Media Day Press Conference

(Opening statement) "I appreciate everyone coming out today for our media day. We've been practicing since October 1st and we've got a lot to learn, but I've seen a lot of growth in our team over the last two and half, three weeks. There's a lot more to come, but the attitude has been great. I think our guys are improving, and their willingness to improve has been really impressive. I recognize we have one of the toughest schedules in the entire country, so our resiliency will be tested, our ability will be tested, and that's a good thing. I think history shows teams that put themselves in the conversation for NCAA Tournament bids - the selection committee has rewarded teams that go out and challenge themselves. They don't penalize teams when they go out and play somebody, and that's exactly what Kenny (Klein) did for us coming into this year."

(Are you surprised at the success you've had in selling this program, getting guys to commit to the future here as quickly as it has happened?) "I'm pleased, not surprised. Part of what our coaching staff tells recruits is we made that jump too. We put our money where our mouth was, we invested and we jumped in this program two-feet in. We want anybody that we recruit to want to be a Cardinal, and not everybody wants to for a variety of reasons. The kids that we've been recruiting in every single class, including the graduate transfers that are on our team, felt good about becoming a Louisville Cardinal. I wouldn't say surprised, excited and pleased. We really feel like for our assistant coaches, who have worked incredibly long hours and built so many lasting relationships, that they've been rewarded, we've been rewarded."

(On the similarities and differences between V.J. King and Christen Cunningham's leadership styles) "I think those guys are respected by their teammates. They're every day guys. What I mean by that is they show up every day with the same type of attitude. There's no highs and lows. They may not play well on a particular day or a particular drill, but it doesn't affect their mentality, it doesn't affect how they take the floor, what kind of teammate they are. I think any time you're being led, or you have guys on your team, you want to look to guys who are stable, that are going to be the same person every single day that they step on the floor. I think VJ and CC earned that right. The players voted on it - it had nothing to with the coaches – because they saw their work up close and personal all year. That doesn't mean that they are the only voices, it doesn't mean they're the only leaders by any stretch of the imagination. I think that they'd be the first to tell you that. I think that's why they became captains, because their peers felt that way about them."

(What do you get from Christen Cunningham on the floor, and how has his transition from where he was to here been?) "It's a jump up – the ability level, the size, both on the guys that are guarding him and the guys that he sees in the lane are bigger. I think CC plays the game for his teammates. He tries to create shots, he understands when Jordan (Nwora) has hit two threes in a row. He's looking for him. It's just the way of a true point guard, a guy who's getting everybody involved and has a feel for the climate of the game and what's happening, who's down. He has a way to keep guys up, keep guys confident, find guys that aren't confident. Again, it's a challenge for him because this level is extremely difficult, more athletic than he's used to, longer than he's used to. But he's out there trying to make the right play on both ends of the floor every time we step onto the practice court."

(Does he [Cunningham] have the highest basketball IQ on your team, and who else would join him in that category?) "I don't know about that. I think Dwayne Sutton has a really good IQ for the game. I think there are a lot of guys on our team who have a good feel. You'd probably say that because he's in the lead guard position, he's in the point guard position. He does have a great feel for the game, but I wouldn't say that he sticks out extraordinarily from the other guys on the team."

(What has been the biggest challenge trying to get all these guys to not just play together, but know each other?) "I think that happens away from here. Getting to know each other, you spend time, it's relationships that you build over time. They've all been very good with their time. I don't feel like this team has cliques. Two guys aren't walking to the practice court, the same two every day. I've been around teams like that. I think with our team, the biggest challenge is daily habits, making sure that every day they come to the practice court that they're ready to go. Some of our freshman that are now sophomores, they struggle at times with consistency in their habits, but we're getting better. I think that's been the thing that we're looking to as a coaching staff, to make sure that they're the same guy every single day."

(On his offensive philosophy) "We lost a lot of size off last year's team. You had Anas (Mahmoud), you had Ray (Spalding), even Deng (Adel) was a bigger guy that if I were coaching him this year, I'd play him at the four. I just think it makes you a lot more difficult to guard when you're on the offensive end. On the defensive end, it will present some challenges at times. We're going to have to keep the ball in front of us a lot more than teams of the past because we don't have the erasers behind us, behind the perimeter players, that past Louisville teams had. We don't have Ray back there blocking shots and Anas back there blocking shots. If you want to put Steven (Enoch) and Malik (Williams) in foul trouble, just keep getting beat off the dribble, so we have to be able to keep the ball in front of us. That's probably more important for this year's team than years in the past. I think it's more challenging to guard when you have a guy that plays like a perimeter player, like a guard at the four because not every team plays that way. Some teams are going to have that 6'9", 6'10" kid that maybe played center in high school that's playing power forward. Unless they're zoning, he's going to have to be on the floor at times. It gives the five-man for us more room to operate as well. If Steven is having his way at times with guys in the post, there's not a fellow post player four feet from him. We're going to try to space the floor, make it harder for teams to double, to collapse when we're doing our job inside."

(What does Steven do well?) "He plays hard, extremely competitive. It's been my experience sometimes that big guys are late to the game. Big guys don't love the game like perimeter players. Darius (Perry) and Ryan (McMahon) who spoke at the luncheon, talked about how they were little kids playing ball. I mean, Steven didn't play until he was well into high school. I think sometimes they get labeled as not as competitive, it doesn't mean as much. That's a 180 from Steven, it means a lot to him. He's very competitive. He's a tough kid. He can do a little bit of everything. We've got to keep him out of foul trouble, he's got to be able to tame that aggressiveness. He's going to have to be a factor for us to be a good team."

(Have you had to change anything about how you teach players your particular philosophy for offense and defense, or has it been pretty easy?) "I don't think it's ever easy, even when you have experienced teams. I just think a good coach, or a good coaching staff, gives the players whatever they need to be successful. If you've got to watch film with the guy, if you've got to get him on the floor before practice with a scout team, if he needs more live reps in real competition – everybody learns differently. Everybody learns differently outside of basketball and on the court. Trying to figure out which ways are effective for which guys is a big part of our jobs as coaches. I don't think it's ever easy, you're always trying to chase perfection and get guys playing at their best."

(To you, what has this process been like, especially on the defensive end?) "It's been fun, I enjoy going to the practice court because I have willing listeners, I have guys that want to be coached. I think nothing bothers a coach more then when he has guys that are deemed un-coachable - they have all the answers, the slight eye rolls, they don't put into practice what you took five minutes to explain. I don't see that with these guys. These guys make mistakes but they're willing to try to correct the mistake and get better. I'd like our team to hold each other accountable a little bit more. Sometimes I think we're a little too friendly to one another. I think the biggest challenge is that we're teaching them something completely new, something that wasn't part of their world a year ago."

(Was there a point in time where you saw things click in terms of team chemistry, where you said, 'Ok, I think these guys have been getting to know each other on and off the court, that they trust each other?) "I don't think that moment ever comes. I don't think that ever arrives, that, 'Ok, we're good' moment. What happens if we get our heads handed to us by 13 by Nicholls State and everyone is booing? Are we good then? Is chemistry ok? Does everybody feel good about each other? It's a daily thing. I think our guys like one another, but to be able to go through the fire with one another and improve, keep team above self, that kind of stuff has yet to be tested. Everybody wants to pat us on the back, 'So glad that you're here, coach,' all that stuff. I think we will find ourselves through adversity, and it's coming."

(Ryan last year talked a lot about being more than just a shooter, which he was labeled as a for a long time. First, how good of a shooter is he? Has he become an all-around better basketball player?) "He's a really good shooter. Ryan's size is a detriment. If he was 6'7" he could get his shot off on anybody, but he's not. He has to be able to get open, he has to find ways to get open, we have to free him as a coaching staff and get him in a position where defenders are running at him versus being latched onto him, and that's a challenge. They know who he is as a player, but he has worked hard to be more than just a shooter. It doesn't mean he's going to turn into Russell Westbrook, but he has to be able to get a guy in the air and draw a foul, use his shooting ability to have the defense flying at him so he can dump it down inside. He must become a much better defender, use his IQ and his craftiness to get into the right position at the right time. I think he recognizes that. I think he's self-aware as a player to know what he needs to get better at. I can't say that I've seen improvement because I didn't coach him last year, but I do think he is a very talented offensive player."

(With the graduates, what was the common reaction you got from them in terms of trying to bring them into the program as far as enthusiasm or curiosity?) "Each of the graduate transfers had a unique story. Christen was the first. Here's a guy who grew up in our state, his brother was a former student manager at Louisville. So, he knew what Cardinal fans are all about, and what this program stood for. I think for him, he had a real desire to be a part of it and he joined us early. I think Akoy (Agau) didn't have a whole lot of options because schools didn't know he was going to be available as a sixth-year player. He had a fondness about this place, the times that he had in his first year-and-a-half. He had been through so much injury wise and experiences wise. We had a familiarity with one another as I recruited him out of high school. He was in the same league at Xavier. Our compliance staff worked really hard to get that immediate eligibility and a sixth-year. Khwan (Fore) committed elsewhere first from Richmond. You'll have to ask him why things didn't work out at the University of Tennessee. We were very fortunate. He's undersized but extremely athletic and a phenomenal kid. If I told him to guard a center, he would try his best. He's a guy that everyone gets along with. I think you need that with graduate transfers. You need guys that can provide stability and assimilate themselves into a team seamlessly, and those three guys have great personalities that mesh really well with our team."

(I know it's a matter of trying to fill roster spots when you're taking over a program. When you were filling the spots, were you looking for a certain type of player, or guys that were eager to join the program?) "Yeah, I wanted someone who wanted to be a part of Louisville basketball and do something special in their final year. When I took the job at the end of March, early April we had a lot to overcome. A lot of the kids we were looking at were in decision-making mode within the first couple weeks. It wasn't easy. We were very fortunate to get the three guys that we got. We felt like we needed help on the perimeter. You lost Quentin (Snider), who was a four-year starter or close to it, a guy that had the ball in his hands a fair amount. So, we felt like we needed help on the perimeter to relive some of the pressure from Darius and Ryan of all the ball handling responsibilities, and we feel like we got that from CC (Cunningham) and Khwan.

(How much have you followed the court proceedings in New York in the last couple weeks? What is your reaction to the state of college basketball?)
"It's all over my Twitter feed, so I try not to get immersed in it. All that stuff happened while I was at a different place, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't following it, but not every word."

(Are you worried that there may be more NCAA sanctions? How do you address that with recruits?) "The only thing that I am worried about is the season opener. There is a lot of unknowns and everyone loves to speculate. It's 2018, everyone has an opinion. As soon as something comes out, he's got an opinion, and then 'No, that opinion is wrong.' So, everyone likes to speculate what is going to happen. We are just going to let everything play out, as the NCAA is going to do as well. Maybe then we will worry about it, but I have zero concern about it right now."

(Speaking of speculation, the G League's new rules with the $150,000 contracts for elite prospects - Do you think that is going to change how you recruit the next class?) "We are going to try to recruit the best fits for Louisville. Regardless of what rules are in place, guys can go straight to the NBA, they can go straight to the G League, academic requirements get more stringent. None of that is going to change our mindset. This is a special place, it has the best arena in the country, it has one of the most passionate fan bases in the country. I think we're in the best league in the country. I think there is a lot of good stuff where if you are a high school prospect, you are going to figure out how to find time to visit the University of Louisville."

(Whether it was CC (Cunningham) or a high school recruit we can't mention yet, how important was it to get that first commitment, that first person to say I'm buying in?)
"It helped, It's like when you're at a party at a pool and everyone is just standing around the pool. Then you finally have that crazy guy that's like, 'Watch this!' and dives in, lets you know the temperature is alright. For us, we needed guys like that. CC represented, 'You know what? I want to be a part of Cardinal basketball,' and its obviously happening with the 2019 class, and hopefully that will continue to domino effect with future classes."

(How good can Jordan be in your system and what does he bring to this team with the way he can score the basketball?) "Jordan is a talent. He has never valued the details. You know those things you see at parties, I don't know what those things are called…like grand openings that how he runs up and down the floor and sometimes gets in stance. So, we get him to value getting in a stance, being ready to shoot the ball, being able to play off a bad close-out, because you need to at this level. He could get away with that in high school. He could get away with that in elite AAU action. But, to be a great player at an ACC level, high major college basketball, you have to, I think, value the details. You have to be more locked in and a little bit crisper in everything you do. And, I can freely say that because I've had a lot of conversations and film with Jordan, and I think he understands that. But, understanding and growing those into habits are two different things. He's working really hard. If you had an opportunity to talk to Jordan later on today and you said 'Coach Mack says on offense he doesn't want you to be?' If he doesn't say the word casual, I'll give ten dollars, Jody.

(What about Darius?) "Darius has to be the same guy every day he steps on the floor. He's very hard on himself. He puts a lot of time into the game, away from practice, away from the coaches. He's in here every single night, working on his game. That's great, and I'm sure your teammates really appreciate how invested you are and how good you want to be as a player, but they've got to know that guy to the right of them is the same guy every single day. That's been—that was a challenge for Darius during the summer. It was good to hear him at the luncheon talking about playing with pace, landing on two feet in the lane. I said, 'Very rarely can you find a guy that in a half-court setting on offense drives the lane off one foot and good things happen consistently.' So, he's growing. He's getting better. He's one of our most talented players for sure."

(Do you see him possibly winning a starting role in the backcourt beside C.C.?) "It doesn't matter what I say. The players decide who starts. That's not Coach Mack. Their performance, their attitudes. Does he have the ability to? Sure. But, they decide who starts by their play. That doesn't get decided on October 19. That isn't decided until Bellarmine. And, guess what? Then, it's against Simmons and then it gets decided against Nicholls. You don't cement, at least when you play for our staff, 'Hey, I'm a starter.' I just think competition fuels the best out of everybody and sometimes, the worst out of some people you can't count on. So, it'll be interesting. Darius is a competitor, and I do think he's getting a lot better and certainly has the ability to be a starter, but that's up to him."

(For the Red and White scrimmage, obviously, you want to see how you're coaching and attitude-wise, but what do you want from your team on Sunday afternoon?) "I want them to be the same team we talk about and that we work on in practice every single day. Just because fans are in the stands now and people are cheering, it doesn't mean it manifests itself in bad shots, in bad decisions, in not being in the right place defensively. I just want to see the same team. The same team. You have to be the same player, the same team, every single time you step on the floor, so each teammate knows who the heck he's playing with and the coaching staff knows who they're coaching. That's what I'm really looking forward to on the Red and White, because there's guys who maybe go outside of that. That's okay, that's part of growth, but that's what I'm looking for."

(How's it going with V.J. and his rebounding?) "On the defensive end, good. On the offensive end, he's got to improve."

(On this year's challenging schedule) "Well, a lot of it was already handed to us. What do you want me to say? I knew it was challenging. It wasn't, 'Oh my gosh!' No, when you're a player, you want to play the best. You want to put yourself in a position to play against the best teams in the country and we've done that. Like I said before, the coaches who want to be 27-4 play 13 guarantee games and then argue when they're 10-8, why they're not in the NCAA tournament. I never understood that. I just didn't. I never understood that. I'd rather go out and play someone who's really good, lose, and figure it out. I don't want to lose, but figure it out, get your team tested because at the end of the day, the selection committee doesn't penalize you anyway. Hell, they've put teams in who were 16-14, 17-14 in the NCAA tournament. We're shooting for much bigger things than that, but our schedule is a tough one and we recognize that."

(Chris, given the schedule, given this is very much still a new thing for this team, what is a realistic expectation for what people can expect?) "I've never put numbers of wins or anything like that. I want our team, and this isn't going to excite our fan base or any of you in here, but I want our team to get better every single time we step on the floor. I want us to be a team that sticks together through thick and thin and continues to get better as the season progresses. That's it, and where that is, I don't know. But, that won't change when, all of a sudden, in four years, we have all the recruits that you like to talk about. That's always going to be there. We just want to continue to get better every single day in what we're doing."

(On the revelations in the New York trial, how can you avoid being cynical about the culture of college basketball?) "Me personally, or the public?" (Both.) "Me personally, I'm not cynical at all about it because you're talking about a very, very small percentage of programs and coaches, period. When it exploded last fall, call me naïve, you'd always heard of innuendo, you'd always heard, 'This guy doesn't do it right.' But, hell, I didn't know how a lot of that worked. So, in my mind, Tim, it's a very small percentage. So, I'm not cynical in the least. I think in the public, it's sort of hard because you're inundated with it, you're inundated with it the same articles over and over. The same players are talked about over and over. You're beaten over the head with it. I don't think—and this isn't putting my head in the sand—that it's to the level that maybe others feel, because I'm in it every day. We lost recruiting battles. We didn't recruit because the other coach was cheating. We lost them. Again, the FBI's brought out some of this stuff. From my standpoint, that's how I see it."

(Coach, you came here from a pretty heated rivalry with your crosstown rivals in Cincinnati there. You're jumping into another heated rivalry with Louisville and UK. Do you like those kinds of rivalries? Do you enjoy those?) "I think it goes hand in hand with what I talked about before. When you're a competitor, you want to play the best teams. You want to be on the biggest stages. It doesn't take rocket scientists to figure out maybe Louisville-UK is the biggest rivalry in all of college basketball. Certainly, non-conference. It doesn't make our challenge any easier. But, I think as a competitor, you want to be a part of those rivalries for sure.

(This program has had a history of walk-ons doing pretty well and hitting big shots. You have four. What's your philosophy, and with short numbers, will you have to count on them at some point?) "Well, because of our short number of scholarship guys—we have ten guys on scholarship—it was important that we added some walk-ons. So, Jacob (Redding) and Jo (Griffin) return from a year ago. They're both really good players. They could play at other places, but they wanted to be a part of our program; Wyatt (Battaile) and Will (Rainey), the same thing. There's days there where it's not just three-on-three, V.J. King against Jordan Nwora, and scholarship guy against scholarship guy. Those guys are extremely valuable. Whether it's helping us in drills, allowing us to see different looks, they all love the game. They're here early. They sacrifice the same things our scholarship guys do. Those four have been terrific in their effort and their value to the team."

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