The Bee: Looking at the roster, is Steven Shepp your only true point right now?

RT: Pretty much our true guy that we've got to work with right now. For the future that bodes well for somebody to have the opportunity to come in here and be a primary ball handler, so for us in terms of recruiting, I mean, you've got an opportunity to come in at a high level and be a guy that has an opportunity from Day One. But as far as this year's team, Shepp is going to have to carry the load. He's going to have to be a guy that we're counting a lot on in terms of, you know, he's experienced, he's done it, and he's going to have to be a rock solid guy right now based on our depth and where we are at the position.

The Bee: Last year he was probably playing at a slower pace than you would like this year ...

RT: I watched some of their tapes in terms of what they tried to do a little bit offensively. I would think in any basketball situation you would want early offense first because the hardest thing to do is 5 on 5 and score against a set defense. I would take it that they really tried to push the ball in transition first and then if they didn't get anything they played out of whatever action that they had going and things of that nature there. But Shepp is a guy that has enough speed to play with pace in transition and do some of the things that we want to do in the future. A lot of times the way you start out playing may not be the way you really want to play, but you play with what you have personnel-wise. And, in terms of when we got the job, there wasn't a lot of talent left out there in terms of being able to do your homework and really settling in on some guys and really feeling good about them.

We chose to go in a different direction. A lot of times, sometimes you come in and you just want to take bodies. We don't want just bodies. Bodies for us doesn't bode well for what we're trying to do and how we're trying to do it. We want to do our homework, just like a student-athlete needs to do their homework on us. We want to know what we're getting, and you can only take so many of those guys. You can't take a team full of those guys, so we chose to sit tight a little bit in terms of utilizing those scholarships, which I think will help us in the future, to be honest, because those guys will be building blocks for us in the future in terms of the scholarships we're going to be able to use.

The Bee: His assists to turnovers ratio (2.6 to 1) was pretty solid last season. Playing at a faster pace, you don't see that hurting that number?

RT: Shepp, you know, he's gotten himself in great shape right now. I think most of our guys have done a pretty good job in terms of the preseason part of conditioning and we're real big on being in the best shape you can possibly be in, just based on the style of play and the way we want to play in the future. We have to be in great shape, and how we're trying to ask you to play on both ends of the floor. But I think he'll be a guy who can handle those duties and try to do all the things that we're asking him to do. As a point guard, he has to be a guy that facilitates, you know, makes other guys around him better, and he has to be a cerebral guy, because he has the ball in his hands. He has to be a guy who knows where everybody goes and knows what everybody's job responsibilities are, aside from his.

The Bee: Do you as a coach let him go from the start and then pull back if you need to, or do you start back here and give him more as he proves that he can do more.

RT: You know, I'm a firm believer in practice time, coach time; game time, player time. We're going to give him some things, some schemes and ways we want to attack different teams based on preparation, and from that point he's got to play. Will be call some things? Yeah, we'll call some things. But am I going to let him play on instincts? We'll let him play on instincts to a certain extent until he proves otherwise, until he proves that I need to be a point guard on the floor without being on the floor. So, we're trying to give him the benefit of the doubt to do that. He's a senior. He's been around. He's played in some games and we're hoping he responds to that.

The Bee: So, best case with Shepp, 32 or 33 minutes? More maybe?

RT: Right now, for sure. Based on what we have, he's going to have to be a rock-solid guy. He's going to have to be a guy that can man that position up, just has to. He really does. But I think physically he's more than capable of doing that right now. The biggest thing with him, and from that position as well as all the positions on our team, is we can't beat ourselves. Take care of the basketball. You know what we're looking for in terms of execution. We can't beat ourselves, and we have to execute what we do well.

The Bee: So for those other six or seven minutes a game?

RT: It gives other guys opportunities. I mean, K.O. (Kevin Olekaibe), proven scorer. You know what I mean? But in terms of his maturation and where he wants to go or sees himself in the future, he needs to learn to try to be a point guard. He needs to learn to think like a point guard. Not a lot of 6-foot-1, 6-2 guys, I don't care how much they can score the basketball, are going to have a future whether it be in the NBA or overseas. Obviously, Americans going overseas and having to score the basketball, he can do that. But his natural position or position if he's going to have any aspirations of going on at a higher level, he's going to have to learn to be able to play some point guard and have some decision making skills. And he knows that. We talked about that from Day One when I got the job, in terms of his maturation.

We had plenty of guys like that when I was at Texas -- A.J. Abrams, great scorer, just like Kevin, no different, scored 2,000 points in his career, but even with the great guard play we had, said, hey, if you want to go to the NBA or you have a chance or even have aspirations of playing to the NBA you better be a point guard because they're not going to take a 6-foot, 6-1 2-guard. Not going to happen. He never really bought into that concept until it was too late. You're trying to go into a camp and prove that you're a point guard when you've had four years to say, hey, step up, want to be a decision-making guy. I don't care if there is another great point guard on the team. It doesn't matter. You have to take some ownership in that yourself, so we've asked him to do that, which is great for him and great for his future. He'll play some point for us in a pinch, no question.

The Bee: So the individual work, since you've been here with him, it's been point guard skills?

RT: I think guard play period. Heck, you need to handle the ball. If you're a 2 or a 3 playing the wing, you need to handle the ball as well as a point guard. We need our 4s to handle the ball as well as a point guard. Kevin Foster, you want to play in the NBA? You better handle the ball like a point guard. I don't like putting guys in a box. I like guys that continue to develop their game and have opportunities. In terms of working and skill work with guards, I think you do it all. I think guys have to continue to work on their shooting. I think guys have to continue to work on their passing. They have to continue to work on their dribbling. Fundamentals. You have to master the fundamentals of the game.

The Bee: He recognized that right way, bought in?

RT: Absolutely. No question. I can say almost all our guys have bought into our brand, what we're trying to do and how we're trying to do it. He was one of the first ones to put both feet in and say, 'Hey, we'll change, we're doing something different, I'm on board.'

You have to work at it. It's a work in progress and you have to want to do it. We can want it as much as you want. You've got to want to do it. You've got to do it not only with the coaches, you've got to do it on your own. That's what separates guys from having the opportunity to go to the next level.

The Bee: How much do you think his scoring would be impacted, positively or negatively, playing minutes at the point?

RT: The thing I've tried to instill in him is that your mentality at all times should never change. It should be an even keel. Guys shouldn't know if you're having a great game scoring the ball, distributing the ball. It shouldn't matter. You know, because the real players, the guys that get it done at a high level, they do whatever it takes to win games and everything else works itself out. But you have to be a student of the game and a guy that understands what it means being a guard at a high level and when I say guard I didn't say point guard or shooting guard, a guard. And what does that consist of? All those things we just said, being able to pass the ball, dribble the ball shoot the ball.

But I don't think it will take anything (away). Kevin has been a natural scorer. He scored tremendously in high school. He continued to score as he got here this past year. He played a little bit at the point last year. Do you want to bog up a guy that can really score the ball? No, but we want him to continue to grow, though, as a player. It's no different than that guy (Abrams). He was a great point guard for us when he was a freshman. It's all what you buy into. He bought into his role as a freshman. As his years went along, he really liked scoring that ball. It's not a bad thing, either, but sometimes we need you to handle that basketball and distribute the ball some, too.

I think you have to do what's best for the team, and we'll always say that. We'll do what's best for the team at all times over an individual, because it's a team sport. If it calls for K.O. having to come off the ball and have to handle the ball as a primary ball handler, we have to do it.

The Bee: As a sophomore, where do you think he is in his development?

RT: Kevin is a good player. He's a good player. He's a guy who is continuing to see changes in his body, just because he's getting older and he's working at it. You always, with experience, you start looking at the game differently in terms of really understanding the game. You may watch the game, but do you really understand what's going on, the game within the game? He's reaching a point right now where he's starting to figure some of those things out and have an appreciation for it. I think he'll be a guy that over the course of his career still will be a guy that will be counted on heavily to score for us. I think he'll continue to grow. He has a lot of room for growth and things, you know, mentally and physically. I talked a lot about the physical part, but the mental part is just as important as the physical part. I think his mental aspect still has room to grow and I think he understands that.

When I say mental, I mean mental toughness, being able to understand, you know, people are going to game plan for you. There's not going to be anybody you're going to surprise this year. They know you can play. They know you can shoot. How are you going to counter that? How are you going to work harder to get separation, get your shot off quicker? How are you going to distribute the ball? How are you going to move without the ball to get better? All those things go into his understanding of the game.

The Bee: Looking at the other 2s, Garrett Johnson, he didn't really shoot it that well last year. Is that a primary focus?

RT: I think Garrett is a guy who probably operates better when things are communicated clearly to him in terms of what his role really needs to be, in terms of what we really need from you or really expect from you. I think his role here has probably changed a number of different times and that with a young player really starts to have a guy being unsure of himself a little bit in terms of, 'Am I a catch-and-shoot guy, can I put it on the floor?' Just be a player. But the bottom line is, like I've told him, just play hard. We're not asking you to score 20 points a game, we're asking you to play hard. You can control that every night. You can control that every day. If you get lost in those things -- playing hard, buying into playing hard on defense -- then offense comes easy. It comes a whole lot easier not thinking about it as much. Just play.

I think he's probably been a guy, because he wants to do well and he wants to do everything right, probably overanalyzes some situations in terms of, 'I really need to be a good catch-and-shoot guy' or 'I'm not a guy who handles the basketball.' No, you need to do it all.

He's a guy, though, that we know day in and day out he's going to punch the clock and try to do it the right way. Whatever you ask him to do he's going to try to give you the fullest.

The Bee: In talking to him you got the sense that he didn't have a good feel for what he was being asked to do?

RT: I think he was unsure at times in terms of what his role was. And just knowing him over the five months I've had a chance to work with him, I think communication is the key and I think it's the key with all guys and it's the key to all successful teams. Guys have to fully understand who they are, what their roles are and they have to really buy in to winning because that's what we do it for.

The Bee: When you put him on the floor, the shot ...

RT: I think Garrett is a guy who is a good catch-and-shoot guy, a guy who works hard on his shooting. You know, I think that he's a guy who in a pinch can play some point guard position for us because he is cerebral guy, he understands concepts. Heck, if we had to play really small and play him at the 4 I think he's a guy who would do whatever for your team to be successful. That being said, I think he's a guy that we can depend on to do a number of different things for us.

The Bee: Tyler Johnson, another sophomore ...

RT: Tyler Johnson, athletic wing player for us. A guy, again, whose skill set is getting better every day, a guy who is working hard on his shooting as well. His ball handling has improved and is an area that he can help us in as well. He's a guy, more than any one guy, that has really tried to buy into being a hustle guy, being a guy who utilizes his athleticism and understands he needs to play with energy at all times on both ends. I think he's really demonstrated that though preseason and the spring that he's a guy that is willing to take on that type of role from the wing position.

The Bee: Is that new?

RT: I wouldn't say new role, I would just say it's something that he has bought into. He's a guy that is going to leave it all out on the floor for you. He's going to play as hard as he can on the defensive end, run the floor offensively, run it for easy scores, at times be a guy that we'll call upon to try and go get some offensive rebounds as well because he has really good athleticism. But more than anything, it's just playing with energy and understanding that, you know what, guys that play hard, they accept their roles in terms of being a super hustle guy. They really and truly become glue guys.

He's a guy, once he plays hard, with the combination of playing hard and his athleticism, makes him a dangerous player, makes him a guy that can be a difference maker. Having the combination of those two skill sets can really help our team.

The Bee: Johnathan Wills, he played quite a bit last season.

RT: Senior. Has kind of been thought it. He's a guy that transferred in from New Mexico. Versatile player. A guy who over the course of his career has probably seen and done a lot of things, in terms of different coaches that he's had a chance to play for. He's a guy that understands concepts and at this point, from the time that I got the job, really tried to work with him on the importance of trying to still change his body. He's a guy, had we had him as a freshman, by the time he's a sophomore and junior, he's a whole different looking guy. But for whatever reason somewhere in there, he's having to play major catch up right now just in terms of being stronger. I think he's bought into that and understands that's an important aspect of his development still. It's never too late, but he's behind the 8-ball right now based on, for whatever reason right or wrong or whatever emphasis has or has not been placed on strength and conditioning for him. But he brings some valuable things to the table for us in terms of his versatility. He's a guy that can play on the perimeter. His ball skills are solid. Shooting is OK, not great. But gives you a wiry, athletic, 6-7 guy who can play inside some if he had to for a couple of possessions as well as being able to defend on the perimeter.

The Bee: Did you talk to him at all about the conditioning aspect, what had happened there?

RT: He's gotten better and he definitely understood the importance of it in terms of if you have any aspiration of going on and making this a livelihood for you, your body is your most important aspect. For a guy like him, you know, he needs to be a guy that not necessarily needs to look like a football player, but needs to be a guy that can withstand some contact and get some things done whether it's on the perimeter or on the interior. You look at guys at his position and his size, LeBron James, he's a Mack truck now. Kobe Bryant. I'm giving you some extremes now, mind you, but with his body type, he should be a different looking guy.