Boston College Athletics
Q&A With Will Magarity
November 03, 2014 | Men's Basketball
What did you on and off the court this summer?
"We were working on a lot of individual stuff over the summer with the new coaches. They were full of energy and anticipation for this season. They want to make an impact so everything was high tempo. I was here the whole summer so I was working every day on big man stuff. I think I've improved a lot; my ball handling, my shooting and also my back to the basket moves."
How was the adjustment from the international game to college?
"I struggled in the beginning with a lot of foul problems. The international game is a little more forgiving in where you can push and shove. Here it is a lot stricter. I also struggled with the athleticism; not necessarily that the players I was playing against were fundamentally better - that they could shoot better or were smarter - but they were just physically and athletically a lot more sound."
How intense have practices been this preseason?
"It's intense, but you have to understand that it has a purpose. We're not just frantically running around. We're going from A to B to C until practice is finished. He demands 100 percent focus 100 percent of the time. The intensity level is not just him; it's the players around the team. He is one part of it but we are lifting ourselves up as well."
Talk about how Dennis Clifford has changed since last year.
"Last year, he would practice a week and then be off for three. There's this presence when Dennis is practicing. I saw it and I felt it in the games that he got in. When he was on the court, there was this big guy on the court. You could just feel it. Now he is playing and practicing constantly, which is absolutely phenomenal. He hasn't done this in two years. I love playing with him and I hate playing against him. That's the type of guy you want to play with. He does the hard work. He's the guy fighting for rebounds. He's the guy, offensively, that is sucking people in under the basket. It just opens up so much more space."
What do you guys have to do this year to win more games?
"The new coaching staff has made it very clear what they want to do. It is our goal as a team to accomplish what they want us to do. We want to change specific things. We don't want to be where we were defensively last year. We have to get better defensively and we have to get better taking away second chance shots. You might play unbelievable defense but if you let them get an offensive rebound, it doesn't matter. Initial defense, rebound the heck out of the ball and then just run the court. The third part we've had an easier time with. Last year, our offense was pretty good. We didn't struggle offensively. With the new emphasis on defense and teamwork to get the ball, pressure the ball, get the ball - that's what we need and that's what we're going to do."
Why do you wear #11?
"#11 is sort of a family number. My father wore it. It hasn't been a number I've worn ever before because in Europe you only go from #4 to #15. The bigger guys get the later numbers so I would always be #14 or #13. As I was coming to college, I started to hear stories about my father who played at Georgia. It sort of inspired me. My sister is at Virginia Tech now and she wears #11 too. It's a family thing now."
What are you looking forward to the most in the next 11 days?
"We still have American International to play which for me right now is the important game. We're working on fine tuning some things that we need to improve on. We still have a long way to go. In the next 11 days, we just have to work as hard as we have been. We can't relax. We can't get back off. We have to be on the attack."
