Thunder Head Coach Mark Daigneault, center Mike Muscala and forward Darius Bazley all sat down after the first team practice of training camp to discuss how it felt to be back on the floor with the group.
Daigneault is entering into his first season at the helm for the Thunder after spending last season as an assistant. Prior to his time as an assistant, Daigneault was the head coach of the OKC Blue, the Thunder’s g-league affiliate for five seasons.
Muscala, a 6-foot-11 center, is entering into his eighth season in the league and his second with the Thunder. Last year, the Minnesota native averaged 4.8 points and 2.3 rebounds in his 47 appearances.
Bazley completed his rookie campaign with the Thunder last season where he posted 5.6 points and 4 rebounds in 18 minutes per contest.
Head Coach Mark Daigneault
On what the first day of team practice was like:
I think there's a lot of gratitude in the gym today we were all excited to be back at it. The emphasis was just style of play on both ends of the floor. Identity on both ends of floor, just getting our base system established, getting our terminology communicated and making sure that we're all starting from a very clear baseline of how we want to play on both ends of the floor.
On the team’s mentality:
A lot of them were making first impressions in the organization and I have a lot of respect for the way that they've tried to do so. We've had a great group that's been paying attention, highly engaged, really eager to learn and curious about how we're doing things. As I'm sure you guys are aware, this is an organization that has high standards for the team and when we've laid out our high standards that's been met with excitement from these guys and that's also encouraging to see. Everybody had a good day today. It comes down to your ability to sustain it tomorrow and the day after and into the dead of February and March. To this point the approach from the players and the engagement from the players has been outstanding.
On what gives him confidence as a coach:
I've always drawn great confidence from the players that I've had the opportunity to coach and the number one reason for that confidence is how they play. This is a group of guys who want to learn. It's a group of guys that want to work. It's a group of guys who want to execute. They paid attention today. They tried to be ready. They put their best foot forward. That's the thing that gives you the most confidence is when you have a group of people that are committed to their craft and committed to being great professionals and when you're coaching that's all you can ask for. And when the group of guys bring that to the table, that's what gives you the most confidence.
Mike Muscala
On what the first day of team practice was like:
It was really fun. It felt good to get up and down, start working on defensive concepts and just be out there playing with the guys moving ball around. Running up and down shooting the ball. It felt good.
On staying adaptable during this unique season:
Staying grateful I think will be really important and staying in the moment. I'm sure they'll be positive tests throughout the season, and logistically it will be quite different than a normal season, but that's how things are now in the midst of a pandemic. So just feeling grateful to play the game that we love and having an environment with the testing and everything being done where it feels safe means a lot to me and all the guys. It's motivating just to go out there and work hard and get ready to put on a good show for the fans.
On what drives him:
The things that really drive me is just impacting the city and community and things like that. We can't promise wins or losses and things like that but we can promise that we can play hard night in and night out and impact the community and that's the biggest thing.
Darius Bazley
On what the first day of team practice was like:
It felt good. When you’re just doing one-on-one workouts, you're doing that for the longest time and now you finally get to be back in the gym with everyone. For a second there it kind of felt like it was back normal. So it was good to be in there with everyone again.
On how it felt to be with the group for the first time:
Staying grateful I think will be really important and staying in the moment. I'm sure they'll be positive tests throughout the season, and logistically it will be quite different than a normal season, but that's how things are now in the midst of a pandemic. So just feeling grateful to play the game that we love and having an environment with the testing and everything being done where it feels safe means a lot to me and all the guys. It's motivating just to go out there and work hard and get ready to put on a good show for the fans.
On if the mindset is different this year than last year:
The mindset is still the same. Going into this year I just want to be able to continue to improve. Every time I hit the floor, I want to show that I'm getting better in whatever area that is. But I'm just going to continue to work hard and play hard when it comes time to play and play to win. That's about it. I just want to continue to keep learning, continue to keep getting better and win.
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