UCA Sugar Bears coach Tony Kemper on what his team learned as it grows through 2-2 start to season with 81-67 loss to Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark.
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00:00 Y'all had a good, uh, spurt there, I think from 17, four to 17, 10, and then
00:04 another one, maybe it was 12 zero right before half, what were you doing?
00:07 Well, during that time,
00:08 uh, you know, first of all, you have to weather the storm when you play them.
00:12 I mean, they're, they're going to fire enough shots that you're going to face
00:17 runs, you know, and so we tried to, you know, I told our team that we were going
00:21 to use some timeouts to try to mess with rhythm whenever they got it.
00:25 And so we use some, um, really just try to try to change what they had going on.
00:31 And then, you know, I think just generally that that stuff's hard to
00:35 answer sometimes until you watch film.
00:37 What did you do?
00:37 Well, you make, we made more shots.
00:39 I can tell you that we, uh, but we did move the ball.
00:42 Um, I thought at the end of the second quarter, we moved the ball so much better.
00:48 Our decision-making was really good.
00:49 We took some easy plays.
00:51 And, uh, when you do that, uh, we we've got some good, good little offensive
00:57 players running around out there.
00:58 And so if you move the ball, make easy passes, um, then we can
01:02 get some shots that we like.
01:03 And, you know, I think in the spurts that we played well, that was,
01:06 that's probably what was going on.
01:08 Tony, I know it's your first year at UCA.
01:13 Just what do you like through the four games y'all played?
01:16 What do you like about your team so far?
01:17 You know, I think my favorite thing is probably the, just the general makeup
01:22 and overall talent level of what, what we've gotten there kind of quickly.
01:26 Um, I don't, I don't think we're a finished product.
01:29 And if you look on our roster, there's, there's nobody, I think, I think KP
01:33 Kiera Prim says senior, but she can come back next year.
01:36 So we've got a group that can stay together over the next, um, couple of years.
01:42 And we've grown a lot tonight.
01:44 We grew a lot like this.
01:44 This was a good environment for us to play in.
01:47 Um, you know, I think that when we played well, that is, that's
01:52 what we tried to recruit to.
01:53 If you, if you watched us play in those spurts, that's what I want it to look
01:57 like, we just have to learn how to make it look like that more often.
02:00 Um, and we have 10 new players.
02:03 No, one's ever played for me.
02:04 Like it was going to be a process.
02:06 And so some days, if you ask me, I'm like, we're a little ahead of
02:09 schedule some days we're not, you know, but I think we're in a good place.
02:13 And I thought they fought hard.
02:14 Um, I'm proud of their effort.
02:16 I'm proud, you know, basketball's very up and down and you have to level off.
02:21 And I thought emotionally, we were that tonight in a difficult environment.
02:24 So that's a good step forward.
02:25 Um, and there was times when, um, there's times when we were taking pretty
02:30 heavy punches and there was times when we were delivering some little jabs.
02:34 I'll call them.
02:34 Here's a, you've been coaching, you've seen a lot of good freshmen.
02:39 Just what do you think of Scott for Arkansas?
02:41 Oh, she can fill it up.
02:43 You know, she can fill it up.
02:44 And, um, I don't even know.
02:46 I thought the difference was, you know, any, anytime you play, you have to
02:50 try to scheme to pick your poison and, um, you know, Poffenbarger and
02:55 doubt a shot the heck out of it.
02:56 You know, they made six threes between them.
02:58 Um, it is what it is.
03:01 Um, and, uh, but they're, they're capable of doing that.
03:04 Um, but, but you have to decide like, who's, who are you going to try to try
03:09 to let beat you and then they did, you know, which is that, uh, you run the
03:12 risk of that happening and hats off to them for doing it, but, um, they, I
03:17 thought they were tremendous ball, moved around, stuck with them,
03:20 Poffenbarger bank, you know, and that, I thought that was kind of
03:24 the difference in those, those lulls.
03:26 You know, we didn't want to give up a lot of layups.
03:28 Um, we probably didn't, but we fouled a lot.
03:32 So, you know, somehow we got to figure out no layups without free throws.
03:36 Poffenbarger was just in here talking about, uh, she and doubt are confident
03:42 together, and, uh, if you were going to do a scouting report for the next
03:46 teams, they play with, what would you recommend?
03:48 How do you combat Arkansas?
03:49 Well, I, what I did didn't work.
03:51 So, um, you know, they, and I talked to coach neighbors before the game, just
03:56 about, you know, I admire that they have a system and they coach their players
04:02 confidently, and so, uh, they're, they're going to have some really good nights,
04:06 obviously, and, and they were, they were that tonight.
04:09 Um, you, uh, you play math and sometimes the math doesn't come out on your side
04:14 and, uh, but, but they're really quality players so that it doesn't surprise
04:18 me that that, that might've happened.
04:20 Just what do you think about this series?
04:26 I know this is Arkansas's third straight game in state.
04:29 Um, neighbors have said he wants to go down and play y'all there.
04:32 Just what do you think about keeping that in state series going?
04:35 Yeah, I think it's, I think it's obviously fun.
04:38 You know, um, I think it's a great, this was a great environment to play in.
04:42 Um, you know, my, I don't have the history of the fair center, but when we get them
04:46 in there, there'll be a lot of people there.
04:48 It'll be a nice crowd for, for, uh, central Arkansas women's basketball.
04:52 So I think that part's fun.
04:53 Um, these, these games are, are good learning experiences for your team.
04:58 Um, they, they help you get better.
05:00 I do think it helped in that respect.
05:03 And so it's, uh, you know, and we, we actually don't have as many Arkansas
05:08 kids right now, as I think we'll end up having someday down the road.
05:11 Um, you know, we didn't have a lot of time.
05:14 We invested as much as we could in Arkansas kids, but it's fun for
05:17 Kenley Fisher to come in here and make some threes.
05:19 It's, it's fun for Cheyenne camp as a freshman to play up here.
05:22 And so, um, You know, it's, it's good series.
05:25 Appreciate the, the fact that it's played and, uh, I appreciate coach
05:30 neighbors willingness to go out to, and, uh, and possibly play down in our place.