re: tOfficial Alabama Basketball Thread | Now Accepting Transfers l #BuckleUp

Retin Obasohan- Guard

On the confidence two top 25 wins gives the team

“It is just a tremendous boost. To be able to go out there and get wins that a lot of people said we
weren’t able to get, it just speaks to the tenacity of our team and just gives us a realization that we can
do whatever we want to do as long as we play together and trust the system.”

On facing Southern Miss

“They are a great team. Our biggest thing is that we want to treat everybody as they’re the number one
team in the country. We don’t want to disrespect anybody based off of what the media’s perception
might be of them or what their record might say. Our biggest thing is to treat them with the upmost
respect and compete as hard as we can.”

Michael Kessens- Forward

On how the team is doing in the young season so far

“I think we’re doing fine. We are getting better every day. We are not losing our focus so far. Even
though we have a couple top 25 wins, we haven’t done anything yet. The season is long, [we are] only
six games in. We definitely think that those top 25 wins will push us in the right direction. We are really
confident that this season is going to be a great season for us.”

Avery Johnson- Head Coach

On how rewarding the postgame celebrating with the team is for him

“It is very rewarding. It is good for them [the players] to see me let my hair down sometimes because
I’m kind of the general in practice trying to keep them focused. But it is good for them to see me in that
light. We didn’t know what we had and what we were doing early in the season. Basically, back in the
summer in my mind I knew what we were going to be dealing with during October and November and
they didn’t understand the method of what I was doing back then. Even now my mind is on Southern
Miss but I understand the areas that we have to improve in to be competitive in our conference”.

On how much better the team is now than they were at the beginning of the season.

“The key to our season so far right now is our games against Xavier and Dayton. The way that we
bounced back after those disappointing losses says a lot about our team. It is easy for everybody to be
on a high when you’ve won four of five or 10 in a row. But especially in the second half of those games
when those games have gotten away from us and the way that we have come back in the following
games. That just shows that we are starting to build some mental toughness and that’s what I’m excited
about.”

On whether the team is coming along better than he thought it would at this point in the season

“I think most people thought we were going to go 0-3 in Orlando. Am I surprised we went 2-1? I am
presently surprised at the things that I am seeing at this stage in the season. But I do have realistic
expectations for our team. We’ve played some awfully good teams. And I like overall our competitive
fire. [The players] have a lot to think about during the course of a scouting report. More than normal.
So for them to put it all together and concentrate and play offensively and defensively the way that we
want them to play on a consistent basis, they have made some strides in that area. So yes in some ways
I am [surprised] but at the same time I have realistic expectations for our team.”