Sun Belt Conference Media Day - 10/27/10

DENVER - University of Denver men's basketball head coach Joe Scott took a break from practice yesterday morning to take part in the Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Media Days.

The SBC utilized web conferencing for the second-straight year, meaning that the coaches and media could hold a discussion virtually without traveling to a meeting location. Scott sat in front of a webcam as reporters from around the nation asked about the Pioneers and the Sun Belt Conference. 

In addition to being more convenient for everyone involved, it means that coaches like Scott miss no more than about 30 minutes of practice, as opposed to the two days it used to take to travel and meet with the national media and regional reporters from regions throughout the Sun Belt.

The web conference is designed so that each team's head coach takes his turn answering questions for about 10-20 minutes with minimal breaks between coaches. Tuesday was designated for the SBC West Division, and Scott was third after Arkansas-Little Rock and Arkansas State, which obviously fall before Denver alphabetically.

Scott opened with an overall preview of his team heading into the season. The Pioneers were picked third in the annual preseason coaches' poll. In fact, the top four teams in the West were picked exactly how they finished last season.

Scott said the predictions made sense since the teams have a lot of players returning, but he also explained that the preseason polls do not affect what actually happens during the season.

He is pleased with the way the team has practiced so far, in addition to the work the team did in preparation for the trip to Spain and the games they played against professional teams while there.

The Pioneers have seven of their top eight scorers returning, and most of them are juniors and seniors. Scott has seen a lot of improvement in every player, but he said Kyle Lewis and Brian Stafford especially made great strides since last season. Additionally, Denver adds Trevor Noonan and Chris Udofia, who provide a presence in the lane that DU has not had in recent years.

"When you look at the overall picture, we finally have all the pieces," Scott said. "Will all the pieces gel in November or December or January? That's going to be the key to the season. We have experienced guards. We have experienced forwards. We're adding Trevor Noonan and Chris Udofia at center with some size and athleticism. It's a matter of when those pieces become a cohesive unit. I think the chances are good that it happens sooner rather than later, but that's the key to the season."