Dec. 16, 2002

LOGAN, Utah - The following are quotes from Utah State head basketball coach Stew Morrill at his weekly press conference on Dec. 16, 2002. About Utah State and where the team is at right now...

"This is a team in flux. We're trying to figure out who's going to play; who's going to perform; who's going to be tough enough. I'm encouraged that this basketball team has a chance to be a good team. I told them yesterday that Steve Cleveland's quote was that they beat a good team tonight. Not yet, but we have a chance to be a good team. It's a team that could go a lot of different directions. It depends on a number of things. We've got to have some people step up and play better. We've got to have leadership. We've got to have a lot before we can become a good team and we certainly have to get tougher. The physical side of the game and the mental side of the game is always a big deal. You can get better, or you can stay the same while everyone else gets better. I don't think we have any idea where we're going to be when this thing is all over. Right now our focus has got to be trying to get better in the deficient areas that we have."

On Mike Puzey versus Utah...

"I don't think (Mike) is Puzey going to go out and try and score 25 points or anything like that. What I'm most concerned about with Puzey is that he stops putting so much pressure on himself. He played really well at Illinois State and then he got hurt. He's been a little frustrated. He's one of those guys who wants to do well so badly that he sometimes tries too hard. He's got to put a smile on his face and have fun and better things will happen for him. It's his last year and he's trying so hard to do well that he's almost compounding some of his problems with the injury. I think there's obviously some emotion there, playing against Utah, but I think it's not in his nature to play out of character too much."

On Desmond Penigar...

"He's forcing things. He's getting himself so juiced-up that he's not playing within the offense. He's just firing shots. He can make some tough shots, sometimes. He's like a starting gun. Every time he touches it, he shoots it. He's got to get to where he passes the ball better and uses his teammates. I think he'll do that. I think he wants the right things. But he's got to play better. We need him to play better."

"He kind of slid in last year. Nobody knew a lot about him. They knew he was a good recruit. Now everybody knows a lot about him. He's an all-league player. He's getting doubled a lot. People are concentrating on him a great deal."

"The big thing for this team is to stay coach-able; to stay enthusiastic. It's a long, old grind, but it should be fun. The game should be fun. It's a lot of work, but good basketball teams don't give in. It's easy to give in. But you can't give in."

On Mark Brown...

"I don't think Mark (Brown) is going to go out and give us 20 points every night out. What's happened a little bit is that he's kind of got out physicalled. They bump him and rub him. He's slight and he's got to change his personality from off-the-floor to on-the-floor. You have to change your personality when you're competing. He's got to get a little more nasty, a little tougher. I think Mark will develop that. I'm telling him he has to."

On Cardell Butler...

"I think (Cardell Butler) played pretty good defense at BYU. He does know the importance of it. With Toraino (Johnson) at the other wing, we could have two pretty good defenders there. I'm very pleased with how Toraino is playing now. He's given us a very solid defender and he's not taken shots that he shouldn't take. So that's encouraging."

On Utah...

"Utah is Utah. To me the parts change, but the product doesn't change much. They're going to win 20 plus games. They're going to be at the top of the Mountain West Conference. They're going to defend the heck out of you. They're going to go to the post-season. That's what (Rick Majerus) puts out every year. It's amazing what he accomplishes. They've got a lot of players that we couldn't even touch with recruiting, so that tells you their personnel is very good. I've played them for a lot of years now and I know what they're going to do. They're going to have really good motion. They're going to guard the heck out of you. They're going to be physical. They're going to rebound the ball. We've been very fortunate, and I stress fortunate, to win some close games with them the last few years. You know what you get when you play Utah, and you better be ready physically. You better match their screening, because they screen as well as anybody in the country. I find it absolutely amazing in some ways, the criticism that (Majerus) gets. I guess it's the nature of the business. Sometimes when the product is so good, people want to criticize the way you developed the product. Or if the products not good enough they criticize that. He's done an unbelievable job there."

On Britton Johnsen...

"I've always liked Briton Johnson's game, but I don't coach him every day. You really know your players strengths and weaknesses when you coach them every day. He is such a big, explosive guy. He can go around you. He can spin on you. He's very talented. I'm sure his defense is not what Rick was used to having. He's in his last year. He's MVP of a really good basketball league for goodness sakes. Obviously he's a good player."

On Tim Frost...

"I like (Tim) Frost. He's got a really nice touch. He's big and long. He can step out and hit a three. You can't help but like a guy like Trace Caton. As a coach you know what you get. You're going to get total effort and total concentration. He jumped out and made five threes the other night. The young kids have got to be really exciting for Utah. They've got some good talent."