New Hogs Jeremiah Davenport, Tramon Mark, El Ellis

All Hogs
All Hogs
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New Arkansas Razorbacks Jeremiah Davenport, Tramon Mark and El Ellis updated the media Tuesday morning after practice on what they are bringing to Fayetteville.
Transcript
00:00 I guess just for all three guys being new,
00:03 how do you feel like the, I guess,
00:05 absorbing of the teaching from coaches is going?
00:09 Like the teaching is very, very well coming in
00:20 from a different program to Arkansas.
00:25 It's a difference in coaching and teaching.
00:28 Due to Coach Musch's background.
00:31 So it's a lot new stuff going on,
00:35 especially for us three taking vows.
00:37 But it's overall has been well, for sure.
00:40 Coach Musch and the whole coaching staff,
00:45 they focus a lot on the little details
00:47 and the little details you need to win a game,
00:51 to end the game, start off a game, stuff like that.
00:54 So it's been real good.
00:56 Just learning every day, practice, workouts,
00:59 shooting around, just learning from those guys.
01:01 Like they said, it's totally different.
01:08 Musch is really on guys about the little details
01:10 about things.
01:11 I know coming in for me, I had to adjust as well.
01:15 They did too.
01:17 But the whole staff, they're really just
01:19 preaching every day.
01:20 The little things that we do is why we win here.
01:23 So I feel like the different teaching
01:26 that Musch and the rest of the staff has been giving us
01:28 is going to help us win a lot of games.
01:30 Obviously, we have three transfers here today.
01:35 I think the transfer portal is getting a little bit more
01:38 normalized.
01:38 But what's it like as players coming
01:40 into a group with seven transfers?
01:43 It's a completely new team.
01:45 Do you feel the learning curve?
01:47 Or does it feel a little bit just easy,
01:49 and this is what college basketball is now?
01:52 It can be tough.
01:53 But bringing a lot of new guys coming into one program,
01:57 a winning program like that, just--
02:00 especially guys that-- we're all guys that are willing to learn.
02:03 So the practices we've been having, it's been good.
02:07 Guys just engage, listening to the details,
02:10 and just working hard.
02:11 It's been good for us so far, I feel like.
02:15 Yeah, and on top of that, the majority of our team
02:19 is old.
02:21 So it's very, I'll say, decent because we all
02:26 know we've been through it.
02:29 With two years, three years, four years, I'm a fifth year.
02:32 So it's like bringing guys like that together,
02:35 along with a junior or a senior.
02:38 We got old guys.
02:40 We all know, and we all got one common goal.
02:44 Obviously, what must build over the years.
02:46 So it's like we all know coming in,
02:48 if that makes sense.
02:51 Yeah, like he said, the group, we have a bunch of older guys.
02:55 And then plus, the returners from last year's team,
02:59 they've been helping all of us along.
03:01 And I just thought we have this nice gel of older guys,
03:05 and then young guys as well.
03:06 So I just feel like everybody has adjusted well,
03:08 and the summer has been really good.
03:09 So each of you guys came here bringing
03:15 something different to the table.
03:16 You each kind of hit on, going down the line here,
03:19 what you think you bring to Arkansas basketball
03:22 in your first year here in the program.
03:24 Well, for me, I feel like I can bring a lot of shooting
03:31 to the team.
03:33 I can really shoot the ball.
03:35 I can really make plays for my teammates.
03:39 I'm versatile.
03:40 I can be in the post.
03:41 You know, high energy guy.
03:44 Just all around big guard, as you can say.
03:50 Just making plays for the team, whether that's scoring,
03:59 passing, rebounding, making big plays, small plays too.
04:04 Just whatever the team needs.
04:06 Just doing whatever the team needs at the right moment.
04:10 I would say my leadership, being able to bring guys along.
04:16 My scoring ability as well.
04:18 I feel like I showed that in my last school.
04:19 And then also my playmaking.
04:21 That's something that I feel like is
04:22 going to be shown a lot more here
04:24 with the guys that surround me.
04:26 They make it a lot easier for me.
04:27 So I feel like just my playmaking, my leadership,
04:29 and the way I can score the ball can really help this group.
04:33 El, for you, Coach Musselman said that when you came in,
04:36 you were quiet at first, and you've
04:38 kind of come out of your shell.
04:39 Was there a moment where you just really felt comfortable
04:42 here, or has it just been like, you know, it just happened?
04:46 I would just say it just happened.
04:47 I was really just still trying to learn
04:51 the different terminologies that we had,
04:53 because it was different from where I've been.
04:55 So once I got that down pack, I mean,
04:57 I've been very vocal in just helping guys, leading guys.
05:00 And I feel like I've made a big impact on practice
05:03 with my voice.
05:06 For Jeremiah and El, what's jumped out about Tremont's
05:09 game?
05:10 Where do you think that maybe he could best serve this team?
05:13 Well, I'll speak on it first.
05:18 I played against him.
05:19 He was in the same conference for three years,
05:22 or something like that.
05:24 So like, you know, scouting him, he's very tough.
05:28 You know, very tough, very tough, very tough.
05:31 Came from Houston, number one team in the country
05:33 for a long time last year.
05:34 For two years in a row, actually.
05:37 But you know, just his slashing ability,
05:39 you know, the ability to make pull up jumpers, you know,
05:43 like you said, rebound and do the small things for the team.
05:46 You know, I personally saw it.
05:48 So I feel like he can do a lot for this team, a lot.
05:54 I would say, we're watching him at Houston now,
05:57 like seeing him in person, I feel like he can just
05:58 do a little bit of everything.
06:00 Like you said, so he can score the ball, he can facilitate,
06:03 he can guard, really every position on the floor.
06:06 So I just feel like his versatility
06:08 is going to be very big for us.
06:10 And he's on one at the program he's been at.
06:13 So he's going to bring that winning mentality.
06:15 He's going to bring guys along.
06:18 Last year, preseason, we heard a lot about Ricky Council
06:21 as the guy in practice just making crazy plays.
06:23 Is there anybody that you guys have noticed in practice
06:26 that you're just kind of wowed by him?
06:30 Really, everybody makes how they moments.
06:35 JD makes some crazy dunks.
06:37 L do some crazy dunks, just making--
06:40 I think everybody around the team
06:42 has their moments where they make big plays,
06:44 where everybody in practice is like, whoa, stuff like that.
06:49 Yeah, I agree, everybody.
06:51 It's a new team, so it's like everybody
06:53 trying to figure out what everybody does,
06:57 and everybody shows it in practice.
07:00 And it's been a good two months.
07:02 Yeah, two months.
07:03 So I really can't point nobody out personally,
07:07 but I just say everybody.
07:10 Yeah, most definitely.
07:11 I agree.
07:11 The whole group, you just see something different every day
07:15 that a guy does.
07:16 And you're just like, wow, we have a really deep roster.
07:20 And we just have a lot of guys that
07:21 can do a lot of different things.
07:23 And just every day, you just see that.
07:26 Curtis.
07:27 Just kind of touched on it a little bit there,
07:29 just you guys have been together for a couple of months
07:31 now for the most part.
07:32 Just curious from a team perspective,
07:34 what stands out to each of you guys about this group?
07:37 What do you think will make you succeed?
07:39 What are some areas that you feel
07:40 like you need to work on?
07:41 I think our leadership as a whole.
07:47 We have, like JD said, like Ayla said,
07:50 we have a bunch of experienced guys.
07:52 So just bringing along the freshmen we have,
07:56 just getting them-- not getting them up to par,
07:58 but just bringing them along.
08:01 I think in the long run, it's going to be good for us.
08:04 Like going down the road in the season,
08:06 it's going to be good for us.
08:09 El, I'm sure you've been asked this a lot.
08:10 But last year, you had to go through a lot of adversity
08:12 with your team at Louisville.
08:13 I was just wondering how rewarding and motivating
08:16 it is to be a part of a program that's
08:17 been winning a lot lately and have this opportunity
08:19 to kind of show what you can do at a high level in big games.
08:23 It's a blessing to be able to be at a program like this.
08:26 I know as soon as I entered the portal and the staff called,
08:30 I knew I wanted to be here.
08:32 I wanted to be somewhere where I can showcase
08:34 my abilities at a high level, be around really great players
08:37 like I am, be around the staff that's just going to push me
08:41 to my limits each and every day.
08:43 So I just felt like it was really important for me
08:46 just to find a program like this.
08:47 And it feels like home.
08:50 Really for anyone who wants to take this one, just
08:52 from a leadership standpoint, what's
08:53 it been like trying to integrate yourself
08:55 with your new teammates in this new program,
08:57 but also trying to be a leader as an older guy on the team
08:59 and trying to assert yourself in that way?
09:01 I'll say just showing up every day,
09:10 working hard, getting in the gym.
09:13 For me personally, I'm a fifth year, so this is my last year.
09:16 So I'm constantly in the gym.
09:19 So I'm showing the young guys, talking to them.
09:22 Just preparing them for when they get to where I'm at
09:26 and the things I learned when I was a freshman,
09:30 things like that.
09:30 So yeah, just constantly trying to make myself better,
09:36 make my teammates better by just doing the right things
09:39 as an older guy on the team.
09:43 I guess for each of you, who are the personalities
09:46 on this team?
09:47 Who's the funny guy who keeps things light when maybe things
09:50 are tense?
09:52 Who are those guys?
09:53 This guy right here.
09:58 It's like first about week, he wanted
10:02 to act like he was a quiet guy.
10:03 But now he just won't stop talking.
10:06 I knew he was going to say, yeah.
10:07 Broke out of his shell.
10:09 I'll say it's a lot of guys on the team.
10:12 Nah, yeah, we have a lot of guys on the team that is funny.
10:16 Like I said, it took me a little bit.
10:18 Once I come out of my shell, then it's
10:19 time for me to stop talking.
10:21 Jalen Graham's practice habits are dramatically different
10:28 than last year.
10:29 I know y'all weren't with him last year,
10:30 but what's y'all's impression of him been?
10:34 He goes hard every day in practice.
10:37 We have two teams, a red team and a white team.
10:39 I'm usually on his team.
10:41 So me and him are constantly talking.
10:43 And he's going hard every play, every possession.
10:47 And he's been doing good.
10:48 I don't know what it was like last year,
10:51 but this year he's been real good in practice.
10:54 He's been real good.
10:55 Standing after it as well, doing ball handling.
10:59 Just things that he--
11:01 as Coach probably said, things he wouldn't do last year.
11:04 It's a big jump from what I've seen and from what I've heard.
11:09 He's doing the right things and it's showing.
11:12 And in the day-to-day practice, his work ethic,
11:17 it's showing for sure.
11:19 Definitely.
11:20 Yeah, I would say the same.
11:23 Like they said, we don't know what we've seen the previous
11:26 year, but this year he goes hard each and every day.
11:30 He's vocal.
11:32 He's helping everybody.
11:34 He's standing after practice.
11:37 He's in the gym.
11:39 Every possession of practice, he's going extremely hard.
11:41 So they said he wasn't going hard last year.
11:45 I wouldn't know because he's going hard this year.
11:50 There's so many guys that are capable of contributing
11:53 to this team.
11:54 Does it-- does already early on, do
11:55 you get the sense of some really healthy competition
11:59 for minutes next season and stuff?
12:01 Or is it still sort of feeling each other out and kind
12:03 of becoming a unit right now and it's not necessarily
12:06 reached that point yet?
12:10 I say we definitely still working
12:14 to find each other, just being in the right position,
12:19 knowing who we are as a team.
12:22 I feel like once we come back after break
12:25 and we start getting things going for real,
12:29 I feel like we'll all know, if that makes sense,
12:33 when October come around.
12:35 That's when most teams know what's really up with,
12:40 who you're playing with, what role you're going to be.
12:44 Just minute-wise.
12:46 And yeah.
12:49 Yeah, like you said, and for me personally,
12:52 I just feel like we have--
12:53 we just have an older group.
12:55 So I just feel like with whatever roles each one of us
12:57 have, I feel like we're going to be mature.
12:59 We're going to handle it the right way
13:00 and we're going to do what we got to do to win.
13:03 And I feel like that's a good thing about this group
13:06 because we all know it's only a certain amount of minutes
13:09 each position.
13:09 We have a lot of guys and guys, and we all
13:12 knew that coming in.
13:13 So at the end of the day, we just have to be mature.
13:15 And when that time comes around in October,
13:17 everybody just be ready.
13:19 We talked with Coach Musselman about the exhibition game
13:26 against Purdue quite a bit.
13:27 Just curious what you guys think about a team
13:30 like that coming into Budwell Arena
13:31 and you guys get to play them.
13:33 We excited for that.
13:35 We hope it's packed out like a sold-out game
13:40 in the regular season.
13:41 So we excited for that.
13:42 We want the fans to come out and cheer us on,
13:45 and we're going to be ready for it.
13:48 I feel like having Purdue come in for exhibition game
13:52 before the season starts is very big, especially what they
13:56 done last year in the tournament or just the whole year period.
14:01 I feel like fans will come out and pack that out based off--
14:07 you've got newcomers coming in from Houston, Louisville,
14:11 Cincinnati, McDonald American, more and more that's coming
14:18 back as well, Devo, for example, all those guys.
14:22 So I feel like I can't wait, especially from where
14:27 I play in Cincinnati.
14:28 It was what, 12,000?
14:31 I'm stepping into a big arena, 20,000.
14:35 And the season tickets are sold out.
14:39 So I can't wait for that Purdue exhibition.
14:44 Yeah, for sure, especially coming from where I came from.
14:49 We had a rough year, so the fans wasn't really there for us.
14:52 But I feel like that's the main reason why I came here.
14:54 I wanted to be able to play in front of a lot of fans
14:56 each and every night.
14:57 So I'm very excited.
14:59 And I feel like those guys as well, like they said,
15:01 we're ready for a top five team to come in above all,
15:04 and we're going to be ready to play.
15:06 Just like we do, they're going to be here too,
15:08 late November, and I feel like that's
15:10 going to be another big game as well.
15:12 And we really need the fans to come out.
15:14 Speaking a little bit, I want to get y'all's take on KB,
15:20 Khalif Battle, just a little bit about his game, what he brings,
15:23 and how you might envision playing with him
15:25 this upcoming season.
15:28 Yeah, I can say a little bit about him too,
15:31 because he was in the same conference as me and Tremont
15:35 as well.
15:36 He just-- he can shoot.
15:38 He can really shoot the ball off the dribble,
15:41 coming off screens.
15:43 He's very-- his dribbling ability to get to the bucket
15:48 is very, very tremendously well.
15:51 His ability to finish, to dunk the ball on people,
15:56 is like at his size, is very unique.
15:58 So I feel like he just a tough, tough big guard, I can say.
16:04 So yeah, he's tough.
16:07 He's real tough.
16:08 Definitely a tough matchup for, I feel like,
16:11 any guard that's guarding him.
16:14 Very shifty, shoot the ball off the dribble, catch and shoot,
16:17 can get to the rim.
16:19 And then on the other end, he can guard you as well.
16:21 So just a tough matchup for any guard.
16:24 I feel like he's real good.
16:26 Yeah, for sure.
16:28 He has that judging mentality.
16:31 That's just a different swagger.
16:32 And that's all he ever talks about.
16:36 Jersey people are different.
16:37 Yeah, they're different.
16:38 So yeah, just his ability to create off the bounce,
16:42 shoot the ball at a high clip, and then just that dog
16:44 mentality that he has.
16:46 Like Tremont said, he's a tough matchup.