Taylor, players’ press conference transcript

What a day, again.

Acting head coach Benjy Taylor and players Garrett Nevels and Aaron Valdes spoke to the media on Wednesday, which generated all-new headlines — most of which came from a very blunt and honest Taylor. The headliner being, junior forward Isaac Fotu is, as of now, not eligible to play in games.

Seeing that the pressers garnered so much attention, I thought a transcript of the Q&A would be welcome.

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First, that of the players — Nevels and Valdes. Note: Responses are organized by player first, then the order of questions answered by that player.
Questions in both press conferences (the two players, then Taylor) were asked by representatives from the Star-Advertiser, Hawaii News Now, KHON, KITV, Midweek and the Ka Leo UH student newspaper.

GARRETT NEVELS
On the team’s pysche/mood:
I guess we’re all just in shock, really. I mean, nobody saw it coming. But at the same time, we still have a game coming in two weeks so we still have to get ready for that. … I mean, we just all met up, talked about it. And I mean, that’s it, really.

On staying positive:
I mean, we’re just encouraging each other. Nobody was like, ‘oh, the season’s over now,’ or any stuff like that. I mean, we’re the same group of players. We’re the ones who are out on the court playing, so we’re still gonna make plays, we’re still gonna work hard. Nothing really changed.

On the players’ meeting with Jay and whether they want Benjy to be their coach?
Yeah, we let him know. At least for this season, because we’re already comfortable with him. We’ve had a relationship with him. Just for them to bring somebody new in, two weeks into the season. I mean, that wouldn’t work.

On meeting with Coach Arnold after his firing on Tuesday:
He just expressed how disappointed he was and how much he really cared for us. He just wished us the best of luck.

On whether it was an emotional meeting:
Of course it got emotional. You’d get emotional if you got fired.

On being the lone senior and helping the remaining coaches:
Well, I think I definitely have to step up my leadership even more. That’s something I’m ready to do. Whatever it is, really, I’ll be ready to support my team.

On what he will do specifically to help:
I mean, now less coaches, people might try to slack off or something and take plays off. But I’m not letting any of that stuff fly. We still got work to do.

On whether his team can get through this:
Yeah, definitely. I definitely think we play for each other and we love to play together. So, this little adversity, I don’t think it will affect us.

On speaking with his family:
I talked to my mom a little bit about it. She was mainly making sure if I was all right really. I know the younger guys, their parents were probably upset right now. But we still have to focus on this season.

On NCAA unease:
I mean, whatever they do, it’s their decision. We’re still going to go out every day, we’re going to win games. That’s all we can control.

On season expectations:
I think we’ll be very good, a very good team. You know, last year we won 20 games. This year I want to win 25-plus. So I mean, I think it’s really only going to make us stronger. Nothing can stop us now. Nothing’s going to faze us.

On whether any players are wavering to team commitment:
We’re not really focused on that right now. We’re more as a team right now, focusing on the season.

On the meaning of “Benjyball”:
We’re going to find out. It’s going to be fun and we’re going to win games, so I’m all with that.

AARON VALDES
On team psyche/mood:
Like Garrett said, we’re all shocked to find this out. But I still think there’s excitement that our season’s starting. I mean, we’re right here. We have the (closed-door scrimmage) on Saturday we have to get ready for too, even though it’s a scrimmage. I know those teams don’t care, so we just gotta get ready for them.
We just gotta get on the same page and stay there.

On learning new things under Benjy or another coach:
It’d be hard for us to get a new kind of system going. … The stuff that Gib taught us is going to stay in there, kind of. But Benjy’s still got some stuff for us, so we still gotta learn some.
It’s the second year (for Gib) being Garrett’s coach, and it’s my third year of him being my coach. So it was kind of hard, but we just gotta move on from it though. If it happens, it happens. … We just prepare ourselves.

On whether the recent happenings get in players’ heads:
It does get in your head, kind of. But I mean, we got brought here to play basketball. Whether it’s for Gib or Benjy, we still gotta play. It’s our job. It’s why we’re on scholarship for. We just gotta get out there and play.

On team reaction in aftermath of Tuesday’s news:
This is one of the tightest groups I’ve been with. … It’s a brotherhood out here. So I know, when this happened, we all texted each other to make sure everybody’s all right. Even when we met after, everybody was good.

On speaking to his family:
I talked to my parents. Both my mom and dad. They’re worried a little bit, but I mean when their kid’s away at school, of course they’re going to be worried when the head coach is fired. But they trust Benjy, and I trust Benjy. I’m sure we all trust Benjy to do a good job this year.

On Benjy’s style:
We know we trust him to do the right things. Whether he’s changing the little things or the big things, I know he has good intentions for us. We trust him to do the right thing. That’s why we want him as our coach.

On the mood at Tuesday’s practice:
We did a lot of talking. Talking to each other, making sure everybody’s all right. We had to get up shots, especially with that scrimmage coming up too. That was important for us to still get in the gym, still get shots up.
When you play basketball, it helps you clear your mind. I know it helps me. It helped me clear up a little bit, being with the guys and stuff. It’s fun, and good for us.

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BENJY TAYLOR
This press conference lasted about 30 minutes.

On the players wanting him as coach:
It feels good. It’s exciting. I trust them, they trust me. Things are going to stay somewhat familiar with what they know. They’re comfortable, because of Gib been here for four years, and they’re very comfortable. And I think that’s very important when you talk about the welfare of student-athletes. I think that needs to be taken into consideration. They’re very comfortable with me. That’s naturally so.

On the players’ meeting with Jay Tuesday:
Yeah, it was a pretty powerful meeting. They stated in no uncertain terms how they felt about it, and they also voiced their displeasure with how things were handled with Coach Arnold. But they were very, very aggressive in what they wanted. We play BYU-Hawaii on Saturday in a closed scrimmage. And the timing and everything, they’re ready to move forward and it’s just tough for them to move forward. They didn’t get all the answers in that meeting. And it’s just frustrating, and they got even more worked up.

On Division I teams trying to poach UH players:
The kids are in a tough situation. We have universities across the country calling these kids, trying to poach them now, trying to get them to transfer. They’re in a tough situation.

On the players’ frustration with the university:
You know, you wake up and you go class in the middle of class you hear about your head coach being gone. And so, so late in the process. They’re disappointed about that, of course. They were very close to Gib, and very close to me, and very close to each other. So they went through a lot, a gamut of emotions. Now it’s really time to move forward, one way or the other. You know, these kids are in a tough, tough situation. We got a good group. Those kids didn’t ask for any of this. And I didn’t ask for any of this. It’s just a situation where, it’s time to move forward and win some basketball games, and do what they love to do and that’s play basketball.

On Taylor’s own job status:
They haven’t given me any definitive time frame on it. We’ve had discussions, but they haven’t told me if it’s you know, the entire year, in terms of giving me something concrete. We’ve discussed it. I think it’s the natural thing to do. But that’s just me speaking. And it’s something that the kids want. You know, the kids and I, we fully understand that a lot of people want the situation to go even further downhill. We understand that. There are people that want this to be an even worse situation so they can say, ‘I told you so.’ We understand that. It motivates us to bond together even more and to get through this together. They know they’re going to be attacked. They know I’m going to be attacked. We’re preparing for that. We’re ready to move forward as a group, as a product of the University of Hawaii. Everyone in this town should be proud of the University of Hawaii. And not be trying to tear it down. They’re starting to see now how that happens, in a lot of different ways. I think it’s been a growing process for them and like we all discussed, I met with each of them quite a bit. It’s time to move forward and you know, we love Coach, we love Gib, we love his family. He’s family to us. But it’s time to move forward, you know, one way or the other. Like I said, ‘cause the teams we’re playing against could care less about all of this.

On upgrading staff:
I’ve moved (administrative assistant) Brandon Loyd up. I’m waiting on finding out from Amanda Paterson (in compliance) that it’s official and we can get him on the floor. So it’ll be me, Senque Carey and Brandon Loyd on the floor. I’m lucky to have them. Gib had a very deep staff. Brandon Loyd will do a great job on the floor, so I’m looking forward to getting him out there.
And then I’m interested in talking to quite a few guys that are available and ready to come in here and roll in their sleeves and work hard for you guys. I just need to be able to tell them something. That’s what I mean by one way or the other. I need to be able to tell them something. It’s really hard for one person to do that. For an assistant coach to come in and do that. Imagine a whole staff not having seen an individual or a practice or a shot or any kind of tendencies. But those guys are veteran guys that I have in mind. And they’re excited about the opportunity. It’ll be a lot of fun.

On the number of players that have said they’ve been contacted by other teams:
I’ve heard that from four players.

On whether he can put a stop to that:
Well, the vultures are circling now because it’s kind of a rudderless ship a little bit. So, I’ve talked to the guys. I’ve told them you can’t be talking to those guys. But you’ve got guys calling their former AAU coaches and calling them directly. We’ve got good players here, so I would never do that, but a lot of guys do that. You guys as sportswriters, college athletics is a funny business. It’s a funny business. It happens. They’re very mature about it. But it’s a concern of mine, because they have been tempted and lured and this would be a horrible time for them to leave. But they need some answers.

On reassuring parents of players:
I’ve tried to entrust that to them. They have the same questions as the kids. I’ve communicated with them a lot throughout the years. They’re concerned. You know, they hear the echoes of their kids. They want to have them with someone that they trust, most importantly. Anytime you send your kid off to school, I think that’s very, very important. They’re concerned. I didn’t give them any promises or anything like that. I just told them kind of what my situation was. And they were a little surprised at that. But I just told them I’d keep them informed. … We talk constantly and I’ve had a few more calls today. Everybody’s ready to move forward, but we need to do that.

On whether Taylor is receiving a bump in pay for being acting head coach:
No.

On how the last 24 hours have affected recruiting:
Well, we were close to getting a commitment from a very good player tomorrow. Someone we really needed. And I haven’t had a chance to be on the phone with him. But the best recruits, the biggest recruits we have are the 16 guys in the locker room. Those are our recruits right now. This is truly a glass house right now. We understand that. We have to make sure these kids make the right decisions, that they’re still going to class. That they’re still doing the things that they need to do. That they don’t make the same mistakes that so many of the kids we hear about make throughout the landscape of college athletics.

On getting ready for the season opener:
It’s not going to be easy to do. It’s a tall task. It really, I’m not sitting here saying it’s going to be an easy task. But we’re a tough, resilient group. And our boss was a tough, resilient guy. You know, at some point we gotta move forward though … and we can still salvage something out of this. I know a lot of people don’t want that to really happen. We understand that. But all I care about are the 16 guys in the locker room. I trust them, they trust me. I’m not going to be perfect, but I’m going to work my buns off for them. And I think they’re going to work their buns off for me and for this university. They were taken aback, but they still love this place. You don’t come to Hawaii unless you love it. You’re a long way from anywhere. You know, we have a couple local walk-ons. We don’t have local guys (otherwise), not yet anyway. But they love this place. And they don’t, you know, they don’t want to see what’s happening happen. They want to get on the floor and have something for everybody to cheer about, including themselves.

On whether Isaac Fotu is still practicing:
Yes, he is. He’s still practicing.

On whether Fotu can play with the team for the full season:
I can’t really speak on that. All I know is we’re doing a reinstatement process for him. Which, that happens all the time. We’ve had quite a few of those here. And we’re doing the reinstatement paperwork with him. And then hopefully we’ll hear something back soon. They should make a decision soon because they know it’s close to the season. So, Isaac’s been great. Nobody loves this place more than him. We’re hoping that he has everyone’s support. He’s a great kid, and he wants to be here and he wants to play. Moreso to prove everybody wrong. And moreso too, because he loves those guys in the locker room.

On whether other players are in danger of being sidelined:
Not from a NCAA or whether they did something wrong standpoint. We have some guys who are wavering, naturally so. So I told them I don’t want them at practice until they can be there 100 percent. We don’t need any more distractions, between the 94 and 50 feet. We don’t need any more distractions.

On what he meant by “wavering”:
About whether or not they want to be here.

On whether Fotu can take the court in a scrimmage or exhibition:
Not until he’s reinstated. And the reinstatement process shouldn’t take long, once everything is submitted. … Once we get it submitted … we’ll hear something. We’ll hear something.

On whether Taylor has spoken to Arnold on Wednesday:
Not today, not yet. Talked to him a couple times yesterday. … He’s my friend, he brought me here. He’s a really good coach. I know a lot of people want me to try to say something different, or want me to separate myself a little bit. But you know, it is what it is. If I was Gib and he was me, he’d roll up his sleeves and try to win some basketball games. That’s what he loves to do. And I feel for him, I feel for his family. I feel for my family. This is not going to be an easy process. I know it’s going to be, you know, it’s going to be interesting. It’s going to be very, very interesting. I got kids.

On how long Taylor’s day was and whether he’d slept:
Haven’t slept yet. … Probably won’t tonight either. But when I get upstairs in Gym 2, I’ll be just as energetic as the next guy.

On imparting his own style so late before the season’s start:
Yeah, we’re gonna simplify things a little bit. … Especially right now, I need them playing loose, I need them reacting and not thinking. And there’s some other stuff potentially floating around in their heads from time to time. I need them to be very, very concise … in what they’re doing.
We’re going to play fast, we’re going to play aggressive. We’re gonna get up and down and take good shots. We’re not going to turn the ball over in the process. And we’re very deep. We’re going to keep pressure on teams offensively and defensively. And that’s what we’re going to do. I want to be a shot-blocking team. I think we got the team to do it. I don’t need one guy to get 100. I need a bunch of guys getting 30 and 40. You know, I just think we have to be a very, very hard team to play against. From my days at Chicago State, that’s one thing I learned. I had a lot less to work with than I have here. So I’m very, very excited to get this started. But, you know, it’s been hard too. ‘Cause how much do I really throw at them differently, and they could possibly get a third system (with another coach) in a few days.

On whether he will “bust up” the team in practice:
Yeah, we’re gonna have a good one today.

On whether he’s concerned about the frontcourt with Fotu out:
You know, this is a good team, not because of one or two players. This is a good team. Isaac missed a lot of time with the back issue, from being sore. So some other guys really stepped up. That’s not to say we won’t miss Isaac Fotu. We’ll miss Isaac Fotu. Any practice he’s not at, any game he’s not at. He’s a great teammate, he’s a great player. He’s just great to be around. So we’re going to miss him. But, somebody else has got to step up. Whether it’s done by committee or whatever, but in my opinion he’s one of the best players in the country. So we’re going to miss him.
But we’ll figure out a way. We’re going to miss Gib. We’ll figure out a way. I mean, nobody cares about that. You know. And our only focus right now is really, really sticking together ‘cause we’re catching it from all sides right now. Professionally, personally, and they know that. We’re working in there, we’ll huddle up and we’ll get after it. I thought it was important that I made the players available to you guys right away. They need to speak their own minds, and they did. Said how they feel. I think that’s going to help the process. You know, but I really feel for them in terms of all the uncertainty.

On why he choose Nevels and Valdes to speak to media:
Well, in my meetings today, I asked every player, ‘do you mind being accessible to the media?’ And some said yes, and some said no. I had about six guys who said yes, the rest said no. They (pause), quite honestly they didn’t want to come here and say something, and then be caught trying to go somewhere next week if things don’t go well. In terms of, who are they going to hire to be the coach. So they’d just rather just not even deal with it.

On whether Isaac’s eligibility problems stem from his play for New Zealand:
No, no, no, that’s from the investigation. Which I can’t speak about in detail, but he has to do a reinstatement. As of right now, he’s ineligible but we’ll do a reinstatement letter and keep our fingers crossed and go from there.

On whether Taylor felt the need to say anything to Nevels:
Not really. I mean, Garrett’s a very mature kid. He understands. He’s a really good player. Guys love him, he’s a good teammate. I just told him I feel bad for him … but I told him, you’re tough, you can get through this. And he’s in his senior year. That’s a great thing, that’s what we’ve worked so hard to do. This is it for us. We have a really good team with one senior. We’re going to be good for a while, we’re going to be good for a while. Like I said, we’ve got some guys wavering and that concerns him. As it should. Because he wants to go out in style and wants to get a championship, wants to go to the NCAA tournament.

On how many wavering players have said something:
Two that have actually said something. But you know, there’s some … the questions I got today was, ‘are you the coach or not?’ And when I had to give them the same answer I gave them, they were kind of like, (Taylor makes a face). ‘What are you going to do, Coach?’

On communicating with the with AD:
Not today. Not today. During the day (yesterday) and last night, but not today. But I gave him my word I’ll do the best job that I can for these guys and keep them going to class. Keep them progressing and getting better. You can’t take days off. You only get 30 days of practice before the start of the season. So we can’t take extra days off to get through this.

On when Taylor will know about his longer-term status as coach:
I have no answer for that. I just know, I told (Jay) before he left (for a medical procedure Wednesday) that I’ll do the best I can, but they were adamant with him yesterday. And they wanted a decision yesterday. And the longer it goes, the tougher it will be to keep these guys around, which is going to force them to make some very, very … important decisions.

On whether the sharks (other programs) are out there circling:
Yes. Unfortunately they are.

On what he’s been told by the players:
They are being honest with me, and they are telling me what kind of information they’re getting on what other people are telling them. This is an ugly, ugly, ugly situation. This is like, you know, this is ugly. This is ugly for Gib. This is ugly for the players. This is ugly for UH. This is ugly for the state. I don’t see why anyone wants it to get any uglier.

On whether other schools have been contacting players before the firing announcements:
No, no. I mean, you always have guys reaching out to AAU guys if you don’t like it there, to get a place for them. But this is direct contact. This is all over the country, what happened yesterday with Gib Arnold. And the vultures are circling. We had people contacting Isaac Fleming when it first broke. Isaac Fleming is a highly recruited player from the east coast. His dad called me and said, you gotta talk to him. This investigation stuff, people were calling him during the spring. So yeah, it’s worse now. They can’t get you the first time, they’ll try to get you the second time around.

On whether players are upset at the university and others:
You know, yeah, they’re mad at the university. They’re mad. I mean, they lost a family member. Two family members, Coach Arnold and Coach Akana. Yeah, they’re mad at the university. But man, they love basketball. They want to play. And they want to, they don’t want it to just be a wasted year. They don’t want that. They told me ‘if it’s a wasted year, we might as well just leave.’ But with the right continuity, we can have a good season. Their abilities, we’re going to be scrutinized to the 10th degree right now. We’ve talked about that. We’ve done a good job here keeping guys out of the newspaper. And we gotta continue to do that, ‘cause the vultures are circling. More so than college recruiters on the mainland, vultures are circling here in Hawaii too.

On whether he’s been given a timeline for his job or if he’s been left hanging there:
The hang there part. They haven’t given me a timetable. Ben Jay had surgery, and I haven’t heard from anyone else. … It’s only been 24 hours. We’re all anxious to get to work and get going. But you know, there’s a lot of indecision on the kids’ part and my part. Just want to move forward. Really want to right now.

On whether he agrees with Gib Arnold’s statement that Arnold deserves a chance to defend himself:
Yeah. Yeah I do (think that). I do. I think he will have that chance. I think he will coach again. It’s just tough. Me getting a job is, people keep telling me congratulations but it’s not really congratulations. I was fine with the way things were. If I didn’t have four kids, an ex, if I could afford to, I probably would have walked away too. But I can’t do it because of those guys in the locker room. They deserve. They believed in this this university, they believed in this state, they believed in us, they believed in the people of Hawaii. They deserve to … have the best year they can. And if we all can stay together, we can have a good year. That’s why these guys are getting bombarded, are getting tested a little bit.
And I feel if we lose a couple of guys, or a guy here or there, we still have a chance (to be good).

On whether practice will be open or closed:
You guys are welcome to come on by, do your jobs.