Arkansas Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman's complete press conference looking ahead to game with Lipscomb in North Little Rock, Ark., at Simmons Bank Arena.
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00:00 Yeah, Coach, after the Oklahoma game,
00:01 you had mentioned focusing on yourself
00:03 for shifting folks to lip school.
00:05 I'm just curious, Kev, what areas have y'all really honed in
00:07 on at practice so far and how would you say that's gone?
00:10 Yeah, I mean, we've had two great practices,
00:13 but this group's been a pretty good practice group all year.
00:17 So to say that we've had two great practices,
00:21 it still has to correlate to the game
00:24 'cause I do think this group has a spirit
00:27 about itself in practice that, you know,
00:31 we've also had some guys that aren't great practice players
00:33 and they go out in a game and, you know,
00:35 do damage in a positive way.
00:38 So we have had good practices.
00:40 They've been very competitive,
00:42 more live stuff than we've done since I've been at Arkansas,
00:46 guarding the ball full court one-on-one,
00:48 guarding the ball on the wing, 45-degree angle one-on-one.
00:54 We have not done any of our breakdown drills.
00:58 We have done no station work.
00:59 You know, I mentioned it the other night on the radio show
01:04 that we have added our opportunity break
01:07 and our open offense to try to get the ball to move
01:11 from side to side and get more people involved.
01:14 And then the last piece of all this,
01:17 which won't be decided until probably Saturday,
01:19 is what the rotation looks like.
01:23 And, you know, who starts and all those things.
01:26 And so that's kind of where it is.
01:29 - How did TB respond to playing the other day
01:32 and how's his ankle?
01:33 How's he looked on his ankle last couple days?
01:36 - TB has not practiced, what's today, Wednesday.
01:39 So he has not practiced on Monday or Tuesday.
01:42 He's been with the trainer and, you know,
01:46 we'll see how he is, you know, later today
01:49 when we're about to practice.
01:50 I would anticipate him jumping in doing some stuff today.
01:54 Probably, well, not probably, won't do anything live.
01:59 So if most of our practice is live,
02:01 then that means he won't be involved in much.
02:05 - Jackson.
02:07 - Sorry.
02:11 Yeah, I guess you kind of answered this question,
02:14 but how much of when you're thinking about the new rotation
02:17 is it open competition in, you know, practice
02:21 and how much of it is kind of you, you know,
02:24 going off a feel of what you've seen in the game so far?
02:26 - I think a little of both,
02:29 especially when we've gotten more competition
02:32 in the last two days.
02:33 And it's also just about, you know,
02:35 is somebody not have an opportunity
02:38 as opposed to someone that has had an opportunity.
02:41 So obviously defensively, I mean,
02:43 you know, not up to the standards
02:46 of what we've had the last nine years.
02:48 So something's got to give there.
02:52 And, you know, we've had some great games of ball movement
02:56 and played really well in those.
02:57 And we've had some other games of not good ball movement.
03:00 So something's got to give there.
03:01 We've added some stuff that we've done in the past
03:04 offensively to try to get the ball
03:07 to move a little bit better.
03:08 And certainly we're doing everything we can
03:11 from a defensive standpoint as well.
03:13 Surprisingly, our pick and roll defense,
03:16 which is an area that most teams talk about at all levels,
03:20 really struggling, we have not struggled there.
03:23 So it's guarding the man, keeping him in front,
03:28 it's defending three, you know,
03:33 and playing with a,
03:34 we need to play with the personality
03:37 that we've played with in the past.
03:38 And we've done it at times and at times we haven't.
03:42 There's five guys that'll play
03:43 with the personality we want.
03:46 It's just, we're trying to find who those five are,
03:48 but there'll be five.
03:50 I don't know when it'll be.
03:52 And I don't know if that equates to a win,
03:54 but we're not going to play defense like we have of late.
04:00 - And after the Oklahoma game,
04:05 you mentioned kind of the guys falling over on layups,
04:09 impacting maybe some transition defense.
04:11 I'm wondering, are there any other ways
04:13 where maybe some struggles on offense
04:15 have negatively impacted you on the defensive end,
04:18 or is that kind of the main one,
04:20 and then you just have the unable
04:22 to stop the dribble penetration and stuff?
04:24 - Well, I think anytime you talk about,
04:26 in our sport, 'cause it's not football,
04:29 where a new group of players is coming on the field,
04:32 you know, for offense and defense,
04:35 I mean, the flow of our game, everything affects.
04:39 Our defense affects our offense,
04:41 our offense affects our defense.
04:42 Shot selection would be the number one thing
04:45 that affects a team's defense.
04:50 That's the number one spot you start with,
04:53 and then the second spot you start with
04:55 when you're asking about offense affecting defense
04:58 is your lack or your positive offensive rebounding.
05:03 So, I mean, we got some guys
05:04 that haven't gotten an offensive rebound.
05:07 I mean, if I took Bob Holt, me, Curtis,
05:10 if we all went out there and played,
05:13 I don't know, 200 minutes,
05:15 a ball would fall in Bob Holt's lap,
05:17 and he'd get an offensive rebound.
05:20 It would.
05:22 If I played at 59 years old,
05:24 a ball would somehow bounce to me off an offensive rebound.
05:29 It just would.
05:30 - Curtis.
05:33 - Coach, with the on-ball defense,
05:37 is it a mentality thing of just,
05:39 you got to sit down and keep your man in front,
05:41 or are you seeing some common themes
05:42 in terms of why it might be a problem area?
05:44 - Yeah, so, Curtis, I think there's several things
05:47 when you talk about guarding the ball.
05:49 It's habits.
05:51 What habits do you have prior to the last five months
05:56 or whatever you've been here?
05:58 It's mobility, lateral, quick speed,
06:01 foot speed laterally,
06:04 and then there's a mentality part,
06:07 and then there's a help part.
06:09 It's not just the guy on the ball,
06:11 it's are you in a gap?
06:13 You know what?
06:16 You got to be in a gap,
06:17 and you got to take away the three.
06:19 That's what has to happen for a good defense.
06:21 You don't not be in a gap
06:23 'cause you're worried about a three-point shooter,
06:25 and then you don't say that you're in the gap,
06:28 and then you can't get to a three-point shooter.
06:31 It's called multiple defensive efforts,
06:33 and that's what you have to do
06:35 to be a really, really good defensive team,
06:38 and that's what we're trying to clear up,
06:40 work on, get better at, all those things.
06:42 I know a lot of things go into tempo from game to game,
06:47 but just looking at the Kempom numbers
06:48 over the course of the last few years,
06:50 playing a little bit slower than you have maybe in the past.
06:52 Well, I hate to cut you off, Curtis,
06:55 but that's not by design.
06:57 I figured.
06:58 I would love it if you guys could point out one time
07:00 where I said, "Hold up.
07:02 "Let's run a half-court play."
07:04 I mean, we want to play with pace, not Saturday.
07:09 Every game, we want to play with pace.
07:11 I said at my press conference when I was hired here,
07:14 however many years, like,
07:15 in order to play with pace, you got to run the floor,
07:19 you got to ball-handle,
07:20 and that's all on the coaching staff.
07:22 I mean, all the issues that a team has,
07:26 it always falls back to the coaches
07:28 trying to convey the issue.
07:32 It's not the players.
07:33 It's, yeah, we want to run, to answer your question.
07:37 We would like more fast break points.
07:38 We would like to score in transition more than we have.
07:43 - Scottie.
07:45 - Yeah, Eric, we talked to Jalen Graham a few minutes ago.
07:49 He said you guys have implemented a .5 rule offensively.
07:54 How have guys taken to that so far, and how can it help?
07:57 - Well, you guys can evaluate that on Saturday.
08:00 Who holds it more than .5
08:02 now that he's told you our San Antonio Spurs rule of .5?
08:07 I never brought it up,
08:09 so it's good when a player uses coaching verbiage.
08:14 So I'm really happy that Jalen recognized that.
08:18 I'm glad he shared it with you guys.
08:22 Now everybody can watch and see who holds it more than .5.
08:27 I mean, in all honesty,
08:30 it's just meant to try to get the ball to move more.
08:34 And I mean, it's a little bit, you know,
08:39 it's hard to not hold the ball more than .5,
08:43 but we certainly don't want 16 dribbles on one possession.
08:46 - Bob.
08:48 - I've got one more, Mike, if that's okay.
08:51 - Go ahead.
08:53 - Eric, in your experience,
08:54 what does it take for a team to form a personality
08:58 or an identity?
09:00 - Oh boy, great question, Scotty.
09:02 Look, we talked to our team about, you know,
09:06 some past guys that have been here.
09:09 You know, I think some guys, you know,
09:15 I look back and without naming names,
09:18 one guy had an incredible year for us
09:21 and it clicked for him two games into SEC play.
09:26 I vividly remember when, all right,
09:31 I understand the defensive philosophy,
09:32 I understand what we're trying to do on offense,
09:35 let's go do it.
09:36 And that player's had a great career or great year here
09:41 and has moved on and playing at the highest level.
09:46 So I think there's, you know,
09:50 some guys get it the last game,
09:53 some guys get it after they leave here.
09:56 And some guys never get it.
09:57 So I don't think there's, you know,
10:00 I would love to tell you, oh yeah,
10:03 it happens after 12 games.
10:04 I mean, Chuck Daly used to say,
10:05 you get to know your team 50 games
10:07 into an NBA 82 game season.
10:09 So we certainly don't know our team.
10:12 Some teams in college,
10:14 you know, those guys haven't figured out quicker,
10:18 I don't know, but,
10:19 and we've lost to some really good teams.
10:22 I mean, you look at the records of the teams we've lost to.
10:26 I don't care about their Ken Palm numbers or whatever.
10:30 I'm just saying that the teams we've lost to,
10:33 I watched Memphis the other day going to Texas A&M
10:36 and Texas A&M has a lot of returning players.
10:39 Basically their whole roster, they're really well coached.
10:42 And that was a true home game for A&M
10:45 and Memphis played phenomenal.
10:47 And I think Texas A&M is one of the best teams
10:50 in the country.
10:51 And so North Carolina is a heck of a basketball team
10:55 and Oklahoma's probably went into the season
10:58 the most underrated team in college basketball.
11:01 - Bob.
11:03 - Yeah, hey Eric.
11:05 Yeah, last time I looked,
11:06 Greensboro was seven and one or something and one, whatever.
11:09 So they're pretty good too.
11:11 Hey, before I forget, Nate wanted me to ask you this.
11:15 Will there be in finals week?
11:16 'Cause that impacted practice at all?
11:17 Or have you had any issues with guys being able to practice
11:21 or zero, okay, that's good.
11:25 That's not a verbal answer.
11:28 And I think we haven't even asked you about Lipscomb yet.
11:30 What's your take on those guys?
11:32 - Yeah, so Lipscomb, 49th in the country and made threes.
11:38 Nine a game.
11:41 So, we got to defend the three.
11:44 58th in the country in three point attempts.
11:48 They average 26 per game.
11:53 It's pretty high number.
11:54 Number zero, McGinnis leads them in three point percentage.
12:02 He can play the two, three, four.
12:07 He's 42% from three on six attempts a game
12:10 or 5.6 attempts a game.
12:12 And 60% of their shots are threes.
12:16 30% of their shots are mid-range.
12:19 So, they're a really good offensive team.
12:26 - And then we talked to Jalen earlier.
12:28 He says his back's feeling better.
12:30 And I thought he played some pretty decent minutes
12:34 the other day against OU.
12:36 Where do you think Jalen is?
12:37 And you've talked about giving guys more opportunities.
12:40 Is he one of those guys you might be talking about?
12:42 Or just kind of, what are you thinking about
12:44 for Jalen moving forward?
12:46 - Yeah, Jalen, I mean, I thought he had
12:47 a really good summer.
12:48 He worked hard.
12:49 Then obviously the back issue.
12:50 And our three biggest segments of games
12:55 were really the Bahamas.
12:56 Just because we played three games in three nights.
12:59 It would have been great to have a healthy Jalen Graham then
13:01 because anytime you get to the second and third game,
13:04 especially after a double overtime loss
13:08 and you don't have a player that can score.
13:11 And then rebound.
13:14 I mean, I think that not having Jalen in Nassau
13:18 affected us in games two and three, maybe not in game one.
13:21 And certainly a great offensive talent.
13:25 I thought he did a great job of,
13:27 he got beat off the dribble a couple of times
13:30 and had some great blocks because he stuck with the play.
13:34 I think he understands what the expectations are.
13:37 Certainly getting him back in the fold.
13:42 And he's got to continue to work his way back
13:45 into better physical condition
13:48 just 'cause he had the time off.
13:49 I think that's affected him a little bit
13:51 from a conditioning win standpoint.
13:54 - Do you think he could be a plus for you moving forward?
13:57 - Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of the guys,
13:59 I mean, I hope that everybody on our roster
14:02 can be a plus for us.
14:04 Some guys that are scoring at a high level,
14:06 they got to defend better.
14:07 And some guys that are defending pretty good
14:09 got to give us a little more on offense.
14:11 So I'm hopeful that we can improve both individually
14:16 and that everybody can somehow contribute
14:20 some way, shape or form.
14:22 - This is your one time to go play North Little Rock.
14:26 The crowds down there are usually pretty rabid
14:29 no matter who you're playing,
14:30 raucous or whatever, maybe rabid's a bad word.
14:32 What are your thoughts on playing down there
14:35 and the reception you guys get?
14:38 - Yeah, unbelievable.
14:39 We love playing there.
14:40 Have not played good historically.
14:43 Last year we played good,
14:44 but I think the program was 11 and nine
14:49 in their last segment of games there.
14:51 So you add last year, maybe we're 12 and nine.
14:53 I could be wrong statistically,
14:55 but we need to play like we did last year,
14:59 which was great energy, great enthusiasm,
15:03 great desire to play in front of a fan base
15:05 that doesn't get to see us.
15:07 There's gonna be kids going to that game
15:11 that are never gonna come to Bud Walton.
15:13 You gotta understand that.
15:14 You gotta respect that.
15:16 You gotta understand that there's people
15:17 that only watch games on TV
15:19 and this is their one opportunity.
15:21 I think it's a great game for us.
15:23 The only thing that I wish is,
15:25 I wish this was a neutral site game
15:27 because it's three and a half hours away.
15:29 It's not a neutral site game.
15:32 It is counted as a home game for us,
15:35 which obviously we got the home crowd and all that,
15:38 but there are some other programs
15:40 that have games similar to this
15:41 that are counted as neutral site games and not home games.
15:45 So we gotta go defend our home.
15:48 It's a home game with the NCAA.
15:51 So we gotta go play well in a home game.
15:55 - It'll kind of be a homecoming for Devo
15:58 and Leighton Blocker being from that area.
16:01 What are your thoughts maybe on them
16:02 coming back to their home area to play?
16:05 - Yeah, I mean, I'm sure that there's excitement,
16:08 there's extra family members that are able to come.
16:10 You don't want any distractions
16:13 'cause it's a different environment.
16:17 Usually when you go on a road trip
16:20 and you go out to dinner,
16:21 fans aren't asking for pictures and autographs
16:24 and when you're in the hotel,
16:26 but when we go play this game
16:29 and we go to eat on Friday night,
16:32 there's gonna be fans that are coming up
16:34 and you wanna try to eliminate
16:36 as many distractions as you can.
16:38 I don't go speak anywhere else on a road trip.
16:43 I'm gonna speak on Friday to a group.
16:46 So all of us have to understand that this is a game.
16:49 We've gotta stay focused.
16:50 We've gotta get ready to compete in a game
16:54 that's a one-time game in front of
16:59 what will be a sold out building, we would assume.
17:03 And a very, very important game for us, in my opinion.
17:07 - Yeah, there's been a lot of complaints
17:09 that this game hadn't been streamed,
17:10 available on streaming in the past,
17:12 but it's gonna be, they worked it out.
17:14 How glad are you that not just the people at the game,
17:17 but people around the world can watch it?
17:19 - Well, Bob, if we play really good,
17:22 I'll be really, really happy
17:25 that this thing got streamed and worked out,
17:27 that it can be viewed by a bunch of people.
17:30 If we don't play well,
17:31 then I probably wish the streaming issues
17:33 would've continued, to be honest with you.
17:35 But no, I think it's great that they figured it out.