I heard Dave Dickerson on WTIX this afternoon. These are the highlights that I can remember:

1. Scholarships - He has 1 scholarship to give this year, but is in no hurry to use it. Said he has 12 players and that's sufficient for this year.

2. Players - He will not "run off" any players. That's not his style. Told the story of when he was a player at Maryland and there was a coaching change. Said players are committed to Tulane University, not a particular coach.

3. Style of Play - He wants to run an up tempo game, on both offense and defense, but you have to be able to run a good half court offense in order to win tournament games.

4. Goals - His goal for the program: to be top 25, 30, 35, 40 every year. To compete at the highest level of CUSA.

5. Identity - Did not agree with one of the hosts suggestion that Tulane has lost its identity in basketball the last few years. Dickerson repeated what he said in his acceptance speech - that Tulane is a great university and that the basketball team can match that greatness (or something to that effect).

6. Academic Exceptions - One host mentioned that Tulane basketball gets 3 academic exceptions per year, and asked if those were used already. Dickerson did not contradict the number, but said he did not know if they were used already. He was going to look into it in the next couple of weeks.

7. Academics - With regard to academics, he said schools like Duke and Wake Forest are great academic institutions and compete at the highest level in basketball, and there is no reason Tulane can't also.

7. Players - He said that he had looked at film of about 3 of last years' games, and planned on looking at all of them within the next few weeks.

8. Coaching Philosophy - He said that what he learned the most from his former coaches is that teaching fundamentals is the most important aspect of coaching.

9. Assistants - He said he has received alot of interest from candidates and alot of referrals. In answer to a question about hiring locals, he said that he will probably hire people he knows, and he has some people in mind.

10. Signees - He said he was going to visit the 2 guys who had already signed LOI's, as soon as it's allowed, in order to affirm their commitment to the school.

11. Recruiting - He said he will concentrate on recruiting local talent. Mentioned that Louisiana is a great state for high school basketball.

Thanks very much HoTW for that nice wrap up. I didn't get to hear the interview. There's alot to be encouraged about in Coach D's remarks.

It will be fun to see who he brings in as assistants. I'm really looking forward to hoops.