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"You can always point to his movement and the atto detail. tention that he brings moving away from the ball," "We have a bunch of guys who listen to what he Gard said. "Ben creates problems for defenses when says," Dekker said. "We're not going to try and do our he puts that much pressure on the rim (on backdoor own thing on the court. We're playing to our system cuts and dribble drives) and with wrapping around … and we stick with it … we stay the course for 40 screens and he's always a 3-point threat." minutes. In basketball, there are going to be a lot of There's an undeniable energy level with Brust's ups and downs. game, not unlike the undeniable confidence level "But with a coach like Coach Ryan, he always with Jackson's. And it rubs off on everyone. "As you teaches us that things are going to come back around win more, your confidence grows and grows," Parif you keep working and doing the little things; good is said. "Right now, they expect to win every single things are going to happen for you and it has been game; they really do, they expect that." happening for us. So far, we've answered the call. There's a caveat. "They realize that anyone can "But we're only 16 games into the season. We have beat us if we don't play well," Paris said. "But they to stay focused and positive. If we stick to what we don't believe they're going to go out there and not do best ― and, that is, stay disciplined, play good have a great chance to win. The mindset changes defense and hit the open shot ― we'll answer those over the course of the year as you get into games and questions (that people have about their fast start) you have some tough battles and win." with our play." All of this can translate into an unshakable demeanor. "That's the one thing about this group," Gard said. "They don't rattle easily. They're very poised and that has a lot to do with the experience in the backcourt. Anytime you have good guards, you always have a chance to be very good. "We have three experienced guys: one (Gasser) with tremendous leadership skills and two guys (Brust and Jackson) who have their battle scars. We also have a pretty talented freshman (Koenig) who's continuing to learn on the fly but who has the talent to help us right away." Ryan's steady hand can't be underestimated in this equation. "He has coached this group very hard," Gard said. "He sees tremendous potential and he's going to make sure everyone gets pushed to whatever their limits are. He's going to keep pushing and not allow anyone to become complacent. There are a lot of things we can "With a Coach like coach Ryan, he always teaches do better and improve upon. us that things are going to come back around "We haven't played the perfect game if you keep working and doing the little things; good things are going to happen for you and it yet." has been happening for us," Dekker said. But perfection is always a goal on a Ryan-coached team. So is attentiveness 39