• last year
Arkansas Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman and guard Davonte Davis on problems in loss to Memphis at The Battle for Atlantis on Thursday afternoon.
Transcript
00:00 We closed the end of the first half,
00:02 turn the ball over to ended up in a three.
00:06 And obviously the 18 turnovers is,
00:08 you're not gonna win many basketball games,
00:10 turning the ball over that much.
00:12 - Coach, what were the challenges with David Jones
00:15 and what's the level of concern with guards getting loose
00:18 the last couple of nights?
00:20 - Well, he's a great player,
00:21 creates mismatch problems
00:23 'cause he can play so many different positions.
00:25 I'm sure it was a career night for him.
00:29 So, we've been pretty good guarding certain people.
00:32 Tonight we were really poor guarding him.
00:35 Again, give him a ton of credit.
00:37 I mean, his efficiency was through the roof.
00:39 From three to field, free throws across the board.
00:44 I can't remember a player that scored 36 points against us.
00:49 - Coach, just curious your thoughts
00:52 on how the team responded
00:53 after the double overtime game yesterday.
00:56 Did you think fatigue played a factor down the stretch
00:58 and what'd you think about their ability
00:59 to kind of chip away at the end?
01:01 - I mean, I would say Curtis,
01:03 that if it was both teams played last night
01:07 and it's 42-42 in the second half,
01:10 we gave up five points off technicals.
01:13 That cost, I mean, five points,
01:15 it's a five point game.
01:18 And we gave that up on technicals.
01:21 And like I said,
01:22 that was a disastrous end of the first half.
01:26 And so you take the technicals
01:28 in the end of the first half,
01:29 and I think that's the ball game.
01:32 - And then how important is it to turn the page here
01:34 on a short turnaround?
01:35 I know it's a third place game
01:36 and there's disappointment in the loss,
01:38 but you get to play a team like North Carolina,
01:40 potential NCAA tournament matchup again.
01:42 - Yeah, we got a lot of stuff
01:45 we got to get better at, a lot.
01:54 - Coach, first time that Arkansas and Memphis
01:59 have played in almost 21 years,
02:02 does this sort of, I mean,
02:06 there's been some clamoring,
02:07 at least on the Memphis side for renewing this rivalry.
02:11 Does this sort of environment, this night,
02:14 this competitiveness?
02:16 - I mean, that's a tournament.
02:17 - Yeah.
02:18 (laughing)
02:19 - I don't know if anyone was at the Vila Nova UNC game.
02:22 That was incredible.
02:24 Environment here has been incredible for all the games.
02:27 I thought last night's game was a great atmosphere
02:30 that we played in.
02:31 - Do you see this, I mean, is-
02:35 - I don't do the schedule.
02:37 - Okay.
02:38 - Coach, were there any commonalities or trends
02:43 that you saw with the 18 turnovers tonight?
02:45 Anything just stand out above?
02:48 - I think there's, I mean,
02:49 Memphis is really aggressive defensively.
02:52 They gamble, they jump in passing lanes, they switch.
02:55 And I thought they did a great job and we didn't handle it.
02:58 And so you have to give credit to their defense.
03:01 Their defense was much better than our defense.
03:05 And their offense was much better than our offense.
03:08 And yet we're looking at a five point game,
03:11 as I've mentioned, five technicals.
03:13 - Devo-
03:19 - You guys good with me?
03:21 - Yeah.
03:22 - Was the foul trouble late?
03:27 Is that kind of, somebody asked this,
03:28 but just kind of a product of your team
03:31 withering away energy-wise after double overtime last night
03:34 and after whatever, 15, 20 minutes of game time passing.
03:37 - Yeah, I mean, I don't think that the way
03:40 that the schedule has laid out for us,
03:43 just call it luck.
03:45 We were the last ones into Nassau
03:48 'cause of a five hour delay.
03:51 We had the last practice time on day one
03:56 that we all practiced here, which would have been Tuesday.
03:59 We had the last practice time the day of the game,
04:02 which we couldn't even use
04:04 'cause it was too close in our eyes to.
04:06 And then we had the shortest turnaround
04:10 coming off a double overtime game.
04:12 So to say that you would have a double overtime game
04:15 and play at 7.30, our game,
04:17 we didn't even get back to our hotel
04:20 or into our rooms until about 12.45 and we played at five.
04:24 So I think it would naturally,
04:27 I'm sure it affected my wife who was a spectator here,
04:30 but there's no excuses when you come to
04:33 this type of tournament,
04:35 you roll with what the schedule says.
04:37 So there's no excuses.
04:38 Memphis beat us.
04:39 So I want to be perfectly clear,
04:40 all the credit to Memphis.
04:42 They outplayed us, they beat us,
04:44 we turned the basketball over.
04:47 Having said that, I think if fatigue was a major issue,
04:50 we would have seen a little bit different score
04:52 in the second half.
04:54 And I think if there was five more minutes in the game,
04:57 our team would have continued to play and compete.
05:00 So I didn't think that that was a real issue.
05:02 I thought the technicals hurt us bad.
05:05 And again, end of the first half,
05:09 and I mean, nobody could guard a player on the other team.
05:14 Nobody, I mean, he did whatever he wanted,
05:16 which is what great players do.
05:18 Doesn't matter what defensive scheme you got
05:20 and you have a hell of a game, and that's what he did.
05:22 I don't expect anybody to have 36 against us.
05:29 We usually do a really good job
05:31 on primary guys that we focus on.
05:35 Obviously the way that Jones has played all year,
05:38 he's a much improved three-point shooter.
05:41 Credit to Penny, credit to their coaching staff,
05:44 'cause he has improved in that area.
05:47 Credit to the young man too,
05:48 I'm sure he's worked tremendous amount of time.
05:51 And he's a tough kid.
05:53 I mean, he's a great offensive rebounder.
05:55 He's a great defender.
05:57 He made a name for himself tonight, quite frankly.
06:00 I mean, he really did.
06:01 I mean, there's a lot of scouts here and stuff,
06:04 they're gonna remember that performance
06:05 because he played that good
06:08 and he was that dominant on unbelievable efficiency.
06:12 I didn't think he took one bad shot
06:14 and he scored 35 points, 36.
06:17 That's hard to do, score 36
06:18 and have unbelievable, impeccable shot selection.
06:22 He had better shot selection
06:23 than almost every guy on my team.
06:25 Some guys, you know, I mean, he did, he kicked our butt.
06:29 - Diva, what were the challenges?
06:43 I know coach just spoke at length
06:45 about the challenges with David Jones,
06:47 but what was your kind of opinion
06:51 on what made him a tough cover tonight?
06:54 - Found that he got to his spots
06:58 and he was just making his shots.
07:00 So we was trying different coverages,
07:05 not with just him, but other guys,
07:08 'cause we was switching different matchups and stuff.
07:11 He just had a good game.
07:14 - Is there any concern with you
07:15 that guards the last couple of nights
07:17 have gotten loose on you guys?
07:20 Like the score nights?
07:22 - Not really.
07:23 I mean, we feel that we pretty good at defense.
07:28 I mean, we work on it all the time during practice,
07:32 different skin use, different coverages.
07:34 And we for sure scout our teams
07:37 that we play against pretty well.
07:39 So there's no excuse.
07:41 He just had a good game tonight.
07:44 - Diva, you guys were in a similar position this time
07:48 last year when you were in Maui,
07:49 you lost the second game to Creighton
07:51 and you bounced back and beat San Diego State in overtime.
07:55 I guess, what is it going to take for you guys
07:56 to kind of relive that experience
07:59 and have a similar showing this time?
08:01 - Just focus on North Carolina.
08:03 We know who we play now.
08:04 Start scouting them tonight.
08:08 We got a turnaround, fast turnaround tomorrow.
08:11 So, scout them and we're going to try to do as best as we can
08:16 to contain what they have on their end.
08:19 We're going to come tomorrow, try to play and win.
08:22 - Diva, I think you needed 14 points to get to 1,000
08:27 for your career, got to 15.
08:28 Just thoughts on that, kind of what it means to you?
08:32 - Feels good, but I mean, we lost.
08:34 So, next game for me.
08:38 But, thanks to God, he was able for me
08:43 to be able to accomplish that, but got to win games.
08:46 - Last thing I've got, 18 turnovers
08:49 led to 27 points for Memphis.
08:51 Anything you can put your finger on
08:52 with the miscues there and led to their runouts?
08:56 - Yeah, a few of them.
08:57 We just got to be a little bit more tougher.
09:01 Guys slapping it, reaching on the opposite team.
09:05 And if we're not getting calls,
09:07 like I said, we got to be tougher.
09:08 And some of the calls wasn't going our way.
09:11 And so, therefore, we got to look at it,
09:14 at that and say, we just got to be tougher on our end.