Oct. 22, 2009

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Birmingham, Ala. -

University of Alabama head men’s basketball coach Anthony Grant and senior guard Mikhail Torrance met with members of the assembled media Thursday morning at the Southeastern Conference’s annual media tipoff. The Crimson Tide representatives spent more than two hours discussing the upcoming season with various local, regional and national outlets. Grant drew a strong following most of the morning as the excitement builds around his first season at Alabama.

With nearly a full week of practice in the books, Grant was able to address what he’s seen from his team so far in practice.

“Part of what I’m most pleased with is their willingness to do the things our coaching staff and I have asked of them,” Grant noted. “We’ve got a great group of young men that have the desire to come together as a team and embrace the things we need to do as a program to get better.”

Torrance, a senior point guard from Eight Mile, Ala., is equally pleased with what he has seen from the new head coach in the first week of practice, adding, “coach Grant is a great guy on and off the court. He’s taught me so much so far and I’m really ready to get going. He has a lot of intensity on the court and has already brought so much to our team.”

A large part of Torrance’s excitement is due to Grant’s up-tempo and highly pressurized style of play.

“We’re going to be fast up and down the court and really pressing on both ends,” said Torrance. “That’s the type of player I am and want to be, so it’ll really affect me.”

The team’s goal in the upcoming weeks is to continue to gel as a unit and stay committed to each other every day on and off the court according to Torrance.

That every-day mentality is part of Grant’s goal of building a program that he says, “comes out and works hard every day to be a team that plays together and tries to get better every day. When you do those things, the other stuff takes care of itself.”

With little more than three weeks until the season tips off Grant admits that he still has 11 rookies on the court in practice as the players adjust to his style of play, leadership and terminology but he is aware of that learning process and adjustment period.

“It’s the beginning of getting a system in that they’re unfamiliar with,” Grant said. “That process, and how quickly we can learn and make the transition that needs to be made, is a process any coach would tell you we want to be quicker. But we do understand it’s a process and at the same time there’s a sense of urgency to get where we need to get in a short period of time.”

Grant and his squad will face their first challenge in a pair of exhibition games against Montevallo and Augusta State on November 4 and 10 before getting the regular season underway against Cornell on November 14 at Coleman Coliseum.

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