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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University men's basketball team will face the No. 12-ranked and conference-leading Eckerd Tritons this Wednesday, on the road in St. Petersburg.
 
The Sharks (5-6, 1-2 SSC) are coming off a rousing 23-point over Embry-Riddle behind four double-digit scorers and a suffocating defense on Saturday. Their next test will come against the Tritons (12-1, 4-0 SSC), the last remaining undefeated team in Sunshine State Conference play, and winners of 12 straight after a season-opening loss to then-No. 11 Delta State, 87-77.
 
NSUSharks.com once again talked to NSU head coach Gary Tuell on the eve of another tough matchup:
 
Q: Saturday's game against Embry-Riddle was arguably the team's best from start to finish. What have you been able to get out of the win the last couple of days?
 
GT: "When we focus and play with effort on the defensive end, we can be pretty good. We've put together three straight halves of very good basketball and that's a plus. Earlier in the year we struggled to play well for a half, or maybe 25 to 30 minutes. We've now played pretty darn well for 60 straight minutes. I'm really pleased with the attitudes of our players. We've juggled some things and the changes we've made probably impacted as many as five or six guys on our team. In an effort to defend a little better, or at least to get bigger and longer defensively, and also to help us in rebounding, where we were struggling, we've moved some guys around. We've inserted Dwayne Gibson, Jr. (Fr., Indianapolis, Ind.) and Nick Pendergast (Sr., Bridgewater, Conn.) into the starting lineup. It's never easy as a coach to make personnel decisions because you love all your guys and you want to see them playing and happy, and it's not easy for players either. They all want to play, and that's a good thing. But the great thing for us has been the way everyone has sacrificed and accepted different roles without pouting, sulking or getting down. We value all of our guys. The guys who were getting the most minutes or at least a large chunk of minutes in the first eight or nine games are still getting minutes. We aren't down on any of our guys. We just expanded some roles and moved some guys around which necessitated some changes in what we're doing. 
 
"I think we have a solid core of eight players with Chris Page (Sr., Plainfield, Ind.), Mike Chalas (Sr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.), Harrison Goodrick (Jr., Sydney, Australia), Casey Carroll (R-Jr., Youngstown, Ohio), BJ Edwards (So., Fort Myers, Fla.), Nick Pendergast, Dwayne Gibson and Troy Spears (So., Martinsville, Ind.). We wanted to get bigger defensively and try to improve our rebounding so we inserted Dwayne in the point guard spot and Nick in one of our forward spots. It wasn't a demotion for BJ and Mike. We love what they do and we will continue to play them and think of them the way we do Casey. We feel like we have eight starters. BJ and Mike have been terrific, and I'm very pleased with Dwayne's progress. He can play anywhere on the floor because he is so versatile and plays with great energy, but also, he's probably the smartest player I've coached in my 30-plus years. He knows what everybody does, what everyone's assignment is, regardless of their position, and he makes pretty good decisions on the fly too. We're really blessed to have Dwayne and BJ. BJ is also a very, very smart point guard who has picked things up quickly and who understands what we want. Those are two of the brightest guys I've ever coached, and most impressively they're doing this in their first years in our program.
 
"We also have some guys who are getting better every day in practice and are in the mix for the ninth spot. Remi Farrell (Jr., Woodbridge, Conn.) has made tremendous improvement. Austin Marciniak (Fr., Uniontown, Ohio) continues to get better at both ends of the floor. Pat Huffine (Fr., Indianapolis, Ind.) and Nikita Orap (Fr., Moscow, Russia) have days when they are very good, and other days when they are freshmen, but they're improving. Jordan Stookey (So., Warsaw, Ind.) has been great filling in at the point and he may be the best passer on our team. Jonathan Back (Jr., Carlisle, Ohio) has great energy and gives us a lift whenever he gets on the floor, and Albert Nassar (Sr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) is another one who is improving. That's what you hope to see at this time of the year. Our second or third unit guys are stepping up in practice and competing and playing much better than a month ago. Austin has been terrific since the holiday break. I think we would all like to see him get more minutes but he's playing behind two pretty good seniors (Page and Chalas) and he just needs to be patient and keep grinding. His attitude and his effort have been outstanding. It's never easy for guys who had great high school careers to come in as freshmen and have to sit while older players play; it's a difficult adjustment. But the ones who keep working and keep competing for playing time get better and make your team better. I need to find a way to get Page, Chalas and Marciniak on the floor at the same time, and we'll probably see that sometime in the future."
 
Q: You mentioned how defense and rebounding were two big keys to the win and you seemed pleased with the effort afterwards. What can you do to keep that level going forward?
 
GT: "The one thing you can't coach is effort; either players are going to give it or they're not. We can do the best job possible as coaches by putting people on the floor who give us our best chance to defend and rebound, and we think we're doing that. After that, it's up to the players to give the effort necessary to compete and win games. I do believe we're beginning to understand those things better as a group. If our guys give effort then they can compete with just about anybody. The team that plays the hardest usually wins most games. As our maturity level has improved and our commitment to team has improved, our effort on the defensive end and on the glass has improved, but consistency is the biggest issue for any young player today. The teams that roll in the second half of a season are usually the teams whose players are consistent with their effort."
 
Q: Once you gained the lead, the team never really let up, matching that defensive intensity with good shooting to beat a very good team. How refreshing was it to be able to finish out a game with some level of comfortability (even if that maybe just came at the final horn)?
 
GT: "Embry-Riddle is so well coached and has such a potent 3-point shooting game that you never feel comfortable with any lead against them. You may be up 16 or 17, which is a pretty rare thing when you play against one of Steve Ridder's teams, but if you're lucky enough to be in that situation you can't afford to relax because they can string together three or four threes in a minute or two and all of a sudden you're in a dog fight. Fortunately for us they had an 'off'-shooting night and our guys, for the most part, kept grinding on the defensive end and did a reasonable job of trying to use a little clock and execute our offense. We were trying to get to the second or third options in the offense so we could use clock. Some of the time we didn't, but most of the time our guys did that."
 
Q: You had a lot of key contributors, the usual suspects plus a few more. Chris Page continued scoring at a high clip, Nick Pendergast had a double-double, Troy Spears had 31 great minutes, and you had said Casey Carroll looked like the Casey of old. When most everyone can come together on the same night, as you've said, this team is very exciting.
 
GT: "Troy Spears is the unsung hero on this team. He just does so many little things well that make a difference. He may not come up with the rebound but he makes sure he blocks his man out so somebody else can get the rebound. He takes charges; he makes good decisions with the ball. Nick Pendergast is similar. We wanted to start Nick much sooner this year but he had that ankle injury in the first five minutes of the West Texas game and it's been a long, slow process getting to where he's actually healthy enough to play comfortably. Casey is just a heck of a talented guy. He's so smart on the floor and such a good leader. The guys listen to him and look up to him. Obviously if his back were 100 percent he'd be starting and playing a lot more minutes, but he's unselfish and he understands his role. We try to protect his minutes and that's not easy for me because I love having him on the floor. He's a tough guy who plays through pain better than most guys. I have as much confidence in Casey as anyone I've ever coached. I could put him at any position on the floor and not give it a second thought. He and Harrison Goodrick are tough guys. They compete at a high level and set the tone for the other guys. I don't think Harrison, Troy or Casey ever get enough credit, and Nick is probably falling into that category, too. Those four guys are good players who do so many little things for us. I have a comfort level as a coach with all four of them. Dwayne Gibson fits in that category, too. He has a quiet confidence that rubs off on others. 
 
"Of course, Chris is the guy who keeps us from having dry spells in games. As long as he's on the floor, he either gives us a scoring threat to help us keep it close, or he draws so much attention from other teams that he frees up other people. Hopefully we'll see Chris' assist rate go up over the next eight weeks. As teams load up their defenses to stop him, he'll have to make good decisions and wise choices. We moved him to the shooting guard spot in our offense because that's what he does best, but we also did that to relieve some pressure from him by taking him off the ball. He has more opportunities now to pick and roll with our bigs and he's an outstanding pick and roll player. Moving him off the ball allows us to put him in different positions to make plays rather than having him initiate the offense. As he grows more comfortable there, we think our entire team will benefit from what he can do out of that position. 
 
"Mike Chalas can do a lot of things Chris does, and he's also very good in the pick and roll and as a shooter, so we don't miss a beat when Mike slides into that spot and Chris rests or moves to another position. Those guys give us a lot of flexibility at the shooting guard spot. To be honest, Austin Marciniak is quickly catching up to them in some areas so we feel all three of those guys give us a dynamite threesome at shooting guard. You could easily play Casey Carroll or Troy Spears there as well. We have a lot of flexibility with this team, which is a good thing, but it also creates issues sometimes for us as coaches as we try to figure out who to play and where to play them. It's a nice problem to have and fortunately we have the depth to do that. But when I tell you this is a process and we're still trying to figure it out, much of that goes back to having so many players who can play multiple positions and figuring out who gives us the best chance to be successful in different situations and different games."
 
Q: Eckerd has started the season very strong, and is the only undefeated team left in the conference. What can you say about the Tritons, and coming off Saturday, what do you expect to be able to build on towards playing another tough opponent?
 
GT: "We're looking forward to the next two games, on the road at Eckerd and on the road at Barry. It seems to me that those are the two best teams in the league, at least at this point of the season, and we will have a chance to learn a lot about ourselves and see where we need to get better. Those two teams will definitely expose your weaknesses. Eckerd is a very athletic, very strong team that plays aggressively and with a lot of toughness. They do a great job in the paint with multiple post players who are long, athletic and talented, and they do a great job of driving the ball and drawing fouls. They're the best team in our league at getting to the foul line. I think they've made more free throws this year than their opponents have taken and that's always a statistic that coaches love. We have to keep them off the foul line, we have to block out and compete with them on the glass, and we have to find a way to defend them in the post without fouling. But you can't go to sleep on their perimeter shooters. They're so good in the paint, year in and year out, that I think a lot of people go to sleep on their shooters. They always shoot the ball well at home, and they are one of the most efficient 3-point shooting teams we will play. You can't take everything away from a team. We'd like to defend the drive and defend the paint and at least compete reasonably on the glass with them, but they have three or four guys who are excellent shooters and we can't ignore them or they'll make us pay a price.
 
"Tom Ryan is doing a great job with this team. He's got them playing the way he likes to play and they're very disciplined and very good at what they do. Tom is just an outstanding coach. I enjoy playing Eckerd because I know if we can compete with them then we have a chance to be a good team. You always learn a lot about your team, about the things you're trying to do, and about your players when you play against Eckerd. That's a heck of a compliment to Tom and his program. Win or lose, they make you better because you will definitely learn a lot from playing them. We have a long, long way to go and we know that. We're nowhere close to being the team we want to be. But a game on the road, at Eckerd, is great for us right now because we can use this experience to get better. With six of our next eight games on the road we have to get better in a hurry.  This is my 12th season at NSU and I don't ever remember having six out of eight road games in the league before. This can be a brutal stretch for us, but it also presents us with some neat opportunities if we embrace the challenges and learn from the experiences."