Q&A with Will Regan

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Question: What has been the biggest adjustment you have had to make in your fist season of college basketball?

Regan: A big part is learning to play defense. To guard in the post at this level is tougher because the players are much stronger and quicker. I have spent a lot of time trying to develop every part of my game, both defensively and offensively. It isn’t something you can really adjust for until you get here and are forced to raise your game to this level every day.

Question: Does it help you and the other first-years that you have such a big class that you have each other to lean on during this learning process?

Regan: Definitely. We can all relate to what each other are going through because it is similar for all of us. We learn from each other too, because if one of us makes a mistake, the rest of us take note and try not to repeat it. It is a tough process, but the fact that we can all go through it together helps.

Question: How has your role changed over the past few weeks with the injuries to a few of the veterans?

Regan: With Will [Sherrill] and Mike [Scott] out, we had less big men available to we knew we were going to have to contribute more, both in games and in practice. It was an opportunity for me to get some more minutes and any time you see the floor, you are going to grow as a player. Their injuries gave guys like Akil [Mitchell] and I more opportunities to play and it let us grow with some more minutes. It isn’t how we wanted to get more minutes, but we had to take advantage of the situation and do what we could to help the team.

Question: You were the first player to commit to Coach Bennett after he came to Virginia. What about him and this program made you want to come here?

Regan: I saw just how genuine the coaches were here. What you see is what you get. I could tell that they would be able to help me become the player I wanted to be. It is a great opportunity to help build this program and to be there at the start of that process. That appealed to me.

Question: How have the veterans helped you and the other first-years make this transition into this program?

Regan: They learned a lot last year when they were going through the transition of having new coaches. They went through it just last year, so they knew what to do to make the transition easier. The experience they have been able to share with us has helped us grow a lot in a short amount of time.