Quality minutes early in the season …

I was just able to come to practice every day and tried to work as hard as I can. I was really enthusiastic and energetic about it. It was a good experience, and I’m still trying to get back in the lineup right now, but we’ll see what happens.

Development of Mike (Tisdale) and Mike (Davis) …

They’re playing great right now, both averaging double figures and both doing good on rebounds and shooting percentage. It’s hard when you got those two guys playing in front of you.

They’re just playing great right now. I would hope (to make that rotation again), I sure hope so. I just have to do it in practice. That’s my time to play right now.

Individual strengths and areas of improvement …

Don’t let my man catch the ball. Just shut down the big man, rebound and run the floor. I think that’s what I’m best at, just playing really hard and really aggressive. I think I can do those things well.

They want me to be an energy guy, come in and play defense and bring energy to the team and play really hard.

They’re not asking me to be a scorer, I mean if I had the opportunity I’d take it, but there’s no pressure on me. They just want me to go sub in, get some quality minutes and help the team get energized.

When I catch the ball (on offense), I need to look at the rim first. I just need to calm down with the ball, don’t be so anxious to pass it out. Face up, look at the basket, see the rim first.

Being ranked …

You know, we really haven’t even discussed it. It’s there, but you won’t see it anywhere. You won’t see it brought up in practice. Coach talks about, ‘Keep making progress, keep moving forward.’ All we’re focusing on is winning the next Big Ten game and competing for a Big Ten Championship.

It’s really not on our minds. All we want to do is win games. We’re getting recognition, so that’s good, but we’re not playing for that recognition. We’re playing for ourselves, and to get better as a team.

Super Bowl plans …

Oh, not really. It’s really not a big deal to me. We play Sunday, so after the game I’ll probably go get something to eat, sit on my couch and watch it with some friends. That’s about it, though.

Keeping confidence while sitting …

It’s been tough. I was playing some good minutes, but then it just went down and over break I really didn’t play against Michigan. It’s tough. I try to tell myself everyday, ‘Just go and do the things you’re supposed to do and we’ll be all right.’

So, I’m just trying to keep my confidence up, you know, stay with the team. Tisdale, Davis and Dominique have been playing so well right now. I’m really happy for them. We’re playing great so I can’t complain.