ARLINGTON – As the Mavs wrapped up practice on the College Park Center Floor on Tuesday with their customary high-fives of everyone within the program, head coach KT Turner spent a few minutes with UTAMavs.com to answer a few questions about the official start of the preseason, the importance of transition defense, the roster makeup, the WAC and fans' roles in home contests. Below is our first Q&A with K(&)T.
 
Q: How does it feel to have gotten things started in an official capacity this week with the first couple of practices under your belt?
 
A: "We get to practice so much now in the summers and you get to spend so much time with the guys when you have a couple of hours during the week. This kind of just gives you longer, more detailed time. Guys are locked in and we're able to put more stuff in, so it's been good, it's been great. The guys have had great energy and this group is really good at listening, watching film and carrying it over to the court, so I'm very pleased so far."
 
Q: Some of the guys have mentioned transition defense being a major focal point early, why is that something you're putting an emphasis on during this part of the preseason?
 
A: "I feel like a lot of teams across the country sometimes lose games because of [poor] transition defense. That's just such an easy way for teams to get buckets and we're always trying to eliminate easy baskets, so we've been spending quite a bit of time working on our transition defense."
 
Q: This roster is built in a much different way than last year's. What was the thought process behind that?
 
A: "We wanted to get bigger. We thought we were a little small last year, especially at the guard spot, so we wanted to get bigger and much more athletic."
 
Q: The WAC has undergone some significant change, how do those changes and the subsequent scheduling adjustments due to those changes affect UTA as the Mavs look to conclude the WAC era?
 
A: "We just control what we can control. We have no control over who is in the conference and who's not. Whoever we've got to play, we show up and play. However many games we play [against a single opponent], we're playing whoever. We're just ready to get out and play."
 
Q: You've been incredibly successful at home as a head coach here at UTA (21-7). How important is it for our fans to show out consistently and what edge do they provide you and the team?
 
A: "It helps a lot (laughing). It helps a whole lot when we have fans in the building. We need them, they help us win games for sure. We're a lot better at home, that's one thing we're trying to get better at, which is getting better at playing on the road, but we definitely need our fans in here to help us win. It's a good environment, it gets really loud, so we love the fans here in Arlington for sure."
 
The Mavs tip off the 2025-26 season on Monday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. at the College Park Center against UNT Dallas and former Dallas Maverick Josh Howard. Season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here at UTATickets.com.
   
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