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Arkansas Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman on win where they "stunk" an awful lot before figuring things out to get a double-digit win over Abilene Christian on Thursday night at Bud Walton Arena.
Transcript
00:00 Stunk. So great. Stunk and stunk some more.
00:06 The group of six guys that played the last 16 minutes of the game they played with energy. It's a group that practiced with energy.
00:16 You know that that that first half was not good on either side of the basketball.
00:22 As a team we got to improve in a lot of areas as I've stated, and guys individually need to improve we need guys to be able to put the ball on the deck and beat people off the dribble too much standing the first half.
00:35 You know we changed what we were running as well we ran some of our bucks offense and wide touch fists and wide touch some wide touch keep.
00:44 That absolutely really helped us. And then we played small ball diva at the four.
00:50 He guarded the post as well as anyone on our roster tonight.
00:53 Maybe better.
00:55 Or the second half there I guess what led to that decision and just play hard I mean we've been asking our guards to rebound. Keon goes in the game.
01:03 He weighs less than me, and he has six rebounds five defensive rebounds for a bait.
01:11 Still got a lot of rust on him.
01:13 Ball moves pace of plays quicker 55 points in the second half compared to 30. What do we have 28 in the first half, we doubled up our points by playing with way more pace and look I mean we, we had a game that tonight that we were down seven and a half, and we
01:30 had a player go plus 21 when he was in the game, and that being key on mini field plus 21 in the game that you're down seven and a half.
01:37 So really pleased with him I thought Graham came in gave us good minutes that Chandler was was really good inside with his 10 rebounds and obviously mark and battle off the bench I mean there's just not going to be many games where you see a team
01:50 score 62 points off the bench.
01:53 Think I'm right about this Eric first double double for T mark, you got a couple offensive rebounds. I mean, yeah, we should might get him get him the game ball for the offensive rebounds.
02:05 You know we would probably have a cake for him tomorrow if we actually practice to celebrate, not just one offensive rebound but to.
02:15 He's not, he was awesome for me.
02:18 He's a great jumper awesome didn't force any threes, you know, he only took two threes he makes them both battle only takes four threes he makes three of them.
02:27 Both those guys really efficient I thought battle played his best defensive game of the season it wasn't even close I thought he got in a stance.
02:35 He worked this week in practice.
02:38 And it correlated to the game.
02:42 Okay, but since you brought up, how much do you like
02:48 said since I, since I had high cholesterol, and I suggest everybody go get their calcium score you get you get a little x ray machine and they tell you what your calcium score mine was a little high.
03:00 So I've changed my diet and I'm running right at 141, every day.
03:06 61 now, I don't believe it.
03:08 Okay.
03:09 I mean he wears shirts that there's no way I could fit in. He, you know, I don't think he came off the court in the second half I mean, I know he's been practicing with you all year but for a guy in the second game back and you're down, you actually
03:20 fell down by nine early and say for him to perform like that play the whole half just what what do you think of that.
03:26 Thought it was great. Like I said plus 21 you look at me when we had some guys that were in the minus tonight.
03:33 I thought it was, I thought it was awesome I thought battle played great and and and teamwork I thought those guys did a great job in the backcourt I thought Debo Davis was phenomenal.
03:43 We had him guard 21 and 21 ends up three for 11. And in the first half Debo garden, the whole first half he did a great job on and then, and then we move Debo to the four.
03:55 And like I said his post defense was as good as any of our post guys.
04:01 I mean, who's that the key on that. Yeah, he plays hard he plays quick he plays with pace he plays with energy plays with enthusiasm. I can't imagine what this Christmas break would be like if you guys hadn't rallied like you did just how good is it.
04:13 And how about my I would not be going to San Diego if we were lost tonight, I can tell you that, but I think the players have a mandatory break don't they. Yeah, I would not have had a break.
04:22 I mean how good is it I would have been mandatory in the office and I ruined everybody's Christmas we could have met all the next five days.
04:30 How good is it that you can hopefully enjoy Christmas the guys can you know get a little break and then when when do you reconvene on Christmas night or Christmas night, we'll get the mandatory days off and then we'll get right back at it Christmas
04:41 night. We'll have a good practice Christmas night, and then they'll get right back to two days.
04:49 Soon he was going to be out the whole year when did you find out that there was the possibility for him to rejoin and was tonight kind of exactly what you expected when you recruited him.
04:57 Yeah, I mean we recruited him because he because he, you know, and probably, I mean, not probably the only one that can say that this is true is my wife.
05:08 You know when you play a game and you're in this time zone and then you go home. The Pac 12 what's on.
05:27 And then he goes in the portal.
05:30 We don't really know any of his inner circle we don't know is, you know, high school we don't know anybody and, and probably the most random recruiting ever made a phone call, did a zoom.
05:42 He and his mom like this and they basically committed, and then came on a visit after they had committed.
05:48 But yeah, this is what we expected, and, you know, find out that it was, there's a possibility for him to get a master ended.
05:59 You guys had a lot of turnover issues in the first half, cleaned it up pretty well in the second half, what do you think was the problem and then how, what do you guys do to fix, it's hard to simulate, because they, you know what they do is they jump passing
06:11 lanes they're one of the highest steel teams in the country.
06:14 They got great quickness they got great anticipation they're very well coached defensively to be a disruptive team.
06:21 And I just, you know, we were just too careless, and we got to work on our ball, you know like we have, like I said, we have a lot of guys that are just too good.
06:28 We have, like I said, I got to get better.
06:31 You know, Michael muslims got a bit oddly, we all got to get better so to our play like our players have got to get in the gym and work on their ball handling because you can't let, and not all of them but but we got some guys that need to work
06:45 on printer skills and to, to learn how to get open.
06:51 When somebody denies you, we don't have enough guys that understand if I run a dribble handoff to Mike K would he has to set his man up to accept, receive and get open.
07:02 And so those are areas we're just going to continue to work on talk about and get better at the good thing is we've identified some areas that we have to get better, very clearly have identified them and the worst part is when you can't
07:14 figure out where you stink at
07:20 from a health standpoint, do you feel like T mark is back back like maybe where
07:25 maybe the first game maybe maybe Oklahoma still wasn't quite ready.
07:30 You know 100%, but you know he wants wants to play and, you know, but yeah I think he's back.
07:36 Watch when he's cooking, like the way he did it.
07:41 Like every time he shoots it releases it you think it's going in because he can rise over defenders he's got a great mid range pull up game.
07:49 Like you guys shot like 65% of the second half, besides maybe can't help but energize what do you think led to that we changed our whole offensive concept.
07:57 We had a lot of.
08:11 And then they struggled with that.
08:14 Again, that's our box offense it hadn't been good for us but it was good for us tonight in the second half. First half we tried to run stuff and they denied us and we didn't work to get open and, you know, looked pretty bad.
08:28 It's 315 last two games so good to see him get back on track he's going to shoot.
08:32 I mean, whether, whatever I he's going to shoot, which is good, you know, and
08:40 he's got a green light whether I say it's yellow or red he's in his mind he's got a green light and sometimes that's a really really good thing. I guess I got a guy just that was confidence probably he definitely didn't lose any confidence.
08:54 Only played one minute the second half, what does he need to do to get going.
08:58 Yeah, just continue to work.
09:02 continue, you know, just play with confidence, continue to work.