 20 points in 15 minutes and become a NBA player. Ajou is a very skilled player. He rebounds well, shoots well and passes well. He’s a smart player that makes great decisions, but needs to continue to work on his strength-that will enable him to play inside and outside.
MP: When you have the entire team in uniform, you will have an incredibly tall team, a well-balanced team and a talented team. Once you overcome your inexperience, could you have a good second half to the season?
TO: When you guys get back [from break] we’ll have played a lot of games in between. We can be 9-5 by that time. We’re a hard-working team with a good deal of talent. You throw Ajou in the mix-and Fairfield will be a team to be reckoned with, not only this year, but in the future as well.
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