Holley’s a point guard who won a lot of games at Kristijan Krajina’s alma mater. What are you looking for in terms of contributions from him?

He’s a guy that I think has an ability to penetrate and get people involved. That’s something we didn’t have a ton of [last season]. He’s a good decision-maker, he’s won a ton of games with his team against good competition, and he makes open shots. So I think we’ll look for all of that, [keeping in mind that] you have Julian Norfleet and Josh Castellanos and Lamar [Trice] returning from last year, and so how can he help push that group and fill in the gaps. He can support all those guys. I think he’ll be able to complement all those guys.

Owens was a pretty prolific scorer in high school. Is that what you’re looking for him to do at the Mount?

Well probably this is something we’re going to look for in [all our guys]. We're looking for all of our guys to be versatile, to be able to score, to pass, to help the team rebound. I certainly think Xavier is someone who can do all of that. He's got good size and strength that, right away, should allow him to compete. He's an outstanding defender. It's rare you find a guy who has that defensive mentality that was able to put up the [offensive] numbers that he did in high school. We'll look for him to be versatile and fill in wherever he's needed, mostly on the perimeter, but maybe if we play small he can help on the frontcourt. With our forwards last year, we didn't have a lot of depth. Hopefully he will help in that regard ... and give us some size on the perimeter.

Danaher will be the biggest guy on the roster. Will he be a factor right away, or is he more of a developmental guy?

I think given his weight and strength at this point, I would be surprised to see him beat out our four returning post guys. He’s very skilled. He’s got a great feel for the game and he’s competitive. But I would be surprised if he [beat those guys out]. I’ve talked to him about this, but I’d be surprised if – in some ways it’s [on] the older guys to not let the younger guys beat them out. But we’ll see how it plays out.

Long term, what's your outlook for him?

I think he’s got a chance [to be good]. Obviously, strength will be a factor. But he’s versatile and already has a really nice feel around the rim. He likes to rebound the ball, he can really run, and he seems to have good endurance in that regard. So I think he can [help] in a lot of different ways. He throws passes, is a good ball-handler at that spot. I wouldn’t say he’s a great ball-handler, but a good one. I think a lot of [how he develops] will have to do with how hard he works. So far, it seems like he’s got a great work ethic. One thing about him, Taylor was home-schooled up until last year. He played the competition he played. I think once he gets in the Division I environment, he’s going to flourish.

The first of two transfers you’re bringing in is Prescott from Marist. He was a double-digit scorer there, so what was the reason for him leaving and how did you land him?

I’m not sure how he decided to leave. When we found out that he did leave, we have one of his high school teammates (Trice) on our team. I think that had a lot to do with that situation in terms of us getting involved. Winning is important to him. I think he felt like we had a real good chance of winning going forward.

What do you like about his game?

He’s done well at the college level, so that gives you – when you lose three seniors next year in Lamar, [Danny Thompson] and Pierre [Brown], who should provide significant scoring for us this year – it’s nice to know you have somebody who’s been through it and who’s been able to score the ball. But again, he’s a versatile kid, he’s athletic and he can guard. He had to play some point guard for Marist. Hopefully he’s a very different player a year from now than right now. He’s worked very hard on his game.

The second transfer is Whack, a Maryland guy who didn’t play a lot at George Mason. What do you like about his game?

I watched and recruited Whack in high school. He’s a versatile guy who makes shots. He played in a great high school league (Washington Catholic Athletic Conference) with outstanding competition. Then he played for a great program at George Mason with Jim Larranaga, playing against great competition every day. I don’t know how it would’ve played out had he stayed there. I just think it was a situation where he’s going to really have a chance to have a significant opportunity. I look forward to him taking advantage of that opportunity. I think he’s got a lot of ability.

Parker is a recruited walk-on, but could he eventually see some time?

I do. I definitely do. He was very accomplished in high school. He did a ton of winning in high school. I think he definitely can see some time going forward.

What does he bring to the table?

He’s athletic, and again, I like his versatility. He shoots it pretty well for a guy with his athleticism. And he rebounds the ball well. He can defend. He’s also a kid who does all the little things. He’s a competitor. He was a great football player. So I think some of that translates over, his competitiveness.

Looking back on your first year, any regrets or thoughts on how things have gone?

Well I certainly would like to have won more. You always want to win more unless you win the last one. We would have liked to have won more. We had starters out with injury or illness for the year (Brown, Krajina) and then our leading returning guy (Jean Cajou) was injured with a knee injury for the majority of the year. We had a lot of injuries. I thought our team got better, given the hand we were dealt. I thought it was a very positive and productive year.

Is there anyone in particular you’re looking for to step up?

I think we’re counting on everyone to take steps forward. Everyone is just trying to get a little bit better. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone come back. We’re hoping the sophomores make a significant leap. We were so inexperienced last year. ... In many ways, I feel like our eight returning guys, all eight of them were almost freshmen last year. The guy who played the most minutes, Shawn Atupem, isn’t back. So you hope to see a significant bump from all of them.

What are your expectations for this season?

Our expectations are always the same – it’s to win every game we play and get better every day. I think if you figure out how to do the latter, you can do the former.

AP Photo of Robert Burke by Nam Y. Huh / Dec. 23, 2010