TEN QUESTIONS WITH...

This week, you have two conference home games against the West Division’s Ball State and Central Michigan. How important are these games in setting a tone before you start to head into your East Division opponents next week?
They’re very important because, for one, they’re home games and we can’t lose home games. We have to win all of our home games. Second, we just lost two in a row, we need some wins.

This year, the team is certainly be a younger group than last year, with only five players on the squad who have seen significant action in MAC games. So far this year, how important do you feel the contributions of the last recruiting class has been?
They really are helping out. They’re stepping in and playing defense, playing hardcore minutes on defense. That’s what we need; we need defense right now. We’re not worried about offense.

You hit a little rough patch last week, losing road conference games to Toledo and Northern Illinois by a total of five points. Having been in this program for three years now, what do you tell the younger players to keep them focused?
I try to tell them that it’s going to be tough on the road. We still just have to play hard and get back to win these games at home.

The Bulls are drawing an average of 4,000 fans a game through six home games, which actually outpaces where the team was at last season. How nice is it to see the fan support for the team continue to grow?
It’s really important because the fans help us. Cheering, we need it a lot. The more that come, the better chance that we will win.

Three years ago, you walked onto the team after performing as a practice player for the first part of the season. What made you decide that you wanted to walk-on to the team, knowing there were only slim chances of playing time?
Ever since high school, I knew that I wanted to play basketball. I decided to come here because I liked their programs, their engineering and also their sociology program. I just felt that as long as I came here, I’d have a chance to walk-on and then I did it.

This season, you have averaged 11.4 minutes per game and you’ve become one of the most active defenders on the team, something Coach Witherspoon is quick to point out. How nice is it to finally start to get regular minutes in the lineup?
It’s really good to get a chance to be in the rotation and to know that the coaches know that I’m good enough on defense. I just try to play my good enough defense against their best scorer every game.

Perhaps the biggest sign of your growing role on the team came in the game against Jackson State when you drained two free throws with 29 seconds left to ice the 71-65 win. How nervous were you standing on the line at that moment?
To be honest, in that game, I wasn’t even nervous. I just felt that we needed to get the two free throws, then I knocked them down.

Being from Buffalo, you got to watch Coach Reggie Witherspoon up close as the team struggled all throughout your high school days. What do you think helped make coach stick throughout the troubles?
He’s a coach that wants to win, no matter what. No matter what, down the road, we were going to win games because we’re going to play defense. We’re going to stop teams. That’s what we’ve been doing the past few years.

Sharing a court with the women’s basketball team most days for practice, you have a little bit of an insider’s look. How nice has it been to see them really start to compete, already winning two more games than last year?
It’s good. They’re working hard at practice. I see it, when we’re coming from practice. They’re just working hard. The new coaching staff is good. They’re just working hard.

What’s been your favorite moments as a student-athlete at the University at Buffalo?
Being able to travel. I traveled a little bit in my younger days, before high school going to see family, but it’s nice to be on the road and see new things.

- The “10 Questions With…” feature is compiled by Joe Guistina.