For the second-straight year, Canisius head men's basketball coach Tom Parrotta has taken time from his schedule to sit down with GoGriffs.com right before the MAAC Tournament to talk about a various number of items surrounding the program. This year, Parrotta sat down and did a question and answer session with Matt Reitnour, the school's director of athletic communications.

The Golden Griffins ended the regular season with a 14-16 overall record and an 8-10 mark in MAAC action, which seeds the team seventh in this weekend's postseason event in Albany, N.Y. The 14-wins are the most for the program since 2000-01, and the eight league victories stand as the most for the Blue and Gold since 2004-05.

Canisius will open play at the 2010 Citizens Bank MAAC Basketball Championship on Friday, March 5, at 9:30 p.m., when the team meets No. 10 seed Marist.

Matt Reitnour: As the team gets ready to leave for the MAAC Tournament, talk a little bit about Frank Turner, who has served as the undoubted face of this program for the last three years.

Tom Parrotta:  It's funny, because I was looking at some things the other day and thought to myself, had we been able to look into a crystal ball and know all of the numbers and records Frank was going to reach when we first recruited him, we would have signed up immediately. I don't think anyone would have guessed Frank could have put together the career he has so far, and that's a real testament to him, his desire and his work ethic. He has gotten better and better as the practices, games and years have gone by. This year for example, he worked on being a better point guard, and I think he has played some of the best floor games of his career this season. While he might not be the truest point guard because we need him to score, he's gotten so much better at distributing the ball and he has a positive assist-to-turnover ratio to prove it. Frank came in here as an unbridled athlete that did everything at full speed. He's worked every day to commit himself to being a basketball player, and I think he's as good as any guy in the league in that regard.

MR: Frank will leave here ranked in the top-10 in 12 different statistical categories, but he'll also have his undergraduate and master's degree by the end of school in May. How important is that to you as a coach, and as the person who brought Frank here to Canisius?

TP: When we told Frank and his family that he'd have the chance to leave here with two college diplomas four years ago, I think it was taken as "coach speak" for the most part. But like his time on the court, he's taken full advantage of everything presented to him here in the academic setting. He is the poster-child for student-athlete in my opinion. He worked hard to get his academics straight and he is proudly setting the tone for the other guys on the team who are striving to get their degree work done in three years. I couldn't be happier for him in this aspect of his time here and his growth process.

MR: Looking at the team as a whole, three years ago this was the sixth-youngest team in Division I basketball. Now you have seven guys with 85-plus career games played. What have they learned, and what do you feel still needs to be understood?

TP: The one thing I told people three years ago is that kids mature, and when you bring in a bunch of young kids like we did three years ago, it is going to take some time. First, we had to learn how to play hard and how to be a team. Then you try and instill a sense being competitive in every workout, practice, and game. Now we're at a level where we need to push through and win games. We have countless hours invested in our players. Everyday is a new experience.  Building a successful, sustainable college basketball program is a never-ending process. You throw as much at them and help them mature along the way.

MR: Along those same lines, you have a roster that features eight upperclassmen, and next year's squad will have six seniors when the year begins. How important is that in your efforts to build this program into one that is competitive year in and year out?

TP: Anytime you can look at your team and know the guys on the floor have been through a number of different situations, you have a certain sense of comfort with that. If you look at programs at our level, not just in the MAAC, but around the country, the teams that are in the race every year have a good balance of older players and younger guys filling roles while learning from the upperclassmen. That's how you build a competitive team that can sustain success at this level. The guys that we have here now have all played in a good number of games. We're looking for them to move to the next level and to serve as leaders for the younger guys. I want them to show what it means to work hard and to instill that sense of pride that goes along with wearing a Canisius uniform.

MR: This year, the team heads to the MAAC Tournament with 14 regular season wins. Since joining the MAAC in 1989-90, this is the seventh time the team has recorded 14 or more wins in a season, and that counts tourney games. What are your thoughts on the team's win total as you prepare to head to Albany?

TP: Obviously, you don't go into a season and say we'd be happy with 14 wins and a few MAAC Tournament wins. I look at the progress, and ask, did we step forward here? To answer that question, I say yes. We went from six wins to 11 and now 14. The real question is what other steps do we need to make to keep moving forward?  At this time next season, getting more than 14 wins is our goal, we want to be in the upper part of this league, because then we've taken another step forward as a program.

MR: The team's eight MAAC wins this year are the most for the team since 2004-05, and it stands as just the ninth time since the school joined the MAAC in 1989-90 that the Griffs have registered eight or more wins in league play. You've been in this league for a while. How good is the MAAC, and how do you assess this year's league record?

TP: I think winning league games follows the same protocol as winning non-league games. The MAAC is as good as it's been in a long time. There are three teams in the top-100 of the RPI. Winning in this league is tough, there are no off nights, and I stress that to our team every day in practice. If you look at the standing this year, there was a race for a bunch of spots up for grabs until the last weekend of the season. There was a time when we really struggled to win on the road, but we pushed through and now we go on the road expecting to win games. The same can be said for league games. We are now in a spot where we aren't looked at as a pushover in this conference. Teams know when they play Canisius, they're going to get a game. We've won some league games this year, both at home and on the road, and we need to keep pushing through.

MR: You talked about not being able to win on the road, and until the team beat Howard on the road in December 2008, the program had lost 21-straight on the road, which was the seventh longest road-losing streak in the nation. Since then, the team has won 10 road games, including five this year. What is the difference?

TP: When a team goes on the road, you have to know how to win games. I'm not sure we've always had that knowledge. It was a hurdle for the program, but when we got that first win, a huge weight was lifted off our backs. The next step is to string a bunch of road wins together and then winning on the road becomes a habit. It's all a part of the maturation process that programs go through, and being able to win on the road on a consistent basis helps build that sustainability we're looking to have here.

MR: This year, the team was 7-5 at home, the first winning record at home since 2004-05. Since 2001, the Griffs have won 44 games at home. How important is it to you to win home games?

TP: As important as it is to win on the road, it's that much more important to win at home, especially at this level of college basketball. I tell our guys that we need to defend our home court, and we've done a better job of that in each of the last two seasons. When you win in front of your fans, good things follow. It allows you to grow a fan base because people enjoy being a part of something good. Momentum is something that's hard to build. I truly believe we're getting there. I want people to feel like they can come to the Koessler to see good, solid basketball being played right here on campus.

MR: This will be the 12^th straight year the program has played in the first round of the MAAC Tournament. Is this something you've discussed with your team and what's your take on playing in the first round?

TP: I have thought about this probably a lot more than I should have the last few weeks. I think it is one of those we need to overcome as a program. The road to winning a MAAC championship is much easier when you play three games as opposed to playing in four. At this time of year, getting as much rest as possible is a really good thing, that's no secret. But since we're playing in the first round, we look at it in reverse order. That game Friday night is essentially our championship game. We can't move forward if we don't win. That's the approach we've taken in each of the last three years, and that's what we're going with on Friday as well.

Not playing in the first round game means you finished in the top-half of the MAAC standings. We had our chances, but this is how it shook out. This is a good league, and no one just zooms past the rest of the schools to the top spot overnight. It takes some time, and it takes plenty of hard work and effort. I feel like we're on the right track to stay out of that first round game. Essentially, we were 40 minutes away from being out of it this season. Again, we just need to learn to push through.

MR: At the tournament, this program hasn't been to the MAAC semifinal round since 2002, and there hasn't been an appearance in the MAAC Championship game since 2001. Is this something you've talked to your team about, or is this something that will be addressed at the right time?

TP: It is something that has been addressed, and we feel we're ready to make that step. From day one, we've done everything conceivable to drill the idea of playing on Monday night into our guys. Playing on Monday night isn't the only goal, winning on Monday night is what we work for. We know there are no nights off this weekend, because a bad night might turn out to be your last night. With that said, I like our draw and I think we have what it takes to make a run at winning the whole thing. As long as we're alive, I feel we're as dangerous as anyone in this conference.

MR: You are about to close out your fourth year as this program's head coach. I've been with you on a number of occasions when you've told members of the media here in Buffalo and around the league that years four and five will show positive signs. How do evaluate the program's growth to this point?

TP: I've talked about this for some time, there's no magic potion to this. I think at times, in this society of instant gratification, people want results right away. I can honestly say that I feel a lot better about where we are now against two seasons ago. We've made a ton of improvements here. Things are happening in a positive fashion. When I got here, I knew making these changes was going to take time. I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but looking at this year's team, I think you can see it first hand.