At the beginning of the semester I told the players that at mid-semester if the grades weren't good then there were going to be punishments. There's no reason for this to happen. We have study hall twice a week and a free tutoring service. I think a lot of the guys took it lightly and they got surprised. |
I think that gives them an incentive to go out and play hard everyday and try to have a great season. That way at the end of the year, they're rewarded for it. |
It affected him a little because once we got back, some of our other guys were a little more fine-tuned and ready to go. It takes him a little while to get in that pattern, but there are guys that do it. It's rare to find a guy who's a two-sport athlete who is not a great athlete. That's what makes him be in a situation where he can do that. |
The recruiting trail never ends for us. Once we get recruits for this season, we start looking for guys for the next season. It's a continuous beat and at this level it's all about recruiting big players to come in and play for you. |
There's no doubt we're sending a message to these guys. The biggest thing is that the one thing I know these guys understand is playing time and traveling and when they're not doing that it hurts them a little more. |
We have 30 guys, so we have to spread the money out. Losing 1.7 scholarships doesn't affect just one or two people; we're talking about five or maybe six guys. We can't put the program in a position where we get penalized year in and year out with 1.7 scholarships because we're not taking care of our academics. |
We send them all off with a workout plan. We hope they get out there and stay working out so that they are ready once the fall semester begins. |