Arkansas Razorbacks players Davonte Davis (10 rebounds, 8 assists) and Khalif Battle (25 points) on 97-83 win over Furman on Monday night at Bud Walton Arena.
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00:00 >> Hey, KB, you got 25 season high and then you went over 1,000.
00:06 Just what you think of your night?
00:07 And you had a really big second half.
00:09 Could you talk about the second half you had?
00:13 >> I think I had a big second half scoring, but I mean,
00:16 anybody on the team can do what I just did.
00:18 I think I got to do the little things cuz we didn't win by a big enough margin.
00:21 So I mean, a thousand points is cool, but we got to do better.
00:25 Like me individually, but us as a team as well.
00:28 >> Yeah.
00:31 >> What was that like?
00:34 Not coming off the bench in a half?
00:35 >> It doesn't matter to me if I start or come off the bench.
00:39 We have more than just like five starters on the team.
00:41 It could be anybody's night.
00:44 And when coach is calling, you just gotta be ready.
00:47 My name was called, so I was ready.
00:48 >> Scored, rebounded, got assists.
00:53 What do you think about your all around game?
00:54 And then what are your thoughts about KB, what he's added to the team?
00:57 And I know you went over 1,000 points earlier, I think.
01:00 What do you think about him getting over 1,000 points?
01:03 >> Yeah, like KB said, we wanna try to put ourself in a position
01:09 to win the game by a bigger margin, just for our sake.
01:13 But I'm glad he got to career 1000 points.
01:17 We know KB can do whatever we need on the court,
01:23 playing defense or in the bucket.
01:27 We just wanna make sure we as a team, try to make sure we win these games and
01:32 win them in the right way.
01:33 And I think if we do that, everybody gonna be, we all know that for sure.
01:36 >> Can't look, Bob mentioned it.
01:39 I mean, Devo flirted with the triple double tonight.
01:42 Just what's it been like for you playing with him to this point in the year?
01:45 >> Devo's like a superhero, you know what I'm saying?
01:49 Cuz he never gets tired.
01:51 He does all the little things.
01:52 I mean, he's a team leader.
01:55 And the story about Devo is that I wasn't really sure if he was gonna come back
01:59 this year and I wanted him to come back cuz I knew all the little things he did.
02:04 And he contributed to all these elite eights and C-16s.
02:07 So hearing about him come back, I thought it made the team that much better.
02:10 And I think it shows it every single game.
02:12 You see how much he does and how much he sacrifices.
02:15 And you guys just see the half of it.
02:17 You guys don't really see all the little things he does.
02:19 So I couldn't have asked for a better teammate and a better team leader.
02:23 >> 21 assists tonight as a team, 17 in the last game.
02:30 You guys finally moving the ball and seeing that energy lead to scores.
02:34 What is it like out there with so many offensive weapons and
02:36 then have the ball help you already talented scores?
02:39 >> Yeah, I mean, like you said, 17 last game and we wanted to keep increasing it.
02:44 And so I think we did pretty good.
02:47 We moved the ball, guys made shots.
02:50 We got easy layup, especially at the end of the game.
02:53 And we kinda increased the lead a little bit and that's what we wanted.
02:56 >> I think offense was good.
03:00 I don't think offense was the problem.
03:01 Defensively, we just gotta pick it up.
03:03 Defensive and rebounding.
03:05 But we'll look over and film and we'll improve on it for sure.
03:10 >> Creativity, Califf, in the last couple of games has led to some assists.
03:14 Showing that part of your game,
03:15 what has that been like kinda playing both ways for a facilitator?
03:19 >> Well, I'm naturally a combo guard.
03:21 In high school, I played point guard.
03:22 I didn't really get off the ball until I had until college.
03:26 Even my freshman year, I was the backup point guard.
03:28 So naturally, I could pass the ball.
03:32 But a lot of coaches that have recruited me to the program really want me
03:37 to emphasize scoring and defending and doing other things like rebounding.
03:40 So whatever the role is, I think I could do anything on the court just like
03:44 the rest of these guys.
03:46 We're no one trick ponies.
03:47 It could be anybody's night.
03:49 And when that guy's scoring and the other four guys or the other three guys or
03:52 two guys or one guy, I gotta pick up on the little things.
03:55 >> Chandler Lawson has made such a big impact for
03:59 you guys defensively on the glass throughout the season.
04:01 Tonight it was scoring, he had 19 points.
04:04 What'd you make of his game and just his impact overall on the team?
04:07 >> Yeah, Chandler is a great teammate.
04:09 I wish y'all could see him off the court.
04:10 He's wonderful.
04:11 And I didn't know he could block shots the way he'd been blocking shots the last
04:16 few games as well.
04:16 I mean, it's been amazing to me.
04:18 I mean, we had a few shot blockers last year as well.
04:21 And so just seeing like him, TB, Makai, and then you got Layden coming out the blue,
04:25 blocking shots every once in a while.
04:27 And so it's fun seeing those type of things.
04:30 I like seeing that.
04:31 But yeah, he can do a little bit of everything.
04:33 19 points, I didn't even know that.
04:36 I have to tell him about it tomorrow when I get back in there.
04:38 But no, Chandler's a great teammate.
04:41 We love him and I know he's gonna continue to, or
04:44 we all know he's gonna continue to help us build and
04:47 see what we have as we continue to grow.
04:49 >> Both of you all talked about winning the right way and
04:53 winning by the margin that you all wanna win by.
04:56 Is there something that you can put your finger on the last two games,
05:00 even though you all have won, that has prevented you all from doing that?
05:04 >> I mean, we just wanna continue to play the entire game.
05:10 We wanna continue to play 40 minutes in a row.
05:13 And we think we could pull these games out by a large margin.
05:17 We should, and I feel like as the better team, we are able to come out there.
05:22 And if we are able to contribute and go by our blueprint,
05:25 we should be able to win by a large margin.
05:28 But no specific name, we just wanna continue to build our chemistry and
05:32 show everyone that we are able.
05:34 >> And I'll say this, when we say this, people don't really know how much
05:40 amount of work we put in, I mean, we owe it to ourselves.
05:43 We owe it to our coaches, we owe it to the fans to not have these nail biting games.
05:49 We should be able to put on a show for a crowd, win by a large margin, finish the
05:54 game and get on to the next one.
05:56 And we're gonna continue to grow on it, but that's what we're trying to do.
05:59 >> KB, really in the second half right away, you attacked the basket,
06:05 two layups and two quick free throws.
06:07 I mean, was that kind of a mindset coming out of the locker room,
06:10 you wanted to be more aggressive?
06:12 Or is that just something you saw on the defense,
06:14 get into the hoop there to start the second?
06:15 >> Yeah, kinda, I mean, one of the game plans was to attack the room.
06:22 I thought I liked my matchup that I had, and as a team, we try to expose matchups.
06:29 So I attacked early, and credit to these guys that kept giving me the ball,
06:34 kept feeding me.
06:35 I was out doing them if they had a mismatch or whatever the case may be.
06:40 So credit to them for getting me assists, I can't take the credit for that.
06:43 That's all I've done for putting me in position to score.
06:45 >> Two straight games with a little shimmy dance from yourself at some point,
06:51 is that the KB signature move?
06:54 >> Yeah, I should trademark that, but no, I just-
06:58 >> [INAUDIBLE]
06:59 >> Yeah, I'm a little making it sure,
07:01 but it was a little razzle dazzle play.
07:04 And then whenever I see Ronnie, Ronnie, he makes fun of, cuz I'm from Jersey.
07:08 So we have Jersey Club dancing, so he'd be telling me to dance on him.
07:12 So now, every single time I make a nice move or whatever, I look at Ronnie,
07:16 I just do my little shimmy shake.
07:17 >> And Diva, just the all around performance tonight, I mean,
07:22 is that something you more enjoy, kinda that kind of impact on a game than maybe
07:27 going off for 30?
07:28 I mean, what's it like in your own mind,
07:30 kinda when you're getting to impact the game in that many ways?
07:33 >> Yeah, it makes it more fun, like rebound and just throwing it off the court or
07:38 rebound is taking off with it, or even just making an extra pass, you know what I mean?
07:43 And I see a three ball go up and then you see KB dancing, you know what I'm saying?
07:47 So why not enjoy that type of basketball?
07:49 I know they love it, you know what I mean?
07:52 I think if we all continue to do that, nobody can stop us.
07:56 >> Well, Furman stayed in it for a long time, had a lot of threes.
08:01 What'd you make of their three point, especially, I guess, 24, Williams,
08:05 maybe Devo and KB, you could take that.
08:07 >> Yeah, they can shoot.
08:08 They made shots, and our game plan was to run them off the three point line,
08:14 but they made tough shots.
08:16 Some of them was easy, we should have ran them off the line, but
08:19 credit's to them, they got good shooters.
08:20 But luckily we came out the win, and they are a good team, you know what I mean?
08:26 Last year, you seen what they did in March Madness, and so I mean,
08:29 we knew we had our hands full, but I'm glad we came out to win.
08:32 >> Yeah, I mean, they shot the ball well, but I think as a team, as a unit,
08:39 we just gotta stop letting guys think they can play with us early.
08:44 I think we gotta start punching first.
08:46 And when we start doing that, we're gonna run by bigger margins, and
08:49 that falls on everybody.
08:51 We're all accountable, but we're all gonna grow from it and get better, and
08:54 I'm happy it's happening early.
08:56 So that way by SEC time or the later games in the season in March Madness,
09:00 that we can clean up some of those things.
09:03 We will, we're gonna go on it, that's the team, so.
09:06 >> C'mon, he was in a wheelchair going back to the Bahamas maybe what,
09:09 ten days ago or something.
09:10 But what do you guys think about the fact he was able to come back and play?
09:13 And Mus has said that he's been shown, even when he couldn't practice,
09:17 he still came in his full practice gear.
09:18 Just what do you thought about how he's fought back from that injury and
09:21 just got to play tonight?
09:24 >> I mean, Shemar's a very, very, very tough guy, you know what I'm saying?
09:29 We have a lot of tough guys on this team.
09:30 And he loves basketball, he loves to win, he's an ultimate competitor.
09:35 So that sparks us just seeing him, we were all scared for him.
09:41 You know what I'm saying?
09:41 Because that's our brother.
09:43 So seeing him go down like that and then seeing, even when he could barely walk,
09:47 that he was still in practice, suited up.
09:49 He was on the side, getting stretched and doing a lot of rehab to get back.
09:54 That just shows what kind of person he is, shows what kind of teammate he is.
09:57 And it shows how much he wants to win and
09:58 how much he cares about us just to be there and support us.
10:01 >> Just team work fighting through and
10:04 not getting back a lot faster than you guys would.
10:07 >> Yeah, I mean, we were beside him the whole time when he got hurt.
10:11 When we on the way back, knowing we lost, everybody wasn't happy, but
10:16 we was more worried about him.
10:18 And so as long as he's fine, and he's ready to get back on the court,
10:22 we got his back and we're gonna be behind him regardless.
10:24 >> You didn't get a chance to say what you thought about Chandler's game tonight and
10:28 maybe what he's done all year.
10:29 What are your thoughts on Chandler tonight and what he's done all season?
10:33 >> Man, Chandler's been great.
10:35 That's my dog.
10:35 I mean, Chandler's, I can't really put into words how much he means to us, to me.
10:46 I mean, you guys see how great he is on the court, but
10:48 off the court, he's even a better person.
10:51 He's a team first guy.
10:54 His efforts on just getting his hands on basketball has been amazing.
11:00 And deflections and steals and at least us getting fast break points, easy points.
11:04 He's able to stretch the floor, he can shoot threes.
11:07 I mean, I think sky's the limit for Chandler.
11:11 And I'm happy he gets to show his game here cuz we need it.
11:13 And I'm just thankful to call him my teammate.
11:17 >> I have to ask cuz I heard pretty nasty cough from you a couple times.
11:21 Are you feeling all right?
11:22 Did you have your flu game tonight?
11:24 >> [LAUGH] >> We all, so we all.
11:30 >> Yeah, I know, it's crazy, ain't it?
11:33 I know, and I ain't gonna lie, I'm the only one in here right now that's coughing.
11:36 I know, I don't know what it is, but we gotta make sure we're gonna hit the trainer
11:41 and make sure we get what we need, our liquid IVs and stuff.
11:45 Make sure we're ready for Oklahoma.
11:47 >> You mentioned it, we don't get to see Chandler behind the scenes.
11:51 What is he like behind the scenes?
11:53 I know that he's team first guy and super coachable according to coach.
11:57 So what is he like when we don't see him?
12:00 >> He's just a do it all guy.
12:03 I mean, you can call on him for anything.
12:07 He's always going out to eat with us as a team.
12:10 He's always cracking jokes, always being funny.
12:12 Always one of the first guys in the gym.
12:14 Always putting extra time in.
12:16 Whenever we feel down or he's always there to pick you up, I'm around you.
12:22 I mean, like I said, he's our brother.
12:25 We're all brothers.
12:26 He was my brother and we all embrace each other.
12:28 And just coming in, cuz he came in later than all the other transfers.
12:33 So it was like, we just met him and it felt like I've known him forever.
12:37 And I'm sure they can attest to that.
12:39 So he's a great teammate and I love him and I'm happy to call him my teammate.
12:44 >> Here for all Eric's technicals.
12:48 >> Yeah. >> They're probably enough.
12:49 Just wondering what you thought about tonight and the fact that Eric's obviously
12:52 pretty fiery, always seems to have you guys back with the refs.
12:55 Just your thoughts on that?
12:56 >> We was at the free throw line and I think Layden was the only one that wasn't in.
13:00 And I was like, Layden, go tell coach we straight.
13:03 It was like a minute or something that we was like, tell him we good.
13:06 And as soon as I told Layden and he got ticked, I was like, damn.
13:10 And so then I walked over there, it was too late.
13:13 I didn't wanna say nothing to him.
13:14 I stood beside him, didn't even say nothing.
13:16 But he's good for one every once in a while, so it's hard.
13:21 [LAUGH]