Arkansas Razorbacks forward Jalen Graham with the media Wednesday ahead of game with Lipscomb and how his recovering from back spasms is still changing a lot.
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00:00 - Yeah, Jalen, I'm curious what this week of practice
00:02 has looked like and has urgency kind of been preached
00:07 and do you feel like you guys have kind of brought
00:09 what they're looking for?
00:10 - Yeah, I think we have.
00:13 We've just been practicing really hard,
00:16 focusing on ourselves, trying to get ourselves motivated,
00:19 play more together.
00:21 And I think coach is just trying to drill us
00:25 to come together as a team and play as a team.
00:29 - Without getting into too much specifics,
00:33 what has practice looked like?
00:35 What specifically are you guys doing?
00:37 - I feel like it's kind of back to September
00:41 and training camp, the feel of it,
00:44 just how hard we've been going.
00:45 And just showing how tough we are,
00:50 who's mentally wanting to be here,
00:53 stuff like that, I feel like.
00:56 - And last thing I've got, pretty good run from you
00:59 over the weekend.
01:00 Do you feel like you can build on that
01:02 and carry that into maybe these next few games?
01:05 - I think so.
01:07 I just need to be healthy.
01:08 I need to keep working on my body
01:11 and coming back in and practicing with my guys
01:13 and just keep going hard.
01:15 - Curtis.
01:18 - Jalen, I know you put in a lot of work over the summer
01:23 and in the preseason to put yourself on a good spot
01:25 for the season.
01:26 How challenging has it been to be in and out
01:28 with the back spasms and stuff?
01:31 And then where are you at from a health standpoint now?
01:34 - It's been challenging mentally more than anything,
01:38 I feel like.
01:39 Obviously it's the rehab,
01:41 but there's days where I feel good
01:43 and the next day I wake up and it's back to square one,
01:47 it feels like.
01:48 But when I took that break from the Bahamas
01:51 and went to rehab and got my back right,
01:54 I feel like that's the best I've felt.
01:56 And then just, it's been,
01:58 I've been keeping going up since then.
01:59 I'm feeling better.
02:01 So just keep improving my health and getting healthy
02:05 is a big key.
02:06 And yeah, I feel good.
02:08 And I feel like the more better I feel,
02:10 the better I'm going to play.
02:11 - Bob.
02:14 - Hey Jalen.
02:16 Yeah, when the team was at the Bahamas,
02:18 how tough was that that you missed the tournament,
02:20 you don't get to go to the Bahamas,
02:22 and did you stay here in rehab?
02:23 Did you go somewhere and see a bad guy
02:25 or what would you do during that time?
02:27 - I stayed here in rehab.
02:29 It was, I don't know if you guys know him,
02:32 but it was Andrew that me and him had a rehab the whole week.
02:36 We just worked on my back and everything else
02:38 to make me stronger.
02:39 And it was tough not being able to play for my team,
02:42 obviously.
02:44 And I'm kind of disappointed about it,
02:45 but I'm glad I'm back
02:46 and I'm just ready to help my guys out.
02:50 - During that time, like how many hours a day
02:52 would you say you did some kind of rehab or stretching
02:54 or something to try to help the back?
02:57 How much time did you have to spend on that every day?
03:00 - I did a lot of stuff on my own.
03:02 There was a lot of stretching that when I woke up
03:05 to get my back stronger.
03:07 And then there was a lot of rehab, 8.30,
03:11 times in the morning and times in the afternoon
03:13 just to come in and get my body back to where it needs to be.
03:19 So there was a on and off.
03:21 It was consistent every day.
03:25 - Yeah, how's it feeling now?
03:28 I get that probably you can feel good one day
03:30 and maybe you get up the next morning
03:32 and it's bothering you again.
03:33 That's kind of the way backs can be,
03:35 but how good do you feel?
03:36 And I know Eric's talked about with the team being six and
03:39 four, you know, looking at different rotations,
03:42 different roles and you're a guy that's because of the back,
03:46 your minutes have been pretty limited.
03:47 Do you feel like maybe this is a chance for you
03:50 to play a larger role and just how you feel about,
03:53 you know, moving forward?
03:55 - My back feels good.
03:57 Feels probably the best it's been.
03:58 So that's a good thing.
04:00 And, you know, whatever coach wants me to do
04:02 or everyone wants to play me, I'm, you know,
04:05 here to play.
04:07 I'm just excited to be back
04:08 and I really just want the team to win.
04:11 - Okay, I might have a couple more,
04:12 but I'll turn it back to Mike.
04:13 Thanks, Jaylen.
04:14 - Puch.
04:16 - Jaylen, you said something earlier
04:18 and I think coach must said it after the Oklahoma game
04:20 as well about focusing on yourselves more than just
04:22 preparing for Lipscomb coming up.
04:23 Just what are the two or three things at the top of the list
04:27 that y'all are trying to really focus in on, you know,
04:29 for the rest of non-conference play and everything?
04:32 - I feel like ball movement, not just, you know,
04:35 sticking to the ball.
04:36 We put in a rule where it's a 0.5 rule.
04:40 So we only can get, if you have, if you catch the ball,
04:43 you only have 0.5 seconds to dribble, pass, or shoot.
04:46 But you got to get out your hands
04:48 and just move without the ball too.
04:50 A lot of, you know, split screens,
04:52 you just want to move without the ball
04:54 and get everybody going.
04:57 - Bob.
05:01 - How hard is that to do?
05:03 I mean, 1.5 seconds, that's over pretty fast.
05:06 Is that a challenge for you and everybody?
05:08 I would think it would be.
05:10 - I mean, we play with pace to begin with.
05:13 So, you know, it's just more about space in the floor
05:15 and then moving without the ball.
05:17 It involves your teammates that aren't,
05:20 or that don't have the ball to be able to move and get open.
05:23 So as long as everybody's playing together,
05:26 it's not as hard as you think,
05:28 but it makes the game more fun, to be honest.
05:31 - And I know this applies more to the guards
05:33 than the inside guys,
05:34 but Eric talked on the radio show Monday night
05:36 about, you know, keeping guys in front of you, you know,
05:40 don't let guys, don't play the middle so much,
05:43 just don't let guys beat your baseline,
05:44 whatever the case might be.
05:46 How do you think that's working out
05:47 the first couple of days back at practice?
05:49 - I mean, that's another key in practice
05:52 that we've been dealing with, or going through.
05:54 Tiles over our heads, sliding without fouling,
05:59 'cause we have a lot of, we give up a lot of FCA.
06:01 So, I mean, these are all emphasis.
06:04 All the things that you guys are talking about
06:05 have all been emphasis, you know.
06:07 It's pretty obvious when we, seeing us out there,
06:10 what we need to work on,
06:11 and coach knows what we got to work on,
06:13 and that's what we've been doing.
06:15 - Have you guys, has he brought out the bricks
06:17 for the, you know, holding up the bricks
06:19 to get out to the three-point shooters?
06:21 - No bricks, no bricks.
06:22 I think we're too far in the season for that, hopefully.
06:25 But I don't know, we'll see.
06:26 - But you never know with Eric, right?
06:28 - Yeah.
06:29 - You know, you guys have played,
06:30 well, you didn't get to the Bahamas,
06:32 but you know, the team's played a lot of neutral side games.
06:34 You know, North Little Rock's a home game,
06:36 but it's a place you guys only play at once a year,
06:39 and the fans get really excited.
06:41 Just wondering, what do you think the team's thinking
06:44 going down to North Little Rock to play?
06:46 - We just want to put on a show.
06:48 We want to come and have people want to come back
06:51 and watch us play back in Bud Walton.
06:54 We just want to show everybody, you know,
06:56 or, you know, revamp better team basketball
07:01 than what we have shown,
07:03 and I think we're going to do that.
07:05 - I want to ask about that, I don't know, about a 40-footer.
07:08 That shot you hit at the end
07:10 unfortunately didn't count in total.
07:12 So how far out would you say that was?
07:13 - I don't know.
07:16 I'm going to just, you know, I'm going to add onto it.
07:18 So I'm going to say a 40, 42-footer.
07:20 Nah, but I'm just playing,
07:22 it's probably around the half court, I'm pretty sure,
07:24 but yeah, I'm just happy it went in,
07:27 but I'm mad that it was after the buzzer.
07:30 - Yeah.
07:31 You think you could hit one of those?
07:32 I mean, do you practice those?
07:33 I know sometimes at the end of practice,
07:35 when we've seen practice,
07:36 you guys are messing around doing that.
07:38 Is that something you actually work on,
07:39 those long shots?
07:43 - That's TB, that's more TB's thing.
07:45 And I think like TB and AB, I don't know, it's not me.
07:49 I don't practice those.
07:51 I need to, you know, practice my range from, you know, 15,
07:54 the three-pointer,
07:55 before I start shooting those shots consistently.
07:58 - Yeah.
07:59 Let's got one more.
08:00 You're obviously known as a guy
08:01 with a lot of good offensive moves,
08:02 can score around the basket,
08:04 but I know you blocked a couple of shots the other day,
08:06 and I know you worked hard on your defense in the off season.
08:09 How do you feel like you are as a defender now
08:11 to go along with your offensive game?
08:13 - No, I feel like I'm a good defender now.
08:16 I've just been listening to Coach Must
08:18 and try and take all the defensive concepts that we have.
08:21 If you are able to do the defensive concepts here,
08:24 it makes defense pretty easy, you know,
08:26 'cause you got help and rotation and stuff like that.
08:30 So, you know, just buying into that,
08:31 to that is what I had to do.
08:33 And I think I've done that.