Quotes Following The First Round Of The 2008 MLB Draft
Jun 5, 2008 | Baseball
June 5, 2008
JUNIOR RIGHT-HANDER Shooter Hunt
On being selected by the Twins in the supplemental first round
"At the end of the day, getting picked was all that matters. It's a great organization, it's a great fit for me and I want to do my best for the Twins. Playing at Tulane is like playing Double-A baseball. We played great competition and it's a great school. The coaches put in the extra effort to help get you better, and that helped me greatly. I just want to thank everyone at Tulane - the coaches, my teammates and their families, as well as the fans - for giving me a chance to improve myself as a person and player."
HEAD COACH Rick Jones
On Shooter being drafted in the supplemental first round by Minnesota
"I'm happy for him. I'm a little disappointed he fell to the 31st overall pick, but at the same time, he is an undrafted guy who came here and just got better and better. It's because of his work ethic and his attention to detail, and Coach Sutter working with him every day. Any time you have a guy who comes to Tulane, is a great student, and then gets an opportunity to cash in on a payday and pursue his professional career, that's a good day."
On if he feels Shooter can be as successful in the pros as former Tulane standout Micah Owings
"It's hard to make that call this early because it's not an exact science. But I will tell you that he has a very fresh arm. He didn't start pitching until late in his junior year of high school. He just didn't pitch that much. He has really been learning on the job as far as mechanics, command, control and the things that go with that. He's really a neophyte when it comes this. The improvements he made in his two years he was with us is phenomenal. You look at that and you check him with professional baseball, he has a lot of upside."
On how closely he is watching the remainder of the MLB Draft for current Tulane players as well as 2009 signees
"It depends on where they go in the draft. You're dealing with very smart kids and you're dealing with kids who are great students. They're not going to pass up on an opportunity to get a Tulane degree and play in our program if the money is not enough to make it worth their while. That's sort of an insurance policy, especially today. If we have a couple of guys who may have gone a little bit higher fall a little bit and come to school, it gives us what we feel is one of our great recruiting classes and that certainly bodes well for the future."
