Howard Eisley met with the media yesterday, and as you might expect the discussion centered around Michigan's guard play. He had some interesting things to say about DeVante' Jones shooting off ball screens, three-guard lineups, and how Kobe Bufkin and Zeb Jackson are developing. For everything Eisley said, read on.

On whether what we saw from DeVante' Jones against Southern Utah is what they see in practice and what he has to do to continue that

He's been working extremely hard in practice. He's been playing with a lot more confidence lately. We all know that he was capable of playing the way he has played the last game. We just need him to continue to play that way and be aggressive on both ends of the floor. One thing that we were really happy with was how he pushed the pace of the game and really I think that got himself going on both ends of the floor.

On his lack of hesitation when the opponent went under ball screens and whether they want him to take that shot

Yeah, I think that's a good shot for him. Obviously we would like for it to happen in the flow of the game instead of coming out and pressing for the shot early. I think we've spent a lot of time working on what to do when teams do try to get under our ball screens.

On the shot off the ball screen if teams go under and whether they want him to shoot a three every time and then have the defense adjust

Well, we know if he is able to make some shots it will open up the rest of our game so they will hopefully have to change their coverage. The thing is we don't want him coming out pressing, feeling like he has to make every shot or he has to make it when they go under. We have other things that we can do to hurt teams if they start going under our ball screens, so if it's there and it's in the flow of the game we do encourage him to shoot that shot.

On how often he works with Kobe Bufkin and whether he falls under his purview

Well, he's been working a lot with everybody, actually. He works with the point guards and he splits time with the wings and he's even jumped in working with some of the bigs on post moves. He's a very talented kid. We're going to continue to work with him and help him get better. He's a big part of what we're going to do in the future and we see growth in him every practice.

On Zeb Jackson's growth and improvement and how difficult it was to get into game shape with his illness

First with Zeb you have to start at how giving he has been to the program of himself and to everyone. It was a tough, difficult time for him when he was out. He couldn't be around the guys so it set him back a little bit but he's been working hard to get back up to speed, especially with his conditioning. We all know how talented Zeb is and he just has to keep moving forward and keep at the pace that he's going.

On trying to find the right lineup combinations with so many new players and how he believes that's coming along

It was definitely an adjustment with so many new faces, as some of the guys might have mentioned, and trying to find the best playing groups who complements one another. So we still are working through that. I think one of the strengths of our team is that we have guys that can really step up on any given night, so it's something that we're going to continue to work on throughout the year. With us it's always next-guy mentality so maybe a guy's not going well tonight, then it's someone else's opportunity to step up and play well. We're very connected as a team and we all root for one another, so we just got to continue to try to be pulling in the right direction.

On the guys whose minutes fluctuate and how they keep them engaged

Our message has been very consistent in regards to that: just stay ready, because you never know. So we've been preaching that since day one. Coach has done a very good job of delivering that message to our players, and I don't think our guys look at it as a me-against-the-next-person (situation), it's how can we get better and how can we do the things we need to beat the team that we're playing that night. So we come to practice every day and it's iron sharpens iron to get us ready to battle whoever we're going to be playing, that opponent may be.

On fixing shooters who don't have confidence

Shooters shoot, and that's one thing that we've been very consistent on is we've done a lot of shooting before practice, during practice. Our guys, again, a lot has to do with confidence. It's a feel thing. We've thrown a lot at them up until this point and getting comfortable on the floor and understanding where these shots may come from, that was going to take a little time but I think we're starting to get to a situation they're feeling comfortable and have an understanding where they may get shots.

I give our guys a lot of credit. This is a group that really put the time in. They work hard on their own. They're just not showing up for practice. They're very diligent in their games and I think you'll see a lot of improvement as we continue to move forward.

On Kobe and Zeb and what they can bring to the team on both ends of the floor

I think you just said it: their ability to be a tough guard for any team on the perimeter and they can play multiple positions. We're not afraid to put out a three-guard lineup, so depending on who we're playing against and that opponent, maybe that night you could see a lot of different lineups. We feel our guys, especially Kobe and Zeb, can play together in some situations so again, we're all pulling in the same direction. Whatever's going to be needed on that given night.

On turnovers created and how they feel they're doing

As coaches it's never enough, right? But deflections is something that we feel that because of our length and our size we should be able to get our hands on a lot of balls defensively and that's something that we always encourage. When you start thinking of steals and turnovers we're all for that, but not at the stake of getting out of position and gambling. It's always a happy medium trying to be disruptive but not to the point where you're getting out of position during your defensive assignments.

On the different dimension a three-guard lineup brings

Well, especially with the two guys we talked about, their ability to make shots and really be athletic and create defensive matchups is more of the thing that we'd be looking at, guys that are fast, athletic, you put them on the floor and they can cause havoc for a defense.

On where Kobe and Zeb have grown the most in their game

It's been hard. With Kobe, for example, he played limited basketball last year and we've thrown a lot at him. We've asked him to try and understand multiple positions, maybe sometimes playing 1 through 3, so that's a lot that we've thrown at him so we have to continue to work with him and pour into to help continue to growth. And he's been absolutely fantastic in retaining the information and wanting the information. He's a workaholic; he stays in the gym. He's going to be fine. I think his best basketball is still ahead of him.

And again, Zeb, he's working himself back into shape. He had two stints where it kept him out and not only was he out but he was away from the team as well. Those things are tough to recover from, but Zeb is going to be a part of what we do as well.

On Frankie Collins and the things they're working on together

Frankie and lot of my freshmen, they come in and they want to make an impact on the game right away, so one of the things that we talk about with them is making singles and not always looking to make a home run play or the home run pass, so that's something that we have to talk with all of them about but mainly Frankie because we want his turnovers, to get those down a little bit. But we don't want to take away his aggressiveness because he is very good at attacking the basket and getting to the rim and creating for others. So again, trying to find a happy medium for him as well.

On Eli Brooks and his shooting percentage being down and whether the staff is pleased with the quality of his looks

I think it's just nights where the ball doesn't go in. I think now teams are really starting to key on him. He's a part of the other team's scouting report more than probably what they have been in the past. We're very happy with the looks he's getting and again, we expect him to make shots, especially open shots. We're not really worried about Eli in that aspect. We know he's going to give to the team and he's been pretty good his whole career about taking the right shots when given to him.

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