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What he has worked on in the offseason is being shotready every time he catches the ball and improving the quickness of his release. You saw that in particular with Matt Gatens. Matt got to the point where he was catching the ball shot-ready and shooting the ball in people's faces when he was a senior — he was not doing that when he was a junior. He had to make that adjustment because of how teams were guarding him. That's what's happening with Josh. Teams were guarding him differently as a sophomore than they did his freshman year; he was turning some shots down and putting pressure on himself when he was open. Josh is in the best shape of his life right now, and he's coming off a great foreign trip where he shot the ball extremely well and consistently. He has a tremendous shooting stroke, unbelievable range, and he is a junior. He has been through it, and I think he's going to have a huge year for us. How big for this team and program, was the ability to have a postseason run last year in the NIT? It was really important because what it did was give us opportunities to play good teams. We played two at home in front of great crowds, go on the road to beat a team that was 20-1 at home (Virginia), and then go to the (Madison Square) Garden to play Maryland, who beat Duke twice, and a talented Baylor team. We had some bumps in the road in the middle of the Big Ten schedule, but finished the season strong with 25 wins. We saw Devyn Marble come into his own as a multitalented and aggressive scoring player who can carry a team, and others came with him. From a confidence standpoint, going into the following season, those games were critical because so many guys played well under pressure. Starting with the two games at home where the crowds were phenomenal — it was a lot of fun and great to see how Eric May was able to finish his career, with him being such an integral part of our team. so many different weapons. We're going to have to play together and support one another. Do you plan on utilizing Devyn primarily at the point this year? Do you see him as one of the best players in the league? Without a doubt, he's one of the best returning players in the league. We're counting on him to ultimately be an all-conference player. When it's all said and done, I think Devyn's most comfortable when he has the ball. I'm not afraid to put him off the ball, or use him in different ways to get him opportunities where he can score. He's a big-time scorer. Which players do you see making a jump this season from last? Adam Woodbury and Gabriel Olaseni have both worked hard in the offseason and impressed me on our foreign trip. Also, Josh Oglesby, especially when you look at his shooting and assist-turnover numbers overseas. He's not a mistake guy. Melshan Basabe had a tremendous summer. I'm thrilled with him, where his game is right now and his desire to have the senior year he should have. How much of a boost is having two centers that can run the floor and play defense? Those two guys fit perfectly into our style of play because they can run, move their feet, guard ball screens, fight the post and play the transition game. It gives us two great low-post defenders so we're not going to get hurt by a really good low-post offensive player because we have size that can affect the game. What are some of the improvements Aaron White has made? He has a unique game. He's going to figure out a way to be effective every time he takes the floor — sometimes it's in transition, sometimes it's around the basket, What are your goals for this team? sometimes it's from the perimeter, sometimes it's with My team goals are always the same… to do better than his defense, but he plays the game with incredible feel. we did last year, and to continue the improvement both He seems to know one or two plays ahead of what's collectively and individually. I will look at every player going on, and that's what the great ones do — from a and say 'How do we get that individual better?' If we cerebral standpoint, they can see the game differently do that, it stands to reason our group is going to be that from everybody else, and that's why he's special. Couple much better. We want to continue to compete the way that with the fact that he's 6-foot-9, long and athletic… we have, and play together the ways we have because now you have an All-American caliber player. For him, that's going to be critical for this team because we have it's not necessarily one thing, it's everything has im22