Indiana University Athletics
Coach Davis Quotes
1/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
January 22, 2003
Bloomington, Ind. -How do you feel about Tom responding to your criticism since then?
"Well I wouldn't really call it criticism, more a message. He has been doing great. The last three games he has been doing really good and that is the way he has to play in order for us to be a good team because he is the leader of this basketball team. When he comes out and fights it is contagious. Just this last night against Ohio State he fought like crazy and then everybody was fighting, hustling for the ball."
Is it the kind of relationship that you need to keep on him?
"Well you have to if they are not doing it (responding to the message). It is my job as a coach to coach them and when I see guys not doing certain things it is my job to talk to them."
Has Bracey been able to stay in cardiovascular shape?
"He has been doing a little bit. Today is the most that he is done. I see him shooting around right now and so it is definitely day by day for him."
How optimistic are you that he will be able to play and how do things change without him (you have won three games without him but they have been at home)?
"We won three games without him, but we won all of the other games with him. The only thing that has changed is that now he will be in the rotation (if he is ready), playing his normal minutes, but the other guys have to continue playing the way they are now. The reason we lost the games that we lost was because we weren't playing with intensity."
If he does play can you envision a scenario where he will come off the bench and give a good 15-20 minutes or even start if he is ready?
"If he is ready to start he will. He didn't loose his job because he played poorly, he lost his job because he got hurt. It will be good to get him into the rotation again because with him playing the way that he is capable of playing and with the other guys playing the way that they are playing now, that is a good team."
How serious a problem is it, is it something that you think could keep him out longer?
"It may keep him out a couple more games. It is really day-by-day. I know that everybody says that, but for him it is day by day."
Is this something you knew about him when you recruiting him (his back problem)?
"No. I didn't know about it. He has played through the pain this year though. He played through a lot of pain this year, in the Ohio State game he was in pain. I was wondering why he didn't take the ball to the basket like he normally did. It was because of his back and he never said a word about it to me. I talked to the doctors and he said that Bracey played through a lot of pain until he just couldn't take it anymore."
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