Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman with update on letting Devo Davis back on team, plus previewing this week's game with Georgia at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark.
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00:00 - I'm going to get started, please.
00:02 - Okay. Hey, Eric, how you doing?
00:05 - Good, Bob.
00:06 - Yeah, I see you broke some big news Monday about Devo.
00:10 Kind of, what's that process like
00:13 where you said you guys had a good meeting?
00:14 I guess you lifted weights together.
00:17 What's that process like
00:18 where you both feel good about him coming back?
00:20 How does that work?
00:21 - Yeah, I mean, you sit down and you talk to the player
00:26 and you have a meeting and you discuss
00:31 how he's going to come back,
00:38 how that process is going to work,
00:40 what day he's going to come back to practice,
00:45 what physically after being away for a little bit
00:48 are you going to do, like how much, how little?
00:53 So, I mean, that was basically what the conversation was.
00:57 - I guess, how good do you feel
00:58 that there was a good resolution to this, a positive one?
01:02 At least I think you'd look at it that way.
01:05 - Yeah, no, we're excited to have Devo back.
01:07 I think he's excited.
01:08 He's been working hard.
01:10 He's had a great week of practice.
01:11 He's, I think from a conditioning standpoint,
01:14 we talked yesterday about his conditioning.
01:16 He feels like he's back to where he was
01:20 from a conditioning standpoint.
01:23 So, well, he's been a part of four really good years
01:28 and certainly looking forward to having him back.
01:32 - How's the team handled it?
01:34 I mean, as far as the guys accepting him back
01:37 and how's that been?
01:38 - Yeah, guys have been great.
01:40 I mean, I didn't notice a change at all in anybody
01:45 other than the fact that he was back practicing
01:49 and practicing hard.
01:51 - And what are your expectations?
01:52 He's obviously got his play.
01:53 I think he's averaged just under 30 minutes for you.
01:56 What are your expectations for him Saturday?
01:58 I mean, how big a part of the game plan could he be?
02:01 - I mean, I don't know if we know,
02:06 I don't know if we know what any role
02:08 is gonna be right now.
02:10 I mean, I don't ever go into a game, Bob,
02:12 thinking that a player is gonna play 15 minutes or 30.
02:16 I think the game dictates it, especially this year.
02:19 You know, I think maybe in the past years,
02:22 we've had a pretty set rotation.
02:26 You know, we have what, nine regular season games left
02:31 and, you know, we're midway through
02:35 and we still are undecided on starting lineup.
02:39 So I really can't tell you how many minutes Devo's
02:41 gonna play other than the fact that, you know,
02:44 the reason we discussed his conditioning was
02:46 'cause if he plays a lot, are you ready to do that?
02:48 And that's why we had the conversation yesterday
02:52 and put together a plan on his return
02:55 of what the practice schedule would look like
02:58 and where he would fit into each of the parts of practice.
03:02 - But no restrictions on him then.
03:04 Like if it's working where he can play a lot of minutes,
03:09 then he's ready to do that if that's the way it works out.
03:12 - Yeah, yep.
03:13 There's no restrictions whatsoever
03:15 as far as minutes from the trainer or strength coach
03:17 or the coaching staff.
03:20 - Okay, I might have a couple more.
03:21 I'll turn it back to Mike.
03:22 Thanks, Eric.
03:23 - Thanks, Mike.
03:24 - Coach.
03:26 - Yeah, Eric, I saw where you also mentioned
03:28 that y'all were working on some new plays, I guess.
03:30 How has that looked and are these plays
03:32 the things that are just specific to Georgia
03:35 or are these things that maybe could help you
03:37 over the back half of SEC play?
03:38 - Great question, Hutt.
03:41 If they work, we'll use them again.
03:44 But you've gotta make shots
03:46 and you gotta have good entry passes.
03:50 You know, so we'll, you know, I mean,
03:53 you're not gonna change a lot in a week,
03:56 but certainly we've added some tweaks
03:59 and we start every game with a new play anyhow
04:04 so that you're gonna add four or five different wrinkles
04:09 to some things that maybe we need to take more advantage of,
04:14 especially when you play a team a second time.
04:18 - Speaking about playing them a second time,
04:20 just how different are they maybe this time around
04:23 than the last time you played Georgia?
04:25 - Well, I mean, it's, you know, same personnel.
04:29 There's, you know, there's no injuries, obviously.
04:32 From our end, you know, Brazil's not playing,
04:36 so that makes it, you know, different in its own,
04:39 you know, game plan, not having a 6-11 player.
04:43 And last game, they, you know,
04:45 they had two of their better players come off the bench.
04:48 So I don't, you know, I can't guess
04:50 if those guys are gonna start or not start.
04:53 But, you know, they have the same personnel and, you know,
05:00 I mean, same themes, don't give up threes,
05:03 get back in transition,
05:06 build a wall against their two point guards,
05:09 number four and number 11 Hill.
05:11 You know, absolutely no threes for Abdul Rahim,
05:15 which we did a good job, except one particular action,
05:18 they do a good job cutting from the corners.
05:21 You can't fall asleep, which we fell asleep three times.
05:25 At Georgian, gave up six easy baskets,
05:29 just on not being defensively alert on the weak side.
05:34 And Melendez is playing much better.
05:37 I guess, Hutch, if there's one thing
05:38 from the Georgia perspective
05:39 that's a little bit different from the last time
05:42 we played him is Melendez has been one
05:43 of the most improved players in the SEC
05:47 once conference play started.
05:50 - And I was gonna ask for an update on Brazil.
05:52 Is he getting any closer to return into action?
05:55 - No, no.
05:57 - Connor.
05:59 - Hey, coach, I know you just mentioned
06:07 that Brazil's not getting closer.
06:08 Do you expect him to be back at all?
06:11 Or what's that timetable look like?
06:13 - Yeah, I mean, I think that the timetable
06:16 is up to the player, the trainer.
06:19 Really, that's who it's up to.
06:22 He's not comfortable moving laterally right now.
06:27 I think from the doctor's perspective,
06:30 it's really in the trainers and the strength coach
06:33 and the players' hands.
06:34 I think from a doctor-wise right now,
06:37 it just comes down to rehab and making it stronger, I guess,
06:46 or making it more comfortable.
06:47 - Anthony.
06:50 - Pressed the wrong button, sorry about that.
06:56 Just kind of talking about Georgia,
06:58 obviously held them below their three-point average
07:01 last time you played them.
07:02 And you've mentioned a couple of times
07:04 how you guys have struggled guarding the three.
07:05 Can you just talk about how do you approach a game like this
07:08 where you have had some marginal success against them?
07:12 And how do you, I guess, kind of approach
07:14 trying to guard the three at this stage of the season?
07:17 - Well, certainly the way that we've addressed it
07:21 over the last four or five days is to emphasize it.
07:25 And technique-wise, too,
07:30 part of the thing is why would you not contest the three?
07:35 It would be because you're concerned
07:36 about getting beat off the dribble.
07:38 I think that's any player at any level
07:42 is when you hard close out,
07:44 you are susceptible to get beat off the bounce.
07:47 We've added some new closeout drills.
07:53 I don't know if those will help or not,
07:55 but in search to try to continue to improve
07:58 and get better as the season progresses,
08:00 we have added some closeout drills
08:04 'cause it's vital to us to get better
08:08 at defending the three.
08:09 And so we're not as long
08:11 as we have been in the past.
08:12 That's good.
08:15 We've learned as a staff roster building.
08:18 The length that we've had,
08:21 been really important for us defending the three.
08:24 Even though that year one,
08:26 we were really small at the center spot with Adria at 6'6",
08:32 but that group was pretty long, one through five.
08:39 - Jackson.
08:40 - Hey, Eric.
08:45 Are there times with the three-point defending
08:48 where maybe you guys are helping too much
08:51 or off spots you shouldn't,
08:52 or is it just too much dribble drive
08:55 and that's kind of the core of the three-point issues?
08:58 - Well, I think defensively,
09:00 this group has struggled in several different areas.
09:04 I don't necessarily think, Jackson, that it's one thing.
09:08 I mean, again, as coaches,
09:11 you try to be consistent with your approach.
09:15 As we look at our roster,
09:18 I mean, there's areas that our team is different
09:21 than in the past.
09:23 And then it's up to us to try to address those
09:27 moving forward as well.
09:29 And with the current group,
09:30 I mean, we've got to continue to teach,
09:32 emphasize, talk about it.
09:38 - You just don't want a team to do catch and shoot threes.
09:42 I mean, you got to floor the ball when it's,
09:46 you know, I don't, I mean,
09:48 who are the guys on Georgia
09:49 that we cannot give up open threes?
09:51 It's pretty simple.
09:51 It's zero Kane.
09:53 It's number three, Thomason,
09:55 who can shoot him off the bounce.
09:56 It's number one, Abdul-Rahim,
09:59 and it's number 11, Hill.
10:01 So that does not mean that Melendez,
10:04 I mean, we don't want to give him threes
10:05 because he's been, you know,
10:07 very much improved since the season started.
10:10 And then we know that their five men
10:12 are not going to shoot threes.
10:13 So our fives have to help off the dribble drive
10:17 and be alert for dump off passes.
10:19 And, you know, so there,
10:22 we got to guard that group of, you know,
10:26 five guys from three.
10:28 - And did you have a feeling all along
10:31 that Devo would eventually return,
10:34 or was it, you know, really a didn't know situation
10:37 until maybe it got closer to happening?
10:39 - I mean, I don't, I've never speculated on anything.
10:43 I think, you know, I think for us,
10:44 it's you take each day as it comes, you know?
10:48 So, I mean, yeah, I guess me personally, yes,
10:53 I thought he was going to return to the team.
10:55 - Bob.
10:58 - Yeah, Eric, you guys were at a disadvantage schedule-wise
11:02 last week, two road games, playing a team at their place
11:06 who'd had a week off.
11:06 And now Georgia had to play a late game at Starkville.
11:10 And I know this tip-off's not at 11, it's at five,
11:12 but I personally think that probably helps the home team
11:14 'cause fans will be awake maybe
11:16 and show up in better numbers.
11:18 But how do you think that plays out?
11:20 You were on the road team end of that last week,
11:24 and now you get to be the home team that's had a week.
11:25 How do you think that might play into this game,
11:27 Georgia having to basically do what y'all did last week?
11:31 - Yeah, I said it on the radio thing the other night,
11:36 I have no idea, nobody does on a bye week,
11:40 whether it helps or hurts.
11:41 Certainly, if LSU had some sickness or some minor injuries,
11:46 it helped them heal.
11:48 'Cause I've heard the LSU staff talk about
11:54 that they did have that and that helped them.
11:56 I don't know until the game's over, Bob,
12:01 if it helped us or hurt us.
12:05 I know the 11 a.m. did not help us when we played,
12:09 that I know for sure.
12:11 I would prefer no bye week
12:14 and would prefer keeping in the rhythm.
12:16 So Georgia's in their normal rhythm routine.
12:20 For us, we got a week to try to get in the gym
12:25 and practice and get better.
12:27 - And they're obviously much improved.
12:29 Mike's done a good job, obviously,
12:31 but they have lost four in a row.
12:33 What's your take on their struggling right now to get wins?
12:37 - I think a lot of times in this league or any good league,
12:41 it boils down to your schedule as well.
12:44 Who you play, when you play 'em,
12:46 and then also injuries on your current team
12:49 and then injuries on an opposing team.
12:52 I think Mike White's one of the best coaches in our league.
12:55 I thought he did a great job at Florida.
12:58 He's doing a great job here with Georgia.
13:02 He's had good player development
13:05 with a guy like Abdul Rahim.
13:07 He's gotten better under Mike's tutelage
13:12 and Melendez has improved for sure as a basketball player.
13:20 And then I think that their transfers
13:22 have done a really good job.
13:24 Thomason has elevated his game
13:29 from a lower level as a transfer.
13:33 I think, have they lost some games in a row?
13:39 Sure.
13:40 Do they have a good record?
13:41 Yes.
13:41 Are they a potential bubble team?
13:43 Yes.
13:44 Can they be in the NCAA tournament?
13:45 Yes.
13:49 I think this team is really, really well coached
13:52 on both sides of the ball.
13:54 And then having a week without a midweek game,
13:57 did that help integrate Devo back into the rotation,
14:00 back with the team, the fact you weren't having
14:01 to get ready for a game Tuesday or Wednesday?
14:04 I mean, sure, I think if somebody was not with the team
14:09 and then I think that that probably helped everybody, yeah.
14:14 Let's got one more.
14:15 Obviously, we don't know how fans are gonna react.
14:17 What would be your hope, I guess,
14:19 for if Devo starts and gets introduced
14:22 or when he gets up to the scores table to go in?
14:24 You know, some fans I'm sure will cheer.
14:25 There might be some boos.
14:26 Yeah, I don't know.
14:28 People are obviously react different ways.
14:30 What would be your hope or do you have a message
14:32 for the fans for how you hope they'll react
14:34 to Devo's return?
14:36 Devo has done some incredible things
14:38 as part of this program.
14:40 I mean, you look at the success over the last three years
14:47 and he's been a big part of it.
14:48 Like, you know, we're finding out it's not easy,
14:52 one, to make the NCAA tournament.
14:54 It's not easy to make a Sweet 16, three of them.
14:57 It's not easy to make two back-to-back Elite Eights.
15:00 He's been a part of that.
15:02 And, you know, so hopefully everybody recognizes
15:07 what he has done for the program.
15:09 You know, sometimes, and again,
15:13 this is off subject of any one player,
15:16 but sometimes when you have success,
15:18 you know, it gets taken granted.
15:21 And like, it's hard in this league to win games.
15:24 It's hard to make an NCAA tournament.
15:26 And like I said, answering your question, Bob,
15:30 he has been a part of a lot of winning
15:34 and a lot of incredible moments
15:37 for this basketball program.
15:39 And so, you know, I think that that's, you know,
15:43 that's a statement on that.
15:48 - And when you guys decided to lift weights,
15:49 was that spontaneous or like,
15:51 that's kind of like a handshake on the deal?
15:52 Like, okay, everything's, you know, we've agreed on this.
15:54 Let's go pump some iron or kind of how did that come about?
15:58 I thought it was kind of interesting.
16:00 - I mean, Bob, we had a meeting, you know what I mean?
16:04 The two of us had a meeting, we met.
16:06 And like I said, we're happy to have him back
16:10 and he's excited to be back playing for the Razorbacks.
16:14 - Yeah, maybe I missed, didn't do it.
16:17 I just wonder how you guys ended up
16:18 lifting weights together.
16:19 Like, why was that?
16:21 Why did y'all do that?
16:22 - Well, I was already in the weight room, so.
16:23 (laughing)
16:24 - Okay. - And he walked in.
16:26 - Okay.
16:27 - I don't know if there's a story.
16:28 Somebody will figure something out and make something up.
16:30 I mean, there'll be some rumor about something
16:33 as there always is, but yeah, I was just in the weight room
16:35 and he walked up, but who knows what, you know,
16:38 where that goes or whatever, it is what it is.
16:42 - Okay, thanks.
16:44 - Yeah, Eric, I have a little bit of a random question,
16:46 but going back to the Missouri game,
16:48 I think we all know sizable lead late in the second half.
16:51 You like to take the air out of the ball a little bit,
16:53 cut down the possessions and everything.
16:55 I'm just curious, where did that philosophy come from?
16:57 Is that something you picked up along the way?
16:59 Is it something you read from another coach?
17:01 Or just, where did that come from?
17:03 - A lot of winning that's followed it.
17:08 I can't remember, but maybe one game that it's backfired.
17:12 I mean, clock management in every sport is important.
17:15 So, I mean, where did I learn?
17:19 From basically every coach I've ever been around,
17:21 from Chuck Daly to Mike Fratello to Doc Rivers,
17:24 you know, unless you just feel like
17:29 you have way more talent and, you know,
17:33 and to be honest with you, Hutch,
17:35 we've made a heck of a lot of comebacks
17:37 when people haven't taken the air out of the ball.
17:39 And that's pretty well documented,
17:41 going all the way back to,
17:43 and that's why we've won some NCAA tournament games,
17:45 to be quite frank.
17:46 And you can go back and do the history on, you know,
17:50 teams that have continued to run with us
17:54 when we've been behind and in a scramble situation.
17:57 - And I'm curious, I know like football coaches
18:00 have like a chart that says, you know,
18:02 when to go for it on fourth down
18:03 or when to go for two point aversion.
18:04 Do you have something similar to that?
18:05 Like a certain time left and a certain lead,
18:08 or is it kind of just all up in your head
18:09 and you go with the flow?
18:12 - Well, I think it's, yeah,
18:13 we have a plan every game on stuff,
18:15 but I think the game, Hutch, when you're up,
18:19 I don't know if people on our team have foul trouble
18:22 or people on their team have foul trouble.
18:25 I don't know that, you know,
18:26 like that's a kind of a general statement.
18:29 I think every team is different.
18:31 You know what I mean?
18:34 You know, when we had the Martin twins,
18:35 we knew we were going to create steals.
18:38 You know what I mean?
18:39 And so when you're down,
18:42 you got a little bit different philosophy.
18:44 You know, this year's team for us doesn't create steals.
18:48 So we can't have the same philosophy for one team
18:52 that has completely different characteristics
18:56 than another team.
18:57 In general, you know, I look at that five minute mark
19:01 and try to think in, you know, in live action,
19:04 how many more possessions are there in this game?
19:07 Ruta's a little bit better with math,
19:10 but I'll ask like how many possessions are there?
19:12 And you try to think about the opposition getting threes
19:16 and you getting twos or empty possessions or one foul shot.
19:20 So I think there's a lot of stuff that goes into it.
19:24 I wish we were in a lot more positions like that
19:26 this year than we have been.
19:27 So we haven't really been in that many positions
19:30 unless you're kind of talking about the road game
19:33 the other night at Missouri, whenever that was.
19:36 - Thanks, coach. Appreciate your time.