MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama men's basketball head coach Matthew Graves spoke with the Sun Belt Conference media via teleconference Wednesday, leading up to the start of the 2013-14 season on Friday.

Below is a transcript of his comments.

Opening Statement
"I'm very excited being a first-year head coach and I'm excited to be coaching here at the University of South Alabama and being a part of the Sun Belt. I think our team is excited; we have a nice blend of some old veteran guys that have had a lot of great battles and produced really well, and we're trying to mix in six freshmen in and a couple sophomores. It's a nice blend of talent but at the same time, we have some inexperience in the backcourt, but with our frontcourt, with Augustine (Rubit) and Mychal (Ammons), we have some experience. We're excited to see how those avenues merge as we move forward throughout the season."

On the progress of the team
"They've really bought in and are trying to do what we've asked of them. We played an exhibition game last night and turned the ball over 24 times, so we have a lot of work to do. Part of that was our fault as a coaching staff; we were trying to play different lineups and different combinations, so we felt like we contributed to some of those turnovers as well. Our focus going into the season was taking care of the basketball and even though it didn't show last night in the exhibition game, we've made some strides in that area."

On his expectations of Augustine Rubit this year
"First and foremost, I'm really blessed to come into my first coaching job and inherit the player of the year from last year and preseason player of the year this year. You feel very fortunate anytime you take the floor, you have an opportunity to win when you've got the best player or one of the best players on the floor every night. Having Augustine gives you a certain level of comfort as a first-year head coach, but at the same time, he understands that what he did last year was last year and he needs to continue to produce and even be more efficient this year. I'm excited because he's worked really hard and put himself in a position where he can have a better year than he did last year and it might not show up statistically in points and rebounds, but I think it'll show up in a more efficient game."

On his coaching philosophy
"What they're going to see is a team that is a lot more unselfish, they're going to make the extra pass and be more defensive oriented. We did a great job in our exhibition last night of guarding the basketball and contesting shots. You're going to see the overall mentality of a more blue-collar type team that really cares for each other and plays hard for one another."

On Georgia State and head coach Ron Hunter joining the conference and the impact they can make
"I have a lot of respect for Coach Hunter. Watching him work when he was in Indianapolis at IUPUI, he did an outstanding job there. I really admire the way he coaches; he does it with a lot of energy and passion and he really relates to his players. With his son (R.J.), you're bringing in another guy into this league that is a contender for player of the year honors. Looking at this league as a whole, there are several players that are really talented that can play anywhere in the country. I think that's one of the reasons that the Sun Belt is an undervalued league. We as coaches need to continue to do a great job of marketing our league and letting people know what kind of talent we have as far as players and coaches in this league."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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