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University of Houston Athletics
Ray McCallum Chat Wrap
10/8/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 10, 2002
Pflugerville: I live near Austin where they think there are only two Universities in Texas. You will not say anything like "we cant compete with Univ of Texas" or anything of that nature...will you? These Austin people loved hearing that from our football coach.
Ray McCallum: As a basketball program, we want to build a program that will compete with everyone in the country. Our goal and ambition is to play with anyone in the country. That is the attitude we want from our players.
Bill (Houston): Coach, can't wait for this season!
Which freshman do you see making an impact this year? What does Cedric Hensley's athletic ability give the team that has been traditionally known as a post up/shoot the three offense?
Go coogs!!!!!
Ray McCallum: I have been very impressed with Dwight Jones' speed and quickness with the basketball. I have been impressed with Ramon Dyer's ability to shoot the ball with range. He has also added 17 pounds through our strength and conditioning program. Cedrick Hensley has displayed the great athletic ability that he demonstrated before he arrived to campus.
Dave Underwood (Houston): You have improved this basketball team every year you have coached. Can we expect an even better Record this year?
Ray McCallum: That's our goal to get better every year. We are off a great start with our strength and conditioning and individual workouts. However, we have a long way to go because this group is so inexperienced. We want to speed up the process, but we have not had the court time that last year's team had.
Houston: If you could pick one thing you like to see as the biggest improvement from last year ... what would it be (scoring, defense, passing, rebounding, or something else)?
Ray McCallum: You may recall our first year where we were the worst field goal shooting and three-point shooting team. We made an emphasis on that last year to the tune of leading C-USA in field goal and three-point field goal shooting. This year we want to establish ourselves as a really tough defensive team. That is one of the things we developed last year in that we were tough physically and mentally as a team. I would like for us to be a better passing team which should enable us to be a better scoring team. We were around 70 points last year. I would like to see us get up to around 80 points per game.
Mark(Houston): Coach, how has it been since the arrival of Dave Maggard and what do you forsee for the Basketball program in the next four years as far as a Conference Championship and moving into National Championship play? Do you also see the University of Houston hosting a Regional Championship?
Ray McCallum: We are excited about the arrival of Dave Maggard. He brings over 18 years as an athletic adminstrator. That is very positive for the University because he knows what it takes. I know that he will make a committment to improve the basketball program. He understands about the committment that must be made in order to compete against the Louisville's, Cincinnati's, and Memphis' from a basketball standpoint. Our goals are to win a C-USA championship, get to the NCAA Tournament and someday play for a national championship. I do think that major city of Houston to host a NCAA Regional with the tripleheader being played at Reliant Stadium this fall. We want to show the NCAA that Houston is a hotbed for college basketball and will support a NCAA Tournament Regional or Championship.
Tim (Katy): Where can I see a basketball roster for the upcoming season?
Ray McCallum: On the UHcougars.com website.
Brandon(Houston): Last Years squad had 18 wins and this year's club is younger, but seems to have more talent and versitilty. Do expect for this team to get more wins than last year or do they need a year to mature?
Ray McCallum: Well we are trying to improve on every year. I will know a lot more when we start practice on Saturday. We have a lot of talent and skill. We just haven't had a lot of courttime together. We have been together for 6 weeks now and that is not nearly enough time to get to know each other. This group has been very coachable and is willing to do everything necessary to improve as a team.
James Turnipseed (Deer Park): What happened to Patrick Okafor after graduation, is he playing somewhere? What will the ticket prices be this year, and will there be a discount on season ticket purchases?
Ray McCallum: He had a tryout in the CBA with the Gary Steelheads, which has former Cougars Renaldo Thomas serving as an assistant coach. Patrick is waiting on the NDBL.
Mike(Spring): Do you think that any of your incoming freshman will make an immediate impact for this upcoming season
Ray McCallum: I expect an immediate impact from the three freshman. Cedric Fears has been injured with a torn meniscous cartilage in knee and will rejoin the team in November.
John K (Houston): can you give us a feeling about how much playing time you expect to get a game out of your freshmen? What type of changes do you expect to make defensively to make up for the loss of the size you had with Okafor(sp) and G. Williams
Ray McCallum: As far as the freshmen, we have just answered that. We will be trapping the post and fronting the post more this year instead of playing them one on one last season.
Brian Los Gatos ,CA: I'm a big fan of yours. Congratulations on the tremendous improvement on last year's team. Is UH going to get a new floor on Hofheinz Pavilion?
Ray McCallum: We appreciate the compliment and we need a new floor. It will make a huge difference to our players. Would you like to make the first contribution?
Ugmo in Seattle: Coach, I'm a cougar fan who lives in Seattle and am really looking forward to seeing your team up against the Huskies. What do you think about your game here against the Huskies?
Ray McCallum: We have a tremendous amount of respect for Lorenzo Romar. They have one the best players in the Pac-10 and that will be a tremendous matchup for Louis Truscott. We are excited about playing the Huskies and think it will be a great series.
Ronald Castaneda (Houston): George Williams? Where does he stand in your team? He is back isn't he? I kept up with the draft and noticed he did not get drafted. So what now for him, and his role in the team?
Ray McCallum: George is not back this year. He was invited to the Atlanta Hawks camp.
Ronald Castaneda: Hey coach, what happened to George Williams? He is still on the team right? I noticed he did not get drafted to the NBA, so where exactly does he stand as of now? Referring professionally and the UH team?
Ray McCallum: See the answer above.
