UT's Russell Springmann - Longhorns improving defensively

College Chalktalk recently caught up with Texas assistant coach Russell Springmann to talk Longhorns' hoops.  Here's what Springmann has to say about the growth of the young team.

* * *

College Chalktalk: Can you give us an update on how you feel the freshmen are progressing?

Russell Springmann: The freshmen have each consistently improved from game to game.

Myck Kabongo has incredible energy and is the ultimate gym rat. He lives to spend extra time in the gym and wants to be great. He has done a good job handling the ball and is a terrific on-ball defender.

Sheldon McClellan is a talented wing who has a gift for scoring. He has shot tremendous percentages from the floor and long range and has shown the ability to score from multiple areas on the floor.

Julien Lewis is an explosive athlete who has excellent quickness. He has been a very good on ball defender and has been a scoring threat from three-point and mid-range.

Sterling Gibbs has improved immensely from the the start of the season and is starting to settle into his role. Sterling sees the floor well and is a very good catch-and-shoot player.

Jaylen Bond has been a warrior on the boards for us and is a hard nose, physical player. He can defend in the post and on the perimeter and brings our team great energy an toughness.

Finally, Jonathan Holmes has proven to be an effective inside and out scoring threat and has been a consistent rebounder. He has shown a willingness to learn and spends countless hours working on developing his game.

What has been the key in the defensive improvement seen over the past few games?

Recently we have done a much better job with our transition defense and our on-ball defense. We have improved our defensive floor balance by getting two guards back consistently and this has enabled us to set our defense. Also, we have done a better job staying in front of the ball and this has minimized our defensive rotations. Also, by staying in front of the ball we are in better rebounding position and we are minimizing our opponents second chance points.

Can you share your thoughts about J'Covan Brown and his maturation as a player?

J'Covan Brown has been terrific this season. He has done an incredible job serving as an example for our younger players. He constantly talks with the freshmen about what he has learned and is always willing to help a teammate by sharing words of encouragement. J'Covan has worked on becoming a better defensive player and has proven to be one of our better on-ball defenders too. He has become a complete player and is impacting games on both ends of the floor for us.

Texas will inject itself into the Big 12 title mix if...

We will be very competitive in our league as long each player embraces his role and focuses on daily improvement. We have to be a solid defensive team that contains the ball, helps each other and finishes possessions by contesting shots and rebounding the ball. Offensively, we need to execute consistently and value the ball. At times we have been too casual with the ball and have missed out on scoring opportunities as well as provided our opponents with too many easy baskets off of turnovers.

* * *