Razorbacks' Neighbors previews Sunday's matchup on road against LSU and Angel Reese with update on Hogs' leading scorer Taliah Scott's injury.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Yeah, Mike, just first of all,
00:01 any update I guess on Talia,
00:02 the nature of what's going on there.
00:04 Maybe a timetable still though
00:05 day-to-day has not practiced.
00:06 Return would be short.
00:08 I mean, we're not going to return
00:09 her to practice and then expect
00:11 her to play within a game or two.
00:13 So already day or two.
00:14 So gotta get her back to practice first.
00:17 Just like it's been,
00:18 it's it is really watch it.
00:19 See how she feels every single
00:21 day that she wakes up.
00:23 Some days feels good.
00:24 Some days it doesn't.
00:25 So it's a.
00:29 I go into every morning hopeful
00:31 and I've ended up disappointed
00:32 in the middle of the day,
00:34 so I'm just waiting for.
00:39 The thumbs up to go as she is.
00:40 She's eager to get back.
00:42 She's excited to get back,
00:43 but you know,
00:44 back back at that age is something
00:45 that you gotta watch really carefully so.
00:48 Yeah, and then not expected for Sunday.
00:50 I guess to answer your question.
00:52 OK, just on that same line,
00:54 I thought how you felt about the team,
00:56 how they've, you know,
00:57 just adapted to not having her and how
00:59 they've played in these past three games.
01:01 You know it's affected practice,
01:03 probably more than games because we
01:05 have to be very very cautious with
01:08 our energy with our reps with while
01:10 at the same time still trying to get ready.
01:14 I don't know.
01:15 I think our kids have rallied.
01:17 You know, I think both the Carlies
01:19 Carly Johnson coming in against
01:20 Alabama and of course Carly keeps
01:22 stepping into the lineup have
01:23 just elevated their roles.
01:25 You know we've been asking a lot
01:27 of Mac and Sam which is fine 'cause
01:29 they can give us a lot.
01:31 They they've got broad shoulders.
01:32 They accepted it.
01:33 I think sailor you know it.
01:35 It takes probably two extra minutes
01:37 a game and then you know I don't
01:40 think we could have been doing what
01:42 we're doing without Miriam going from.
01:44 You know, between 20 and 22 to you know,
01:47 need her for 40.
01:48 We might use her for 40 so it's
01:50 changed some things we've had to
01:52 do offensively and defensively.
01:53 You know, I don't set as many screens
01:56 with Miriam 'cause we can't afford
01:58 to have a moving screen.
01:59 Just the potential of.
02:02 Defensively, you know we were not as aggressive.
02:05 We're not looking to press as much.
02:07 Things like that except for circumstances.
02:09 So we've had to change a few tactics,
02:11 but I think the kids have responded great.
02:14 Talia's managed it.
02:14 She's been active in practice.
02:16 She's been engaged in practice so
02:18 that when she does return,
02:19 I think all the little things that
02:22 we're doing will only be enhanced
02:24 with added depth. Yeah,
02:26 and then last thing I'll ask is just LSU.
02:28 I mean they are really talented,
02:30 especially offensively and with
02:31 Morrow and Reese and their rebounding.
02:33 Just what do you think about?
02:35 You know how you how you limit them a
02:38 little bit. You know you have to
02:40 start with rebounding.
02:41 If you're not,
02:42 you can do all the defensive planning
02:44 and prep and scouting and work.
02:46 And at the end of the day,
02:48 if you force a miss shot,
02:50 they're going and getting,
02:51 you know, 60% of their own miss shots.
02:53 So we have to be really committed there.
02:55 We've moved in that area.
02:57 Our defensive rebounding has
02:58 been a strength of ours.
03:00 Kylie just mentioned that say they're
03:01 moved into the lead in the country
03:04 for most defensive rebounds.
03:05 We physically work about 10 possessions
03:07 a day in practice on what happens
03:09 when say the rebounds it 'cause she's
03:11 been getting about 10 of those things.
03:13 So I do think it starts with rebounding.
03:16 You know, if you look at what you know,
03:19 the formula Auburn Auburn's victory over them.
03:21 I don't think Auburn flinched.
03:23 They took it.
03:24 To them. And I think there's a
03:26 certain amount of that is we learned
03:28 that last year between our two games.
03:31 You know we got kind of.
03:33 Pummeled up here and we were passing.
03:35 We went down there.
03:36 We were aggressive and it was nearly
03:38 a completely different outcome.
03:39 So I think we learned our lesson last year.
03:42 I think we learned a valuable lesson
03:43 from how Auburn played him.
03:46 And then that's what we did with Alabama.
03:48 Different personnel,
03:48 but we did play much more
03:50 aggressively in the second half,
03:51 so I think you'll see us play aggressively.
03:53 You've got to go at them.
03:55 You can't back away from them.
03:58 They sense that they feed off that.
04:02 They don't play very many people either.
04:04 You know they they play six or
04:06 seven most their minutes so you know
04:08 if we get down there with good travel,
04:10 it's kind of a weird tip off time at 4.
04:14 I think we'll battle him.
04:15 Billy.
04:18 Hey coach, the probably watch the game last night.
04:23 What did they do in that third quarter to
04:25 just kind of flip the switch with Alabama?
04:27 Well, they didn't like not.
04:28 They did what Michaela did to her
04:30 down there when we played.
04:31 Just didn't let night get going.
04:32 I think now I had 18 or 19
04:34 points in the first half.
04:35 Was the third quarter like 32 to 17?
04:37 I think something like that.
04:39 They've had some big third quarters.
04:40 They've had some.
04:41 They come out.
04:42 I know Kim's a Hall of Famer for a reason.
04:45 I'm sure there was some challenging
04:47 going on in the locker room.
04:48 It looked like that when they responded,
04:50 but they turned the pressure up.
04:52 They got out in transition and
04:54 they stopped Alabama's transition.
04:56 So.
04:56 I don't know, it's kind of.
04:58 I watched almost the entire game and
05:00 when the when the second half tipped off,
05:03 it was like you could tell a difference
05:06 even through the film, even through the video.
05:08 You could tell an intensity difference.
05:10 They were in our stance.
05:12 Bob Starkey was over there barking orders
05:14 when they've got a when they're hooked up.
05:17 Bob doesn't usually say much.
05:19 I've coached against Bob a number of
05:21 different years and when Bob's quiet,
05:23 that's when you're in trouble.
05:25 'cause that means his team
05:26 so tough defensively.
05:27 He was very loud.
05:29 So in the first half,
05:30 so I think he probably got some
05:33 things corrected defensively.
05:34 Obviously not letting I even get shots
05:36 and then they turned those.
05:39 Turnovers and and harder shots
05:41 into transition themselves.
05:43 When you have a team as good as they are,
05:47 and everyone in the National
05:48 Championship last year,
05:49 what are the things when you go
05:51 defensively that you have to do
05:53 well to get out of there with the wind?
05:55 Yeah, that you know that the whole
05:57 column of you've coaches enough.
05:59 The whole coach speak of don't beat
06:01 yourselves, you know, uncharacteristic
06:02 turnovers, uncharacteristic foul trouble,
06:03 quick shots, getting caught up in
06:05 all the things that are LSU.
06:07 You know their their student
06:08 body sits right next to you.
06:10 Their vocal there on you.
06:12 They're informed.
06:12 They're not.
06:13 They're not.
06:14 They're not across the line.
06:15 They don't do anything.
06:17 They're one of the more respectful
06:18 groups last year when we played
06:20 him close they were very respectful,
06:22 but they are on you so you can't do those.
06:26 Meet yourself things.
06:27 Take quick shots.
06:28 Take bad shots.
06:29 Getting foul trouble.
06:30 You know, force us to call timeouts.
06:32 I think if you allow that crowd to get into it,
06:35 it becomes more and more difficult
06:37 every second of the game.
06:39 So off to a good start.
06:41 Take good shots.
06:42 Value the ball.
06:43 Do what you can.
06:44 Rebounding this.
06:45 This is not one of those games where
06:47 you go in and you know expect to
06:49 dominate them you want to hang around them.
06:52 Just don't do beat yourself things.
06:54 Do the things you're really good at.
06:56 So for us, play in transition,
06:57 get some layups, get to the foul line,
07:00 make a few threes early.
07:01 You know, hang around,
07:02 but those those don't beat yourself things.
07:05 And one last thing.
07:07 Obviously you're playing in an arena
07:09 named after a very, very good basketball
07:11 player or some of your memories of him.
07:13 That you know that maybe these young
07:15 kids didn't get to see these days.
07:17 The ball handling drills.
07:18 You know we call it the Maravich series.
07:20 You know, growing up coach coach
07:22 Stewart down at Greenwood would say
07:23 pistol pistol series and we didn't
07:25 have to have anybody lead us.
07:27 We knew exactly what that meant
07:28 'cause we had all seen the videos.
07:31 You know, back then we didn't have
07:32 YouTube to sit there and watch all
07:34 these other skill. It was one guy.
07:36 It was Maravich and you know,
07:38 Alford came along and did one too,
07:40 but it was for years it was Maravich
07:42 and it was the people that you know
07:44 people my age all my uncles talked
07:46 about how ahead of the game he was.
07:49 I'm glancing over here at my bookshelf.
07:51 You know I've got the movie
07:52 birth of a legend.
07:53 The movie that came out.
07:55 That's that's how we all remember that.
07:57 So yeah, we'll we'll tell our kids
07:59 the stories and they'll look at me
08:01 like I'm crazy and say who and I'll
08:03 show him some videos we we supply
08:05 some videos actually one year to
08:07 kind of show him who it is who the
08:09 somebody asked me it was funny.
08:11 You'd appreciate somebody goes.
08:12 Who's this PMAC guy 'cause they call it?
08:15 You know, pack the PMAC they who they go.
08:17 Who's PMAC and then somebody went in
08:19 that what they used to call Shaq and I
08:22 was like no they never called Shaq PMAC.
08:24 He Mac was burned before bird.
08:26 That's right, that is exactly right.
08:27 We will go look at the Tiger.
08:29 Will go look at Mike.
08:31 It's a you know,
08:32 I think it's one of those places
08:34 and when you look up at the banners
08:36 and you talk about all the people
08:38 that have played there throughout
08:40 the years in the history on the
08:42 men's and women's side, not not just
08:44 the men's side, but you know these players.
08:46 My players remember Simone Augustus
08:48 and Sylvia Fowles and the players.
08:49 The Tamika Johnsons that came
08:51 through during those runs.
08:52 So it is another historic place
08:55 that our kids get to play and.
08:58 We've played well down there.
08:59 I hope that continues.
09:01 We've we've always played well there.
09:03 I think when games require fight
09:04 and aggressiveness,
09:05 we usually respond pretty well.
09:07 Looking back to the under 60 crowd.
09:09 Yeah, exactly.
09:10 Y'all go look some videos up.
09:13 Daniel. Speaking coach,
09:17 I talked about especially last
09:19 time you were down there and
09:21 you'll lost only by three and
09:22 there are a lot of returners on
09:24 both teams, especially the big players,
09:26 especially if Taliyah is not going to play.
09:29 Oh yeah, I think you know the
09:30 recent memories are good.
09:32 You know we we hit a three that
09:33 would have put us up by five with
09:36 under a minute to play and it got
09:38 called off by moving screen so we we
09:40 had a really good opportunity to win
09:41 and I think our kids will will
09:43 build off that confidence.
09:46 I've I've spoken a few times about
09:48 how Mac and Sam tell great stories.
09:50 You know to our younger kids to
09:52 Keats to Jenna to Mary.
09:54 I mean Mary was there but you know
09:56 didn't we didn't play as many
09:58 minutes as she's playing now so I
10:00 think just talking about all the
10:02 the positives and we shouldn't be
10:04 intimidated by the crowd or the
10:06 fans or whatever we've done it before.
10:08 I think I think that's very,
10:10 very important to recall on.
10:11 It doesn't help.
10:12 I mean it doesn't.
10:13 It's not worth the points on the scoreboard,
10:15 but I do think it it helps in your
10:17 confidence going walking into the gym.
10:19 Of course,
10:19 I'll have a national championship banner
10:21 hanging up there that we haven't seen yet,
10:23 but I think we all knew last year you
10:25 could see it coming together for that team.
10:27 It was about this time of the year.
10:29 I hope that happens later on down,
10:31 but they've been challenged now a little bit.
10:33 They've had a couple of close games
10:35 and then the loss to Auburn that
10:36 probably I was really glad they
10:38 had a game in between ours.
10:40 To to kind of get refocused on and
10:42 not have maybe some of that pent up.
10:44 Anxiousness about coming back out,
10:46 but I hope that we will use our
10:48 our bi week effectively and go down
10:50 and be the more energetic of the two teams.
10:53 But I'm a left field,
10:55 but I don't know how much you like kind
10:58 of keep in tune with the national stuff.
11:00 But you know,
11:01 coach Gina RMS comments on kind of
11:04 how the landscape has changed with
11:06 NIL and you know the training
11:08 portal just how have you seen your
11:10 role kind of change and I guess if
11:13 you have a comment on Geno's thoughts.
11:15 Yeah, I saw it.
11:17 Somebody sent it to me and I saw it.
11:20 And you know, Geno,
11:21 he's he's earned the right to have an
11:24 opinion and he certainly expressed it.
11:26 Minor different from his because
11:28 of his circumstances.
11:29 He like like he mentioned in his pre.
11:32 Prefacing it,
11:33 he doesn't have to deal with all the
11:35 things that we're dealing with sometimes.
11:38 'cause kids do have.
11:39 Higher aspiration options than
11:41 what he has for his kids,
11:43 I think I I would never ever go as
11:46 deep as he did 'cause I don't.
11:48 I don't probably understand it.
11:50 Maybe as well as he does about you know
11:53 what drives the the kids to make
11:56 some of these decisions.
11:57 I simply wake up every single day
11:59 and try to coach the kids that show
12:02 up for practice every day like they
12:05 were the same kids that I coached 20 years ago.
12:07 I think the rules of the game have changed.
12:10 I think deep down the kids still
12:12 want to please their teammates,
12:14 their families, their teams, their schools.
12:17 You know, but he may be dealing with a
12:19 different set of circumstances I am,
12:21 but I don't.
12:22 I don't necessarily share all of them,
12:24 but some of the things he
12:26 pointed out are exactly true.
12:27 You know some of him.
12:28 He was just stating facts,
12:30 but I don't know any of the personal.
12:32 He called a few kids you know,
12:34 they were at schools.
12:35 I don't know anything about those situations so.
12:37 Thanks coach, yeah.
12:42 Evan.
12:44 Yeah, hey coach, you know,
12:45 have you had conversations with the team
12:47 or some of the leaders on the team this week?
12:50 You know, back to your point of seeing
12:52 the national championship banner of
12:53 how the team is kind of going to keep
12:55 their mentality and keep their mind in
12:57 check when they step out on the court.
12:59 Yeah, no, we haven't necessarily.
13:01 We haven't.
13:01 We've been practicing,
13:02 we've been doing skill work through the
13:04 bye week will start our prep for LSU today.
13:06 So I'll kind of get a read of the room
13:08 and see what their emotions are like.
13:10 But like I,
13:11 I think our kids took pride in the
13:13 fact that you know team from our
13:14 league won the national championship.
13:16 A team that we played twice.
13:17 A team that we played close one time.
13:19 So I think our group likes to use as a
13:21 measuring stick to see where we're at.
13:23 And we can talk about, you know,
13:25 they were preseason unanimous
13:26 number one as well,
13:27 so they won the national championship.
13:29 And I think there was a strong
13:31 argument that they may even have
13:32 a better team this year and they
13:34 may by the time it's all said and done.
13:37 You know it could be a team and it
13:39 still is a team that you must include.
13:41 In your conversation for ability,
13:42 if if you know a month and a half,
13:45 I think we're 58 days away from
13:47 selection Sunday if my math is right.
13:49 That's a lot of time for those
13:51 guys to continue to jail.
13:52 I don't think they played their best
13:54 basketball that they're capable of,
13:56 and I think they all know that.
13:58 But the times come and
13:59 that they will because they're
14:01 a bunch of winners.
14:02 It's a bunch of kids that have been there.
14:05 You've got a coach who's won four national
14:08 championships at two different schools.
14:11 You know you've got an assistant
14:13 coaching staff that's been in.
14:14 Bob's been in as many Final
14:16 Fours as anybody outside of Yukon,
14:17 so my guess is they're getting
14:19 a little bit better every day.
14:21 I'm not in there.
14:22 I don't know what they're they practice,
14:24 but from watching them they have continued
14:26 to steadily improve throughout the year.
14:28 But I do think I'll read the room on
14:31 how our kids are feeling it and see
14:33 when they walk in. But you know,
14:35 in this league we walk into five
14:38 different gyms that have a national
14:40 championship banner. I think we have A&M.
14:42 We have South Carolina.
14:44 We have Tennessee.
14:46 Will have LSU.
14:48 South Carolina, I said them.
14:50 I think I think there's four or five
14:52 four or five that say South South Carolina,
14:55 LSU, Tennessee, Texas A&M,
14:56 going through the league,
14:58 Kentucky had one.
14:59 I think there's four,
15:01 so that's a lot.
15:02 You know, in other leagues you might
15:04 walk into a team that's got multiple
15:07 banners, but there's we're kind of used to it.
15:09 You know there's a bunch of Final
15:12 Four banners hanging up in this league,
15:14 and I think that's that speaks
15:16 to the depth of the league and.
15:20 So hopefully our kids are a
15:22 little bit used to that.
15:23 And is there anything you learned
15:24 when facing off against Mississippi
15:26 State and Carter that from Douda
15:27 and from sailor that you can use
15:29 when preparing for Angel Reese?
15:31 I'm a little bit,
15:34 but they're completely different
15:35 when it comes to the way that they get.
15:38 You know Reese's activity
15:40 level is on another level.
15:41 I mean, I I don't know what you know.
15:44 I don't know if they wear one of
15:47 those devices that charts like we do,
15:49 but I can only imagine her exertions
15:51 are off the chart 'cause she tries.
15:53 She goes after her own misses.
15:55 Honestly, I honestly think she takes
15:57 some shots that she knows she's not
15:59 going to make, but she's going to get
16:01 the rebound and improve her angle
16:03 like when she drives it in there and bumps you.
16:07 It's a hard shot when she bumps you,
16:08 but if she shoots it and gets her own
16:10 rebound now you're off the off the space.
16:12 And I think that's an art.
16:13 I'm not saying it's.
16:14 I think it's an art and I think she's
16:17 developed that the way she's played.
16:19 So a little bit different than Carter.
16:21 Carter will fade away from you.
16:23 Carter will jump over you go around you.
16:27 Reese will go through you.
16:29 And again and again and again,
16:31 and she's relentless in it.
16:33 You know with Morrow,
16:35 you know the confidence that she
16:37 built playing for Doug Bruno at
16:39 DePaul that you know her offensive
16:41 attack mode she made a couple of
16:43 threes last night which I think
16:45 she'd only made for all years.
16:48 She made two last night.
16:49 That makes her incredibly scary.
16:51 If she all of a sudden has been
16:53 on three point shooting and feels
16:55 comfortable shooting out there 'cause
16:56 she becomes really hard to guard,
16:57 but I think Sailor and and Miriam
17:01 have developed a really good synergy
17:04 playing together on how they help
17:06 each other with spacing and helping
17:08 and rebounding behind it.
17:10 You know we've always had somebody
17:11 that could kind of take care of the
17:12 first level, but then we could
17:13 never rebound behind it.
17:15 So like the other night when Miriam,
17:17 I think on 10 of Miriam's block shots,
17:19 we got the rebound six times
17:21 and turned it into transition.
17:23 In the past, we blocked shots and
17:25 they may get it back and score.
17:26 So I hope we learn something,
17:28 but I do think they're completely
17:29 different matchups.
17:31 Thanks coach.
17:32 Yep.
17:33 And Ethan.
17:34 Yeah, last thing, just I know with
17:37 the team kind of the the bugaboo
17:39 has been the slow starts in some
17:40 of these SEC games and we've talked
17:42 about how LSU is so good in the
17:44 third quarter.
17:45 Just I guess going forward to try
17:47 and fix the slow start.
17:49 How much like is it how much
17:51 do you coach that?
17:51 How much do you not want to make it?
17:52 I guess like too psychological
17:54 in the heads.
17:55 Like I guess how do you go about
17:56 just trying to fix that?
17:58 Yeah, you know you let it go for a
18:00 while I think Ethan.
18:02 I think you don't make it
18:03 psychological, but when it keeps
18:04 rearing its head, then you want to
18:07 lend some credence to maybe it is
18:08 something we're doing.
18:09 So we we have pulled back our
18:12 start time a little bit of
18:14 pregame and on this one we will
18:17 actually have a game day shoot
18:18 around with it being a 4 o'clock game.
18:19 Will get up will go to their gym on game day.
18:22 I hope that helps us get a cup.
18:24 Then we won't start as early.
18:25 We won't leave the hotel as early.
18:27 We won't be in the gym for you know
18:29 an hour and a half before tip off to get.
18:32 I get sluggish.
18:33 I know I do.
18:35 They're out there shooting and
18:36 doing things and stretching,
18:37 but like if I if I don't have something
18:39 I've been bringing a book to read
18:41 to kind of like keep my mind from
18:43 wondering and I will go out and
18:45 watch the other team shoot and
18:46 psych myself out like when we went out.
18:49 I don't remember who we were watching.
18:51 But they didn't miss an Asia
18:53 petty psyched me out a little bit too.
18:54 I went out and watched him warm up and
18:56 she was grabbing the rim two handed
18:57 every time she got near it and
18:58 I was like what wait a second.
19:00 I probably would have been better off
19:01 in the back of the locker room,
19:02 not seeing that.
19:03 So you know I don't begin to have.
19:08 All the psychological.
19:11 Profiles of what's going through our mind
19:13 but I do think time is not necessarily
19:17 in our best faith.
19:17 You know,
19:18 sitting around thinking about it is
19:20 never really proved for me personally.
19:23 So we'll cut back.
19:23 Will do some things tactic wise,
19:26 but I do.
19:27 I do think on the I think it's
19:29 more mental than anything.
19:31 I've made some changes.
19:32 I think I told you all that I
19:34 used to script some plays.
19:36 You know,
19:36 to try to get everybody involved early
19:39 and I've stopped doing that
19:40 the last several games.
19:41 I just let the game flow.
19:43 And I think that's part to do with
19:45 me and the time of the season
19:47 that our kids know.
19:49 You know why not?
19:50 It might be Sam needing to take 20 shots.
19:52 Why not?
19:52 It might be Mac.
19:53 Why not?
19:53 It might be sailor.
19:54 It just depends on how the other team plays
19:56 and rather than me trying to guess
19:59 or predict or scout or whatever
20:01 we want to put into it,
20:02 I I don't have a crystal ball
20:03 into their locker room,
20:04 so I think getting away from
20:06 that has helped me.
20:07 I hope it's helped our kids play
20:08 a little bit looser and a
20:09 little bit more free.
20:12 But it has not.
20:13 It has continued to be a pattern.
20:15 Anytime a pattern develops,
20:16 I think you're I think you're kind
20:18 of forced to tinker a little bit,
20:20 so we have.
20:21 We'll see how it will see how it plays out.
20:23 You know with this by week we
20:24 had a lot of time to think.
20:25 Lot of time to meet.
20:26 Lot of time to talk.
20:27 Lot of time to.
20:29 Analyze and that was one thing
20:31 that came out of it.
20:32 Maybe maybe a little less time in the
20:34 gym at the arena prior to game, thanks.
20:38 Yep, alright,
20:39 Thanks everyone.