We had a rough season with injuries and do not have a deep bench. We used seven players all year. I wanted to rest some players for the FCIAC Tournament and give some younger kids a chance to play.

Once you lose six or seven players, it impinges on your bench. That is not to be disrespectful to the players who have come in, but you want to have your best 22 at your disposal.

There's a lot of stuff going on. It comes down to not being as deep because of injuries. We'll have to see with illness how people are feeling. This (Drake) meet does not trump the Missouri Valley (Conference) Championship. We'll be cautious if we have to be. But we also know -- shoot, this is one of the only times of the year that track is on the national docket. We want to try and do well if we can.

We had a rash of injuries at the center position last season - we went through seven of them. When we were trading Chris Jackson, we were looking to get a starting center, but there were no takers due to the vital importance of this position.

Sometimes your bench players are your most important players.

In the last calendar year I've seen him seven times. What makes him different from a lot of players is his ability to compete. I've never seen him tired. I've seen him play injured ... .