Oct. 11, 2007
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Vanderbilt men’s basketball senior forward Alan Metcalfe responds to your “Ask a ‘Dore” questions submitted online earlier this week.
Are you excited about practice finally starting? The week leading up to practice is always an exciting one because nobody knows how it’s going to go, but we’re all real excited. With it being my last year and go-around, I want to make it the best season that we’ve had yet. There are always a lot of expectations. We have six freshmen on scholarship and two walk-ons; you don’t exactly know what you’re going to get from them, but as a senior, I have to put all of the uncertainties aside, do what I can to try and lead the team, and make it the best season that we’ve had so far.
How do you handle the role of being a leader with so many new faces on the team? It’s been an emphasis of ours to get the new guys ready. We knew we were going to have a lot of new guys coming in over the summer. With the help of underclassmen like George Drake and Jermaine Beal, we’ve all tried to come together and lead these guys. We know the new guys are going to have to play. We know what it takes for a team to go to the Sweet 16. We’re trying to mentor them because we know they have a lot to offer. We’re excited to try and lead them.
How does the team plan to build off of last season’s Sweet 16? Going to the Sweet 16 was an unbelievable experience. We’ve got a lot of guys back that went there. We lost Ted Skuchas, Dan Cage, and Derrick Byars, but we’ve still got a lot of the core guys that took us there. We obviously enjoyed the experience and have a passion to get back there again. We’re looking to go deeper than the Sweet 16 this year.
With the need for more offensive punch from the post, how do you and Ross see your roles evolving this year? Last year was supposed to be a step-up year for me, but then I got injured. I hope to get back to where I was and do what I can to help us be successful. Coach Stallings talks about getting to the line and getting the other team’s big guys in foul trouble. With Ross Neltner, A.J. Ogilvy, and I as the main guys in the post, it’s going to be a lot better for A.J. because Ross won’t have to play the 5 as much. He can play on the perimeter and use the great passing game he’s got. A.J. and I will keep the inside clear.
Including some of the new freshmen, it looks like the team has more “big guys” on the roster. How has it affected your pick-up games this fall? I think I said to Ross at the beginning of the summer that with a few of the guys we have, the court feels a lot smaller. We have Festus who’s 6’11” and has like a 7’6″ wingspan. It’s just stupid to try and pass the ball around him. We have to get use to playing with bigger guys, but it challenges us and puts different obstacles in our way that we need to overcome in practice. When we do get into SEC games, we know that other teams have great big guys that we need to come to play against.
How discouraging was your injury at the start of last year? It was a huge blow, not just to me, but losing another guy on a team that didn’t have a lot of guys anyway. I’m not saying I was going to be a huge threat in scoring, but I felt I had a lot to offer to the team last year. It was a very disappointing blow to break my foot and have that setback. When I came back to the team, Ross was doing great at the post. He was playing and defending really well. He was scoring. Once Coach had that new offensive set down, it was hard to get back. I just tried to do what I could to help the team. Hopefully this year, I’ll be able to the team by actually being on the court.
Will you be letting a few more 3’s fly this year? I think you need to ask Coach Stallings that question. If you ask any guy that likes to shoot 3s, he’s always going to say he’s feeling it. I’ve been feeling it a little bit in practice right now, but hopefully if I can get on the floor and I’m open enough, then I’ll try to take some good shots but definitely not any bad ones.
Do you have any pregame rituals? Not really. I have my habits that I really don’t think about. If I come into the locker room and am one of the first guys there, I’ll turn on my IPod for the guys. I have the same playlist that they listen to. It’s cued up to a few songs coming to the time I get onto the floor. It gets me ready. I have a highlight video that I watch back in my room that includes fundamentals. I look at my hook shot to try and visualize what’s going to happen when I get into the game.
Is this highlight tape one of you? Yes. It was cut up by Sam (one of our team managers). He went through video of me from games and practices. It’s good to watch those. One of the songs on the highlight tape, Soul Survivor by Young Jeezy and Akon, is the last song that I play before I go onto the floor. It gets me mentally prepared.
What is your favorite nickname and how did you acquire it? I’ve had a couple of nicknames. Coach Rich (Tom Richardson) calls me A-Train. I don’t really know where that comes from because there’s only one letter that came from Alan. I think he just likes the fact that it’s got “Train” on the end. A few guys call me A-Met.
In what ways did playing rugby help you with the sport of basketball? Playing rugby is not completely different. All sports have certain similar fundamentals. Using your hands in rugby helps with catching low passes in the post. Physicality in rugby helps in the big SEC games, but I think if you ask Coach Stallings, when I first came, it probably didn’t help me because I fouled out in almost every game I played. That kind of held me back a little bit because in rugby, I just want to hit people, but in basketball, I kind of have to do it discretely.
(Question submitted by former Vanderbilt basketball SID Andre Foushee): Where is your billboard in Nashville? I’ll be looking for it the next time I’m in Nashville. Well Foushee, that was your job to get that done. I guess it’s not coming up anytime soon.
Tell me the best part about living in the United States. I think it’s living in Nashville. It’s a completely different culture from England. There’s country music that I never really listened to back home. The college atmosphere and being on campus: not many people in England actually carry on their studies and go to college. Living here is a lot more fun than being back home in the rain. Also, having fans at basketball games is a huge plus. Everything around here revolves around college sports. I haven’t really played since I’ve been here, but you still get recognized. People out there still support you no matter what you do as long as you’re on a team. They’re always going to be behind you. We had a pretty down season my sophomore year, but the fans came back and helped us reach the Sweet 16. We understand how important they are to us, and we enjoy every minute they watch us play.
I’m a huge fan of British music – Oasis, Blur, Pulp, Radiohead, etc. Who’s your favorite band? I like all types of music. I don’t have a favorite band that I would go to a concert and watch all of their songs. I like Blues, Jazz, R&B, and Rap. I know a few Oasis and Blur songs. I wouldn’t say I ever listen to Pulp. Radiohead is kind of cool, but I like all types of music as you can probably ask anyone in the locker room when I’m dancing away to whatever comes on.
I hear you’re good at darts. Do you prefer to play cricket or 501? Whoever asked this question did their research. I love darts. I am the self-proclaimed best dart player on campus. If there are any dart players out there, I’d love to challenge you to a game: Cricket, 501, 301, whatever you want to play. I’ll throw some darts with anyone anytime.
Have you ever scored a 180 in one turn while playing 501? Yeah I have. I actually have pictures of it. I also, if you believe this or not, threw a dart which hit a bull’s-eye, and then threw a second dart that stuck in the end of the first dart. Unfortunately, the second one didn’t count because the actual tip of the dart has to be touching the board. My friends didn’t count it but thought it was cool. They took two pictures of it.
What’s better: British or American comedy? A few movies have had a British comedian named Lee Evans in them. I think he is the funniest guy I’ve ever watched. He’s my favorite.
Who has the better accent: you or A.J. Ogilvy? I think A.J. now because he hasn’t had to listen to Americans speak for the last five years. I think I’m losing my accent a little bit which is unfortunate because apparently, the females like the accent. A.J. is a cool guy and I’m happy to have him as my teammate. We’re going to have a lot of fun this year playing together.
