Samford opened up year two of the Lennie Acuff era with a 87-58 win over Berry. Will Shaver led Samford in scoring with 17 points while also getting six rebounds and four blocks. Cade Norris finished with 14 points being perfect from the floor and the free throw line.
Q: We asked you about this after Auburn, but your team’s ball movement was something you were preaching during the game. What would you like to see of that element going forward?
Lennie Acuff: “Yeah, we're all stagnant early, and sometimes, you know, in these games, you can try to start trying to do a little too much too soon. But I thought we got the ball at the 3rd and 4th side. We got really good shots. We missed a lot of good ones that we're going to keep taking. I mean, it's a good shot or a bad shot when he leaves his hand, not if it goes in or not. You know, we just miss some really good shots that we normally make. But you know, it was just a good night for us. I really appreciate the student crowd. That was awesome. I thought we had a really good crowd, and, you know, and I would say this now is where, you know, 12, 13 days out from Wright State coming here next Friday night, We need a very similar crowd, and even better crowd when they come in here. They are a really, really good division one opponent. But it was a good night for everybody involved.”
Q: JD Gossett redshirted last season so he’s getting to play and he came off the bench early. What excites you about his potential?
Acuff: “Yeah, JD's a tough, tough kid, and I thought he played well in our exhibition games. He hadn't had a lot of opportunity, but I thought he played well. He runs to the fight. He's physical, he's tough. He's kind of a multipositional player. And so, it was good to see him play well tonight.”
Q: True freshman Lawson Lee got some game action after missing all of the exhibition games, what element will he add to your team and his role?
Acuff: “Yeah, Lawson's got a great future. You know, and he would have went back in tonight, but I wanted to get some of those other guys an opportunity. And, you know, I thought he was a little anxious and a little too jacked up, which is kind of his personality, but he's incredibly talented. He's gonna be a good player for us, and, you know, he's just gonna have to work his way back in, and he'll do that. I thought he had a good week of practice, weekend of practice going in tonight, but you can see he's big, he's physical, the ball comes off his hand well. He is gonna have a really good future here.”
Q: Will, every time we’ve talked with Coach Acuff, he has talked about your confidence growing and growing, what has that been like yourself in prepping for and now playing the season?
Will Shaver: “It's been great, because I got great teammates, and I got a great coaching staff. If you're not confident playing for Lennie Acuff, I don't know what to tell you. The only thing he does is pump confidence into his players. But it's also good to kind of reap what you sow. Me, Ryan Donohoo, put in a lot of work over the summer. And so it's really good to see the benefits of that, you know, coming to light. So I'm just happy, happy to see it.”
Q: Cade, was it a little different not playing with your brother Keaton out there?
Cade Norris: “Uh, a little bit. I mean, he's still around, so it makes it a little bit easier, but, you know, it's great to have him still around. And, you know, I miss playing with him, but at least he's still on staff and he's still around.”
Q: Cade, do you feel like you have a certain leadership role on this team that maybe you did not have last year?
Norris: “Yeah, I mean, obviously, it's changed a lot. You know, we had a lot of vets last year and I was kind of more of a follower than a leader, I've kind of embraced that role and I'm excited. You know, I've been a leader my whole life, I think. You know, we have a ton of leaders on this team, so I'm not going to act like I'm the only one, but it's easy when you got a great group of guys.”
Q: You guys head out to Vegas on Saturday to play UNLV, what excites you both about that matchup?
Norris: “Yeah, I mean, if you go play a team like that, it's always awesome. We're gonna go, you know, give our best shot, and it's just a great battle for us, a great test for us, really in the non-conference.”
Shaver: “Yeah, it definitely gives us a boost of confidence being two and one in the exhibitions, playing two really good teams, three really good teams. And so we're looking forward to the opportunity.”
Next up Samford heads to the entertainment capital of the world, Las Vegas, to take on UNLV. UNLV opens their season on Tuesday night, November 2nd, against Northern Arizona.
