No comment on bobblehead or much on Devo Davis getting flagrant foul with ball and thrown out against Texas A&M.
This video is powered by the pros at Pascal a plumbing and electric Arkansas owned Arkansas operated go pasco.com he coach yeah after the Texas A&M game uh what are you looking for in this one to kind of keep the the momentum going and I believe you used the word swagger also
On uh after the game yeah I mean I think we you know for us it’s about preparation uh understanding South Carolina’s record and um you know last game was good you know whether anything carries over or not I mean we’ll find out you know at game
Time um but certainly a step in the right direction um on many fronts and and uh we got to get ready for South Carolina they have a a really good backourt Mei Johnson’s playing as good as anybody and obviously Cooper a transfer from the University of Minnesota and Miles stud at the three
Spot um BJ m so there’s a lot of lot of things we got to get ready for between now and and Saturday you’d mentioned with battle that that was you know just a coach’s decision obviously he has the ability to help you guys a lot what do
You need to see from him to to kind of get him back in the swing of things yeah I mean I don’t think it’s about any one player I mean we’re we’re uh you know we’re not g we can’t keep playing 11 12 guys when we do that uh the game’s not
Not in our favor and uh you know we’ve historically been a program that’s that’s played seven or eight guys we’re trying to pair the rotation down uh who has a good game uh on Saturday or who has a subpar game I’m not really sure um
You know in this last game I mean Laden blocker had played well at Florida and so had Joseph pinion um you know just there’s only so many minutes to go around and certainly we uh we have a you know a staff that evaluates practice ice and and piece has got to fit together
And and both sides of the basketball are important and offense is as important as defense if not defense may be a little bit more important here at Arkansas so it’s just a whole bunch factors with all of our guys again um to answer your question I’m talking in general one
Through 14 um you know Keon had some big games early his minutes have fluctuated as well um but certainly I you know I think going forward forward um you know the rotation will probably not expand I think it’s expanded way too much um you know and and I’m you know been doing it
Long enough that the question’s going to come you know whoever doesn’t play on a certain night thanks coach coach yeah coach uh you you mentioned South Carolina’s record I mean they’ve already won more games than they did last year I’m just curious where they saw what you saw from them last year
When you prepared for them and then now just where where have they made the most improvements well they’re they’re connected um I mean you watch you watch them play uh they’re connected uh they play more together um looks like there’s there’s there’s an agenda with them this
Year and that agenda is to win um not so sure you felt that way L you know what I mean there was uh kind of happens you know and um I think the coaching staff’s done not a good job but a phenomenal job the culture uh looks very very strong
This year um super impressed with um you know maybe what might not you know be what national people think our our our big transfer um additions have been phenomenal for them uh you know 55 Cooper I mean he can make threes he’s got good size he never turns the ball
Over over uh BJ Max you know can pick and pop and rebounds the ball and my St is known as a shooter and he’s making shots and so um you know uh super impressed with with their guys and then and then Mei Johnson’s a returning player who’s quite frankly playing as as
Well as any guard in our league and uh I thought that you know going into the year you know he wasn’t talked enough about Well everybody’s talking about him now um you know he’s he’s he’s he’s being extremely productive on the floor uh not in pre-season uh whatever he’s he’s producing
Bob um hey Eric I want to ask you a couple more things about Al Ellis um you know how have you thought his season’s gone I know it’s kind of been up and down and he seems like he’s kept a positive attitude even though like he
Said the other night he he’ never gone through not playing much you know that’s just not something that happened to him and he seemed like he handled that pretty well just what do you thought about his season overall his attitude how he’s handled everything yeah I mean he um obviously a
Veteran who played a lot of minutes last year um you know I thought he played really well um in certain aspects of the game the other night um you know the point guard positions a position where you know that we’ve uh gone back and forth and and uh need consistent play out of
For sure I mean Keon’s played well ell’s had some good games Laden had some good games um and that’s that’s you know unfortunately for for fans and unfortunately for media members you know we also practice um you know six days a week and so you got the games you got
All summer um so there’s a whole body of work that goes into um decision making but I think Els handled it you know he was ready to play um you know and I think he’s you know there’s been times it’s been a struggle for him as well you
Know I mean I I I wouldn’t say that um that every day he’s handled it um you know I mean he’s I think he wants to play you know and and just as all of our guys do just as everybody on every team wants to play and um he got his
Opportunity the other night and I thought he did a fabulous job um of playing with energy playing with the motor pushing the ball um all those things that we talk about and then defensively um we didn’t really assign him to their to their two guards he
Guarded a small forward a lot in that game and and I thought he did a good job uh defending the small forward as well and you talked the other night about the team kind of getting their Swagger back and you’d had signs up to remind them in
The locker room you you seem like a coach that has a lot of swagger did you have to regain some of your Swagger after a tough start or kind of how was that for you and the coaching staff that’s a really good question Bob
And you know I think that um you know I had I had great conversations between our Florida game um maybe that was on [Laughter] purpose no I mean I you know I had I had great conversations with Phil Nevin um on the phone um you know I know that the
Angels went through injuries and and uh I was super impressed every time I went to visit him with his upbeat positive uh attitude and Vibe um that he created in the clubhouse and uh talked to Tom cran who’s a who’s a a friend um to get his perspective because he watches so many
Games and talked to Brendan sir uh you know we work together with the Orlando Magic um even on my you know my drive into the you know to the arena I was still uh talking to different people Johnny Jones and I have communicated back and forth and people that I’ve
Worked with in the past um you know just to get perspective Insight um so you know I think all that stuff helps I don’t think that you know from a confidence standpoint I don’t think that the coaches or the players should should ever lose confidence but certainly when
You get a win after losing three games um you know I think that that helps the overall Vibe and and now you got to you got to push you know you got to push your last win aside and and you got to get ready for South Carolina I think
That’s that’s the important thing but um back to your question Bob I don’t I mean I don’t I don’t think you can have the turnarounds that you know that we’ve had in the past without having belief and confidence and then you stick to your principles and you stick
To uh you know tweaking things um which is what we did I mean we went into the game and changed our starting lineup again and and it was probably the best start that we’ve had in a long time uh to a game so you
Know yeah I got a couple more kind of a kind of a fun ones so about I’ll turn back to Mike for the other guys let’s go with the fun one I we haven’t had a fun one in a long time well okay it’s your it’s your Zoom well I saw that um
There’s going to be bobblehead giveaway and just wondering what you thought about that I mean that’s kind of a sign a no comment no comment on the bobblehead no comment on the bobblehead Bob okay I was wondering if you thought it was a good likess or I thought they
Should do one without your shirt on you could be you know celebrating or something that would have been cool but maybe bobblehead people aren’t that creative I don’t know yeah I don’t I I mean I thought I mean bobbleheads I thought they went out now they’re back
In um probably should have done a bobblehead with Danelle and I together that would have been a lot better than just just me standing there not sure about the hair um not sure about the you know the facial expressions on that bobble head um I guess there’s some
Similarities but but also some not similarities okay I’m sure they did the best they they could thanks Kevin G are you there Curtis must I see you guys are at the top of the country in blocks but you don’t have anybody in the the top six or
So of the the SEC I guess what do you make of the maybe the team approach to the rim protection this year yeah Curtis you know when when uh when the new rules came out and when we had our referee seminar oh he you know
We had a decision to make in the summer um and our decision was to to uh get away from trying to take charges uh the decision was um you know to go vertical and to try to become a a little bit better shot blocking team and that means
Not just you know one through five um they’re not just four and fives but also are you know Keon had you know he’s had couple blocks in games and obviously davenports had some games with some chase behind blocks and um we all know that that
TB um you know that Trevon Brazil’s a a guy that’s got great length athleticism and timing from a shot blocking standpoint and we knew that Chandler um you know LW when you look at his length uh that he would have the ability to alter shots and Kai Mitchell’s done a
Really good job of of being a shot Blocker in his time here as well so um but that was a you know when the rules changed um and you knew that the charge um was going to kind of go away that changes how you play weak side
Defense um you know and there’s just not many charges called at all anymore uh you know for obvious reasons freedom of movement wanting more scoring um all those type things and so as a as a as a team as a program as a coaching staff you’ve got to kind of alter your
Approach as well um you know it’ll be interesting how this unfolds you know as we continue to get into SEC play but but at this juncture we do lead the nation in that category and you always want to try to create some type of identity uh with some stat that you can
You know you can kind of hang your hat on and that’s been the stat thus far from a defensive standpoint and you know in year one it was leading the nation and defending the three and um you know and then we got to get better Curtis in
A lot of the areas that you know you so kindly didn’t mention that we were ranked in the opposite spots of of the those blocks so um I appreciate you bringing up a positive stat keeping up the keeping up the Good Vibes after a win there you go Good Vibes positivity
Swagger thank you Curtis Jackson caller hey M you mentioned uh mey Johnson a couple times uh already this presser you just faced a really good guard and Wade Taylor who can score at all three levels similar to Misha Johnson what can you take away from that performance from Wade Taylor uh in
Preparing for Mii Johnson if anything what you know Taylor had an incredible game he made some incredible shots um but that was a lot of field goals attempted as well um you know we did not go double him you know in the past we’ve doubled team uh star players when they
Come across half court um to get the ball out of their hands we we we didn’t not do that the other night uh we felt that Taylor and Radford were equally uh important you know and and um you know whether it was a little bit of our
Scheme or just an individual night for those two guys I mean you know you look at the stats and you would say that you know did you know probably did as good a job as you could against Radford I don’t I don’t know if he’s ever had a game
Statistically like that and then you look at the number of points and the big baskets that Taylor hit and those were those were you know phenomenal numbers and phenomenal uh big time shot making and Mei Johnson is you know a guy that has deep range uh can really dribble
Drive the ball he scores it at three levels uh they’ll run pick and rolls with him um you know and so our job will be to try to figure out you know what we’re best suited to and we haven’t hit the practice floor since our last game we
Start here in 22 minutes and 34 seconds where we’ll get back on the practice floor um and that’s when uh really Jackson our our game prep will begin once we get down there and watch video as a team and and I’ll lay out our plan
A plan B and plan C and then I’ll get feedback from these guys just like I always do whether it’s individual conversations individual text messages or team conversations uh after we watch individual clips of their top eight guys and then uh and then once we defend
Their play so today will be the first time that we go through with our scout team defend in their plays and we’ll look at our plan a plan B and C as a collective group we’ll make the best decision to to beat North to try to beat
South Carolina regardless of of what one individual player does or doesn’t do and you got a tough decision to make when you’re guarding any leading score are you going to try to make that night really hard for him or are you going to take away options two and three um so
Those are all stuff that are still works in progress Jackson Fuller yeah Eric uh the the great first half offensively you guys only scored two uh fast break points so a lot of execution in the half court I know you said that you had that like the high
Pick and roll where you’re throwing it to the to the five quick is is that something that can translate past Texas A&M or what maybe can you take from that first half that can that can translate to South Carolina and moving forward all year yeah I mean I think the middle pick
And roll with uh with our short roll with the with the with having our centers be playing that was based on um you know how Texas A&M plays Pick and roles you know they’ll they’ll trap it they’ll hard show it South Carolina will do that as well um but we you know we
Have great respect that they’ll watch what we did um and so we’ve got to come up with a Counterattack which which um which which we will We we’ll be adding a couple new sets um you know based on how they play pick and roll and who’s involved in their pick and roll
Defense um and try to give our opponents a look on a on on some play patterns that they have not seen before um and then we’ll look at those early in the game that’s what we what we what what we try to do especially in League Play is
Is is run you know two different variations of a play and see how they play it and see if it’s successful or not um but yes certainly we want all of our guys to be Playmakers whenever um you know they’re giving the ball especially in sweet spots on the floor uh to either
Look for for for dump off passes for for layups or dunks or or free throws attempted or or spit out three balls so those are the three areas that that that we need Playmakers to continue to share the ball or share the game or let the ball Have Eyes in those
Areas and and Jeremiah one more Jeremiah made a couple threes uh maybe yeah two threes the other night but how much you know does he bring to the team even when you know even if he’s not maybe making three just his ability to space the floor it seems like he’s
Getting some more consistent run with you guys uh in the SEC yeah I mean he’s getting a consistent run because um you know he has had some great spurts I mean he went through that segment at Florida um you know in the first half 13 points um didn’t get a basket in the
Second half and was minus 25 in the game um and he went through a spurt you know the other night where I think he scored eight straight um but his plus minus for whatever reason is you know was our Mo you know most concerning plus minus that
We had um you know we talked after the Florida game about JD trying to provide defensive rebounding that’s something that we we need help there you know what I mean one and that’s you know all the stuff with L you know he went three for
11 but he played a lot of minutes and he played a lot of minutes because he he had a career high in defensive rebounds he had six defensive rebounds and I think one of the things with with minutes and rolls and all this stuff is
You know we have a phrase what does the game call for against Texas a&n the game called for defensive rebounding so we need everybody to defensive rebound regardless of how many shots you’re making you know and and um but JD’s playing because he plays with energy and
He plays with enthusiasm and he gives us a little bit of pop and jolt when he’s out there so we certainly want him to continue to shoot the ball with confidence I think the last two games JD has shot the ball with more confidence
Than he has all year um and a lot of that correlates he’s been in the gym uh the last few days you know as much as he has all year as well and we’re we’re starting to see a lot more individual shooting going on which is what you want
This time year you don’t want the two games a week to have you fading uh in your PD or your Player Development uh super pleasantly surprised with all the shooting that’s gone on today um as I walked out to lunch as I walked back from from lunch a lot of guys getting
Shooting reps in which is really important this time of year Kevin M when you look at Tron Mark obviously he’s been a consistent scorer for you guys especially these last seven games 20 points but after that double double around that time he has doubled his rebounding uh production per game I
Mean doubled it and he’s been better uh when you look at assists when you look at blocks three to one Improvement when you look at the raw numbers what you know everybody’s kind of gotten used to him as being a reliable score but what are you seeing in the other areas
Because talk a lot about the hustle play uh e effort and and things like that it seems like he’s kind of leading by example and more than just being a scorer well for sure Kevin I think that you know especially when a guy has their has
A ball in their hands um you know the teammates need to feel that there’s uh a lot contributions going on in in other areas and I think we saw that with Mason Jones with all the steals that Mason would create defensively um you know and JD note was
A great on ball Defender and and and and we’ve challenged um t- Mark um because he should be blocking more shots with his length his anticipation and he’s a guy that’s going to block shots on the ball which is what he did a couple different times with Taylor um
And and and we moved him over there from basically the small forward spot to to to guard Taylor and I thought he had a great effect uh on the game from a defensive standpoint and you know we WE Post our rebounds per minute every every
Pre uh practice um and he you know he probably you know knows he’s got to rebound the ball better for us to have Effectiveness and certainly he’s done that you know of late at a much much higher clip than he did at the beginning of the year and then you know when you
Look at uh Chandler Lawson kind of that glue guy at times it’s kind of been you know but this was his best obviously SEC performance the four assist you know that was one shot of what what A&M had as a team and most of that obviously in
That first half and that early run what do you think about him moving forward is there something there that you because that five it’s been kind of a three-headed monster and not you know real consistent from one particular player yeah I think the point guard position in the five position
Which you know two really important positions we need consistency from both those positions Kevin and I think the one guy that that has probably been the most consistent uh you know has been Chandler and and um you know we need him to come in and and uh and and play like he did
Last game uh because he’s so steady he’s such a great teammate um you know emotionally um he’s very very even keeled uh not much facial not much body uh change from game to game or minute to minute he gives us a sense of maturity he gives us a sense of
Uh steadiness and so we certainly need uh him to continue uh moving in that direction because he because he can make threes I think he can shoot more threes uh even than what we’ve seen um and he’s a threat out there and he’s a really good passer and he’s super super
Unselfish thanks fin question uh Eric I didn’t really get a good look at it when they they called the flagrant 2 on dvo the other night I Doug shs told the TV guys that he kicked an Aggie in the groin hope that was by accident just wonder what do you see in
Looking at the game film and you know dvo he’s obviously been a great player for you but had some teas and some flagrance do you talk to him about dialing the back a little bit or do you not want to take away his aggressiveness or just kind of what you thought about
About that aspect of of his um game yeah I mean I don’t I don’t think that you know you know I don’t think I’m in a position or any coaches in a position to really comment on a you know a technical or a flagrant or whatever um you know I
Was surprised that um you know that that he was ejected I will say that I you know he he had the ball in his hands um it was live it was live action right so it wasn’t it wasn’t during a timeout or it wasn’t during a dead ball um you know
Um and you know I think a lot of um you know referee and a lot of a lot of uh a lot of you got you know Personnel becomes really important in League Play and and dvo does some unorthodox things with his body um again I don’t want to
Comment on that particular play but when dvo does uh go in for layups he does leave off both feet differently you know sometimes he goes off his right foot sometimes he goes off his left foot when he finishes um but I will say that that referee crew that we had you know I
Think those guys are all really really good and they’re really experienced referees and again um you know when a player has the ball in their hands and is making a move towards the Rim you know I I don’t think anybody can can know what was going through D’s mind
Other than him um you know that what the referees explained happened that is what happened um and so um you know they’ve got to make a decision based on what they see on video um and and I mean it’s it’s out there I mean that that you know
What what was described to the TV crew is is what happened in in live play again I just kind of feel like a a play player with the ball in his hands I mean I I you know my interpretation is usually that player’s you know trying to
Score and and um you know sometimes things happen in dead balls um and there’s not even a technical called in some games so you know a flagrant two and to be ejected is is um you know that’s I’m not saying that that that I disagree with that but but you know I do
Think consistency um you know becomes important on on ejections technicals um so on and so forth because you know that was not a dead ball situation or or you know nobody was you know did anything other than try to make a basketball move and then unfortunately um you know the player
Whatever but yeah Deo and I have had conversations and um we want him to be who he is we want him to be aggressive we want him to play with um you know but certainly don’t want anything that’ll jeopardize a you know when he’s not in
The game or gets a technical or gets thrown out it changes our demeanor in who we are so we certainly want him to you know to not to we don’t want anybody to get a technical including me I guess bet online is your number one source for
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