Arkansas Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman's complete press conference Wednesday afternoon previewing Saturday's game with undefeated Oklahoma Sooners in the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.
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00:00 Coach, when we talked to you the other night,
00:01 you said you hoped you might hear more on TB
00:03 within 24 hours or so.
00:05 I guess what's the latest on the ankle
00:07 and how he's moving around?
00:08 - Yep, severe sprain,
00:11 will not participate in anything that we do today.
00:15 Possibility of him going on an underwater treadmill
00:18 to walk tomorrow.
00:20 So not a glowing report.
00:25 It wasn't something that he just woke up the next day
00:29 and felt fine.
00:30 Still got some more days before we play,
00:34 but unable to shoot around or anything today.
00:39 - I had a two-part question for you,
00:44 if that's okay on the net rankings.
00:46 I know they change every day and everything like that,
00:48 but what was your initial reaction
00:49 when we saw where you guys debuted in that?
00:52 And then is that something
00:53 where you might assign a staff member to and say,
00:56 "Hey, figure out how this formula works
00:59 that way we have an idea with all the fluctuations."
01:01 - Yeah, I mean, you guys don't want my reaction
01:05 and it's way too early.
01:08 So to me, it's irrelevant.
01:10 You know, we have a whole SEC schedule.
01:13 It's gonna determine a lot for a lot of us,
01:16 just as all of anybody that we've played.
01:19 I mean, once you get into conference play,
01:22 you know, so yeah, I mean, it is what it is.
01:28 You know, we have a game Saturday.
01:32 That's really all we should focus on.
01:33 I mean, people start talking about March Madness
01:35 and it's, well, I don't know what it is,
01:38 December 5th or 6th or something like that.
01:41 People, I mean, there's a lot of stuff
01:44 that's gonna happen.
01:44 So it's, you know, gives you guys something to talk about
01:48 and give something for me to be in a bad mood about.
01:52 - Scotty.
01:56 - Eric, this may sound like a silly question,
01:59 but going back to his final games at Temple,
02:02 Califf has scored 20 plus points in a game
02:05 more often than he hasn't.
02:07 What have you observed in your time with him
02:10 that makes him a gifted offensive player?
02:13 - A couple of things.
02:16 One, can get a shot off real quick,
02:19 can elevate over people.
02:21 And if you crowd him, he's gonna take the ball
02:23 to the basket and draw free throws attempted.
02:25 So when you have a guy that can shoot, dribble,
02:28 and draw FTAs, really, Scotty,
02:32 I mean, it makes him really hard to guard
02:34 and he has deep range.
02:35 So I think all those things, you know,
02:38 factor into his ability to have an impact
02:41 on the game offensively.
02:42 - And then secondly, how do you view maybe the matchup
02:47 in the front court between you guys and OU?
02:50 - Yeah, I think when you look at Oklahoma,
02:53 you know, your question, Scotty, is about up front.
02:55 Obviously, number 10, Godwin is a guy that plays really hard,
02:59 really good around the rim, loves to set screens.
03:02 He's a dynamic rim roller.
03:04 They're point guard.
03:06 Number 12 loves to throw jump lob passes to him.
03:09 The other center, Hugglies, you know, can make threes.
03:17 He made four threes against USC.
03:19 He's a good post player with his back to basket
03:22 'cause he's got good weight, good size.
03:25 You know, and then obviously up front,
03:27 you know, Moore is a really, really active player
03:32 that's, you know, is the front of their little diamond press.
03:37 He can guard one through four, you know,
03:41 and then they come in with Soares.
03:44 He's another athletic guy.
03:46 So I think when you talk about their up front guys,
03:48 those are the four guys that, you know,
03:51 that you're talking about
03:53 and two of them super, super athletic.
03:55 The two guys at the four spot for Coach Moser,
03:59 and then obviously the two big guys, you know,
04:02 they have two different games.
04:04 I mean, Godwin's really good at going vertical.
04:06 And then, you know, the other center's a guy
04:11 that can make threes and can also post up
04:13 with his back to the basket.
04:14 - Jackson.
04:20 - Eric, you know, late in blocker,
04:23 you've obviously trust him to play,
04:26 but in, you know, when you talk to us,
04:28 you mentioned there are still some things
04:29 he has to work on.
04:30 What's he like as a student of the game
04:32 when you're kind of going over with him
04:34 what he needs to work on?
04:35 Is he a gym rat, a film junkie?
04:37 Just what's he like as he learns, you know,
04:39 what you want from him?
04:40 - Yeah, I mean, you know, I think that,
04:43 well, first of all, I mean,
04:44 he's got a full class schedule with not much online.
04:47 I mean, so that's a, you know,
04:48 I think when some of these questions are asked
04:50 or just for the general public,
04:52 it's a little bit different, you know,
04:54 with maybe a grad transfer that might have
04:55 more classes online.
04:58 But when a, you know, a freshman, I mean,
05:01 they got, you know, full class load
05:03 and most of them are in person.
05:05 So their timeline is a little bit different
05:08 than some other guys that are upperclassmen
05:11 with more online classes.
05:12 So he is a student of the game.
05:16 He does like film.
05:17 He does ask the coaches question.
05:18 He does know his scouting report.
05:20 So, you know, so all those things, I think, you know,
05:24 we're really happy with where, you know, Leighton is.
05:27 - How pleased are you with kind of the early uptick
05:31 in three-point shooting from last year?
05:33 It's a decent improvement, but do you think, you know,
05:36 there's even a higher ceiling for you guys there?
05:39 - Yeah, I mean, I think certainly we're going to,
05:41 I would hope that we're going to even shoot better
05:44 than we have.
05:46 You know, Davenport's a guy that we see it every day
05:48 in practice.
05:49 I mean, you know, he should have a higher percentage
05:52 than he does.
05:53 I mean, Devo Davis last year in SEC play was, you know,
05:57 incredible from three-point range.
05:59 And I think he'll shoot a higher percentage
06:04 just like he did last year as the season progresses.
06:07 And then the other guys have done a good, you know,
06:09 T-Mark is such an underrated three-point shooter.
06:12 I mean, you know, people want to back off and thank you,
06:16 you know, and then if you're proud of him,
06:19 he's got a quick first step as well.
06:21 And obviously we've discussed battle.
06:25 And then El Ellis is going to, I mean,
06:27 I think we have three guys on our roster that's career-wise
06:30 are much better three-point shooters than what they've shot
06:34 in a small sample size thus far,
06:36 those being Devo Davis, El Ellis, and Davenport.
06:39 I think all those guys.
06:41 But Brazil, as good a pick and pop players
06:44 as there is in the country right now,
06:46 as far as somebody at his size,
06:48 battle shooting at a high level.
06:50 And we certainly like the fact that, you know,
06:53 we're also one of the best free throw attempt teams,
06:56 you know, in the country as well.
06:58 So if you can mix up three-point shooting
07:01 with dribble drive attacks to the rim,
07:04 I think that, you know, that's a positive for us.
07:07 And certainly we have to get a lot,
07:08 lot better defensively.
07:11 - Hutch.
07:12 - Yeah, Coach, you mentioned after the game,
07:15 T-Mark only missing the one game and how impressive that is.
07:18 I'm just curious, how important was it for him to play
07:20 in that game to maybe knock off a little bit of rust
07:22 before playing Oklahoma this weekend?
07:24 - Well, I think, Hutch, that was the, you know,
07:28 that was the decision that we had to make was, you know,
07:31 do we only use him if needed,
07:34 or do we let him get back in the flow with his teammates
07:39 and not have too long of a layoff?
07:41 And obviously we went with the decision to play him.
07:45 And, you know, I think it's a huge positive for him
07:50 and for the team, you know,
07:53 'cause we won a big game against Duke without him.
07:57 And if we would have gone into this Oklahoma game
07:59 without him playing in the last two games,
08:02 I think it, you know, it's a rhythm, it's a flow game.
08:06 And I think it certainly gets effective now that he's back.
08:09 You know, I mean, we all understand the roles
08:12 and everything a lot clearer with him back in the lineup.
08:16 - And I know Coach Ruta handles the scheduling stuff
08:19 for y'all, but this game, I guess,
08:21 with Oklahoma coming into the SEC,
08:23 the game in Tulsa is going to go away,
08:24 but would you like to maybe see a different opponent there?
08:27 Like, do you like a neutral site, you know,
08:29 series like this that you have with Oklahoma?
08:31 Could you see it being replaced
08:32 with another team moving forward?
08:35 - Yeah, I don't know what team that would be.
08:38 You know, a lot of people say they like to play it,
08:40 but then, you know, when you try to present dates,
08:43 you know, it does, all of a sudden,
08:46 it doesn't really work out.
08:47 So, you know, who that would be, I mean,
08:50 I think that this series was started
08:52 because of a relationship between Lon Kruger and myself,
08:56 because I had worked for Coach Kruger.
08:59 Once Coach Kruger left, you know,
09:03 have incredible respect for Porter Mosher,
09:06 but we weren't really sure that it would continue.
09:08 And then I think really,
09:09 administration took over at that point.
09:12 And this game is probably being played now,
09:15 you know, that Coach Kruger and I,
09:18 the agreement that we had, you know,
09:20 obviously that leaves,
09:22 but I do think administration liked this game,
09:25 and that's why it's being played.
09:27 So I don't know, maybe administration will like
09:29 another game that I don't know about in the series,
09:31 which is totally cool,
09:35 or we just have to go out,
09:36 and we've been a little bit more aggressive.
09:39 You know, obviously we're playing San Diego
09:42 next year for two games.
09:44 We've reached out to some schools in the surrounding area
09:48 that are big name schools to try to play there
09:52 at their place, as we would lead into San Diego,
09:56 playing somebody,
09:57 and then get them to return the following year.
10:00 So that might be a replacement, you know,
10:05 for this game, at least next year,
10:07 if we could get somebody on the West Coast
10:09 to do a home and home with us,
10:11 because we have to travel out there anyways,
10:15 it would make some sense.
10:16 It would be good for any of our fans
10:20 that are going to travel for the two game in San Diego.
10:23 Maybe they can catch a game in LA,
10:25 or if we do another game in San Diego
10:27 or something like that, however that may work.
10:30 - Daniel?
10:34 - Coach, this question's a little bit different,
10:36 but just for some of the players
10:38 that aren't in the rotation right now,
10:40 just what are they like in practice,
10:41 like Cade and, you know, Denadre,
10:43 and just what's their role
10:46 in kind of preparing for these games
10:47 as the season goes along?
10:49 - Yeah, well, I mean, each of them have a different role,
10:51 to be honest.
10:52 I mean, you know, Cade is on the scout team,
10:56 Daniel, and, you know,
10:59 obviously, Minifield's on the scout team
11:04 because he's not playing.
11:05 You know, Lawson's on the scout team
11:09 'cause he's not playing.
11:10 And then guys like Dee Harris and JP and Bay,
11:15 those guys are getting reps in like everybody else.
11:18 And you hope that anybody
11:21 that isn't playing significant minutes
11:24 is going to have great pre-practice and post-practice.
11:28 We got a bunch of people down there right now
11:32 waiting on whoever might come out
11:34 and want to work on their game.
11:36 There's plenty of people here
11:38 ready and willing to work with guys individually.
11:41 And, you know, they have to come to the gym early
11:44 and continue to get reps up.
11:46 - Bob?
11:50 - Hey, Eric, this is actually a question
11:52 Nate wanted me to ask you.
11:54 And I was kind of thinking along these lines too.
11:56 Is there any significance to this game Saturday
11:59 because OU's, you know, joining the SEC next year?
12:03 - Not really.
12:04 I mean, not really.
12:06 I mean, no.
12:08 I mean, whether we were playing, you know, Texas
12:13 or, I mean, look, they're a really well coached team.
12:17 You know, it's great they're coming in the league.
12:21 Proximity, all those things make a lot of sense.
12:24 But I don't, like I'm not looking at Saturday's game
12:28 not for one second and saying,
12:30 "Oh, wow, they're coming in the SEC next year.
12:32 How are we going to play this game?"
12:34 I mean, I don't really care
12:36 that they're coming in at all.
12:38 - I'm sorry.
12:45 Was there something else you wanted to say on that?
12:47 - That's good.
12:48 You need to just shut me off.
12:50 - Oh, okay.
12:51 Well, I don't want to do that.
12:52 And then this is a coaches vote, not the media,
12:54 but the coaches picked in the Big 12
12:56 picked OU to finish 12th.
12:58 Of course, they picked BYU 13th.
13:00 And I think they're combined like 16 or so,
13:02 but, you know, OU hadn't gone to the NCAA tournament
13:06 a couple of years, obviously pressure's on.
13:08 They brought in a lot of transfers.
13:09 Kind of what do you see from their team?
13:11 And they seem like they're one of the surprise teams
13:13 in the country.
13:14 - Yeah, I mean, I would say that all preseason polls
13:18 are so meaningless in football, basketball,
13:23 'cause you just don't know about chemistry.
13:26 You don't know how pieces are going to fit together.
13:29 Everyone's rosters are fluctuating.
13:32 I love what coach Moser has done.
13:35 I mean, I think he's done a incredible job.
13:38 They have some returners that are key pieces,
13:41 you know, like their point guard 12 and 10,
13:46 and, you know, three is much improved
13:50 at the small forward spots.
13:52 So those three primary returners,
13:55 and then they add really, really good pieces
13:58 like number two, McCollum at the off guard or point guard.
14:03 He's kind of a combo guard, is a dynamic score
14:06 who can really shoot the ball off the bounce.
14:08 You know, Moore is a guy that's played at Georgia Tech
14:13 for three years.
14:14 He's an energy guy, plays really hard,
14:17 loves to dribble, drive middle,
14:19 crashes the offensive glass.
14:21 So they, and they have good physical strength
14:25 and good physical athleticism
14:27 at the small forward, power forward position.
14:30 Really solid three backups, you know,
14:35 so I mean, they have a really,
14:36 really solid eight man rotation, you know,
14:41 and, you know, I mean, he's got a great team
14:45 and so does BYU, by the way.
14:48 Both these, you know, both those teams are really good
14:51 and the preseason stuff is, I mean,
14:53 I don't know how anybody can have a true gauge when,
14:57 you know, as coaches, we don't even really know our team.
15:00 You know, I don't think until the end of December,
15:04 I don't, I think teams are still trying
15:06 to figure things out.
15:07 I know that Coach Daly always used to say in the NBA,
15:10 you figure out your team about game 50.
15:13 So I don't know how anybody could figure them out,
15:15 you know, before we've even played a game
15:17 or anybody's even watched a team scrimmage.
15:20 That's kind of a, I mean, what a wild, you know,
15:24 I don't know what word to use,
15:25 but I knew they were going to be good.
15:29 I thought their transfers they got were really good players
15:33 and I thought their returners were really good players
15:36 and I know he's an awesome coach,
15:39 so yeah, that's a recipe to have a good team.
15:42 Obviously an undefeated team and a ranked team,
15:44 it's a game that you got to bring your A game
15:47 to compete with Oklahoma.
15:50 - And then, you know, hopefully TB will be okay,
15:52 but you know, he's your leading block shot guy
15:55 and you know, Chandler's done well,
15:57 Makai, you know, Layden had blocks the other night.
16:01 You guys are averaging quite a few more blocks,
16:03 you've had some big block games.
16:05 Is that just personnel?
16:07 Are you guys focusing on that more?
16:08 Why do you think you're one of the top,
16:10 at least so far, one of the top shot blocking teams
16:12 in the country?
16:13 - Well, one of the things that we talked about,
16:15 I mean, it's not working 'cause we foul a lot,
16:17 which I'm still flabbergasted that we're a low steel team
16:20 and a high foul team.
16:22 So I mean, I don't know how that correlates at all,
16:25 but that's the way it's gone for us.
16:28 But we felt like, all right, we've gotten all these videos,
16:32 we heard about the rule changes, they've come in,
16:35 they've told us what the rule changes are.
16:38 You're not going to be a high take a charge team.
16:40 So if you're not a high take a charge team,
16:42 you better be able to alter shots through blocking shots.
16:45 So yes, I think philosophically based on the fact
16:48 that the referees and the NCAA told us,
16:52 hey, dribble drivers are going to get rewarded
16:56 and maybe the defense, it's going to be a little bit harder
16:59 to take charges.
17:02 I think it affects the way that you do things
17:05 on both sides of the ball.
17:06 So if there are not going to be as many charges called,
17:09 you better block shots and have great verticality.
17:14 - And I guess there's no stat on altered shots,
17:17 but you guys had 15, you've had 10,
17:19 a couple of you had 10 against Duke,
17:21 which I don't know how many times somebody blocks Duke
17:22 10 times, probably not too often,
17:24 but how do you think it's impacted
17:25 the defense altering shots?
17:27 And I think a firm was something like 10 of 26
17:32 on layups the other night.
17:33 - Yeah, but they roped threes, I knew.
17:37 - We can't have everything.
17:40 - We'd be a hell of a defensive team
17:43 if we could guard the three
17:44 and then keep all of our blocks like we are.
17:46 - I guess, okay, I'll try to reword that.
17:50 How do you think you guys have done
17:52 in terms of altering shots and protecting the rim?
17:55 Not just blocking shots, maybe altered shots,
17:58 that doesn't show up in the box score necessarily.
18:00 - Yeah, no, I mean, we've done a great job.
18:02 Not only the obvious guys at altering shots,
18:07 but Davenport's had some good blocks
18:11 and certainly you mentioned Layden,
18:14 but I mean, we do work on it, Bob.
18:16 I mean, rear view mirror contests
18:18 become very, very important for us.
18:20 It is something we drill.
18:22 It is something against Oklahoma
18:24 that we're gonna have to be good at.
18:25 Their guards do a good job of snake dribbling.
18:28 Their guards, for the most part,
18:32 keep their dribble alive more
18:34 than other guards that we've played.
18:36 So, we're gonna have to protect the rim
18:39 like our interior people are
18:41 and then our guards are gonna have to continue
18:44 to pursue the ball in pick and roll situations for sure.
18:49 - I think OU's like plus 9.5 rebounding
18:53 and Furman had 15 offensive boards.
18:56 The other, no, I'm not telling you anything you don't know,
18:58 but what do you think about the rebounding matchup?
19:01 What do you guys gotta do to stay on the boards with OU?
19:05 - Yeah, Oklahoma's a great rebounding team.
19:07 I don't have any of the numbers in front of me
19:09 against teams like Duke.
19:12 I don't have the rebounding numbers with UNC.
19:15 I know we did a good job against Baycott on the glass.
19:19 I thought we did a good job against Purdue
19:21 and Zach Eaddy on the glass.
19:23 When we've had to rebound the ball, we've done a good job.
19:27 That doesn't mean we're gonna do that on Saturday,
19:31 but I think that we did a poor job against Furman
19:36 in two things that were a key part of the scouting report.
19:39 That was guarding the three and dominating the glass.
19:43 We were supposed to dominate the glass,
19:46 not barely win it, and we didn't do that.
19:50 So why that was, I'm not sure,
19:54 but if they don't come to rebound
19:56 or we don't come to rebound against Oklahoma,
19:59 it's not gonna be a close contest
20:01 because they go to the glass,
20:05 both centers go to the glass.
20:08 They have what we call flyers on the wing.
20:10 If you block them out,
20:12 you can pick up some fouls on them too
20:14 'cause they crash so hard.
20:16 So blockouts, double blockouts are gonna be important,
20:21 but they're aggressive going to the offensive glass.
20:24 And if we can get defensive rebounds,
20:25 we do wanna try to play with a decent pace.
20:28 So defensive rebounding becomes really important
20:31 for your transition game as well.
20:33 And if somebody's as aggressive as Oklahoma
20:37 going to the glass,
20:38 you got a defensive rebound one through five.
20:42 - Yeah, I watched that game last night on ESPNU
20:46 and Providence took a lead in the second half
20:50 and then OU just blew their doors off,
20:52 ended up winning by 21.
20:54 I'm sure you watched that or seen tape.
20:57 Just what was your thought
20:57 on how they really put it on Providence?
21:01 - Yeah, I thought that a big key to that game
21:04 was shot selection.
21:05 If you settle for long threes,
21:11 that's gonna ignite a transition game.
21:13 And they have two guys that are point guards,
21:17 in my opinion, that play a lot of the game together
21:20 and they get out in transition
21:22 and then you let their wings get out and run.
21:24 And Providence has had a great year thus far at seven and one
21:28 and had beaten teams like Wisconsin.
21:32 And that shows you how good Oklahoma is.
21:35 Like they're for real.
21:36 This is not just a first third of the season
21:40 or first fourth of the season.
21:42 This is a really good team.
21:44 It's gonna be good all year.
21:45 So yeah, we got to play really well
21:51 because Providence was,
21:54 they were up one or down one with 14 minutes to go.
21:58 I mean, so it was through 25 minutes to play.
22:02 It was a one possession game.
22:04 And then that last really 12 minutes of the game,
22:08 Oklahoma did a great job opening up the game.
22:13 - All right, coach.
22:14 Thanks for your time.
22:14 I appreciate it.
22:15 - I've got one more question.
22:17 Just so you guys think I'm a nice guy since Mike stopped it.
22:20 One more question.
22:21 - I was gonna say, I've won a lot of polls
22:26 and my feelings are kind of hurt.
22:28 - I wasn't talking about you.
22:29 You didn't vote the big 12.
22:30 - I know, I just kid.