Arkansas Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman with the media at the practice center after Thursday's practice on how summer workouts were and how they look in preseason practices have been.
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00:00 Eric, how would you say preseason practice has gone so far?
00:04 I thought we had a great summer. We had some injuries
00:08 and that allowed other players to get reps
00:12 and opportunity. I thought we had great chemistry throughout the summer.
00:16 Did a lot of team bonding stuff. So off the floor I think
00:20 the guys got to bond maybe a little bit
00:24 quicker than normal. And on the floor, I mean the effort
00:28 every day is more than we can ask. I mean they're really, really
00:32 trying. They picked up a lot of stuff.
00:36 We're probably the furthest we've ever been advanced from scheme standpoints.
00:40 We still have a lot of stuff to clean up and get better.
00:44 But right now I would say that scheme wise
00:48 we have as much in maybe like mid-year almost
00:52 as far as sets and some of the things that we do
00:56 defensively and defensively we're about where we normally are. We're not ahead
01:00 at all but we're not behind either defensively. Is there a different intensity
01:04 now that it's the fall and the season's approaching? I think so.
01:08 I think that the reason we set up our schedule the way we did
01:12 was so that they had something every week
01:16 to look forward to. So obviously we're doing the red and white
01:20 game a lot earlier than we have in the past.
01:24 That's so that they have something to look forward to.
01:28 I mean eight of the ten weeks in the summer is a long grind and then you
01:32 got this three and a half week segment without playing a game.
01:36 So I certainly think that the red and white game they'll be anxious for that.
01:40 Then we have Prodake following that up and
01:44 then we'll have the Division Two game and then obviously the Purdue game.
01:48 What are the characteristics of this team? What's it do well?
01:52 I think from
01:56 identity standpoint, Scotty, I think we're still trying to figure
02:00 that out. I don't think that...I think the beauty of what's happened here
02:04 over the last four years is just our
02:08 constant theme of getting better and trying to play at our best in March.
02:12 So what you see today is not what will be
02:16 in three weeks and what you'll see
02:20 in three weeks is not what will be...I thought last year after the
02:24 Texas exhibition game I thought we drastically improved over
02:28 a two week period after that game.
02:32 There's a reason we're playing Purdue. It challenges
02:36 us in a lot of different areas. They're a great passing team, really well coached, physical.
02:40 Have potentially the player of the year who's a big guy
02:44 inside. Play a little bit different style obviously than what
02:48 we see in the SEC with their ball movement, their shooting, and their
02:52 size. So I think we'll get a lot better after that game
02:56 as well. We need to get better between now and
03:00 our first exhibition game against the Division Two team as well.
03:04 Trevin's out today as far as the live
03:08 scrimmaging. Is there a target date for him to be able to participate full go
03:12 and can you share that with us if you do have a target? Yeah, I think the target
03:16 date, Kevin, is probably two and a half weeks
03:20 would be the target date but that target
03:24 can move. So I call it a moving target. The one thing that I
03:28 think the medical staff's done a great job, I think TB's done a great
03:32 job, is having patients throughout this and making sure
03:36 that...he did play live last week. Not with
03:40 our team necessarily but we did do three on three work.
03:44 Our staff talked to a lot of NBA people on
03:48 how they go about it. So I'm happy
03:52 with where he's at. When you start
03:56 going live five on five that changes things too. So he's gonna have an adjustment
04:00 period probably the first month of the season. I don't think that
04:04 we can expect a guy that's been out that long to just come in
04:08 and have three and a half weeks before your first game.
04:12 He's gonna be a guy that, just like our team, we hope
04:16 come March that he's taking it up another level and I think we'll see
04:20 with each month him getting better and better. He's already pretty good
04:24 too. Eric, out of any of the new guys, transfers or freshmen, anyone who you've
04:28 been overly impressed by that maybe you would say to yourself, "He's even better than I thought
04:32 he was"? I don't think the way that we structure practice that it would
04:36 be fair to say that because we don't go live that much.
04:40 Just because this is such a great media group we went live
04:44 a little bit more than we normally do. If you guys wouldn't have been here
04:48 there would have been a lot more drills. But I certainly know and respect
04:52 everyone's time here and the cameras and
04:56 the fans, whatever you guys put out, they certainly don't want to see
05:00 a four on four shell or us coaching. So we tried to
05:04 structure it. But we don't go live so it's hard
05:08 to say, "Hey, one particular player." Maybe work
05:12 ethic wise? I think work ethic wise we can't ask for anything
05:16 more from the entire group.
05:20 Guys are punctual. Guys are studying their playbook.
05:24 Guys have a work ethic on their own.
05:28 We have a mature group that's
05:32 getting into the weight room early, stretching. Guys
05:36 aren't just showing up a minute before the weight session.
05:40 We hope that that pays off. Doesn't necessarily
05:44 mean it's going to but we hope that it will. -How about conditioning, coach?
05:48 Feel like everybody's in the same place right now? -Not really, Josh.
05:52 I think that we got some guys that need to get in a lot better shape
05:56 to play at the pace that we want. Even going
06:00 live today I've never seen a team struggle so bad to get the ball inbounds
06:04 or so. You can bet tomorrow
06:08 or next time we get together there'll be a lot of inbounding drills
06:12 because we want to run. I think fatigue,
06:16 I think when we go back and watch a little bit of
06:20 today we'll probably see a lot of guys fatigue and when that happens
06:24 execution goes down. -Pinion looks like he's really
06:28 filled out. Played with a lot of confidence out there today. What have you seen from him this summer and
06:32 the strides that he's made? -I think one, athletically
06:36 he's made strides. I think that injury
06:40 that he had in high school is completely gone. I don't think
06:44 that's in his mind. He's not wearing a brace.
06:48 A year ago from today he had a heavy brace on
06:52 and that's hard for certain players, especially a guard, to wear.
06:56 I think mentally he's overcome
07:00 the injury as well. I don't think that he's thinking about it. Maybe
07:04 last year at this time. His shooting's been incredible.
07:08 He's still got some things that we want to try to
07:12 focus on defensively. Got beat back door the other day
07:16 in a situation that we're not a deny
07:20 team but certainly has been a real
07:24 pleasant piece for us since we've been
07:28 together. -You mentioned the team's kind of ahead on the offensive sets and things like that. Is that
07:32 kind of a product of having an older team this year compared to last year? -I don't think
07:36 the one thing that we don't ever want to do, Hutch, is compare teams
07:40 but we do have a veteran team.
07:44 Last year's group we went overseas so it helped
07:48 from a game standpoint and it helped from an evaluation standpoint that we don't
07:52 have those four games that we had last year to go off so our
07:56 expectations might be a little discombobulated to start the
08:00 year because we don't have that body of work that a lot
08:04 of teams in our league even got to go overseas this year and we had the opportunity
08:08 last year. I think that
08:12 we have added a lot more stuff.
08:16 If you think about what we were running last year and what we're running now
08:20 we're running a more complicated system. We've
08:24 sprinkled some stuff in that's got some
08:28 hybrid NBA things off the elbow and
08:32 we need to get a lot better. Too many turnovers and spacing's got to improve.
08:36 We're moving in the right direction.
08:40 -Davenport was knocking it down pretty good. Is that difficult?
08:44 -Yeah. It stretches. He's streaky.
08:48 JD, he's got great, great range.
08:52 We're really talking to him about trying to square his shoulders up.
08:56 He shoots a lot of off balance shots. The great
09:00 thing about him is he's able to make difficult, high degree of
09:04 difficulty shots but along with those sometimes that will
09:08 cause some inconsistency. The more we can work with him about
09:12 trying to square up and not shoot off balance shots I think it will help his
09:16 percentage. -Blocker, I guess, got his wisdom teeth pulled.
09:20 That kind of worries me at my age. -If they're not hurting, Bob, don't worry about it.
09:24 -That's what I tell the dentist every time he tells me I'm gonna get a fall. How long will he be
09:28 sidelined? -Depends
09:32 on the guy and how his body reacts. I'm not a dentist.
09:36 When I had mine out I was back
09:40 next day. -You have the two fresh from
09:44 Harvard. He really moves well. -Yeah. Bay's got great
09:48 agility, great movement. I think that some of the schemes
09:52 are a little different than he's used to so he's gotta continue
09:56 to look at the playbook and watch video of kind of what
10:00 we're doing and pick up second and third reads.
10:04 Today altered shots, ran the floor really hard.
10:08 He's gotta add body weight and get stronger but certainly has had
10:12 a great work ethic as well and is really trying hard. -How's
10:16 Walker doing on these? -He's been good.
10:20 He plays hard. He's competitive.
10:24 Plays with great speed. We have a really good team.
10:28 It's competitive
10:32 at all spots right now. -We talked earlier about TV not going live
10:36 right now but I saw him during that live session. He was off to the side kind of coaching some
10:40 guys. How much has he helped him in that regard working with guys as
10:44 kind of a coach on the floor? -He's been great. He's always got great
10:48 team concepts and team thoughts. The guys all really like him
10:52 and I think that helps tremendously.
10:56 He's one of our higher basketball IQ guys and he
11:00 understands second, third, fourth options.
11:04 I think he takes pride in the fact that he should be
11:08 buddy coaching with the guys and
11:12 we need him to have some vocal leadership as well.
11:16 -Coach, with Jalen Graham and Kai, what have you seen from them
11:20 lately? Is there anything different about them versus last year? -I think
11:24 Jalen Graham's practice habits have improved for sure.
11:28 Kai
11:32 practices hard, competes,
11:36 just working on him embracing
11:40 the team and not getting frustrated.
11:44 I think we've identified a couple areas with both those guys
11:48 to work on and I think they're both working on him.
11:52 Still got to improve in some stuff. Graham, we all know,
11:56 Jalen can really score the ball. It comes down to loose balls
12:00 defensively, physicality. Those
12:04 are the things that will allow him to have an
12:08 expanded role. Then with Kai,
12:12 he's a really underrated passer. As we went back and
12:16 watched a lot of the film, he's a willing
12:20 passer too so he can make the offense go from second side to third side
12:24 back to the fourth side.
12:28 Chandler Lawson's been really good too
12:32 for us because he can make threes. I would say that
12:36 back to the question of is there anybody that... He's
12:40 picked stuff up really, really quickly. One of our
12:44 themes this year is being all in and he's been a guy that's
12:48 been all in. We tell him to talk on defense and yell
12:52 I got ball when he closes out and he does that. I think when you get a
12:56 player that does all that type of stuff it kind of helps them
13:00 move a little bit on the depth chart
13:04 ladder. -He said some guys maybe need to get in better condition. What
13:08 guys are in really good condition? Who are kind of the leaders from a conditioning standpoint?
13:12 -Deebo runs on batteries. He's bionic.
13:16 I'm not really worried about Deebo.
13:20 I just think as
13:24 a whole other than him we got to get in better shape. We really do.
13:28 -Final question. -Wow.
13:32 -You guys' final jumpers were going in a lot during that last session. How different do you think
13:36 things could be with your offense from that standpoint? Just having guys that can convert on those
13:40 opportunities. -We can't be much worse than what we've
13:44 shot in the last three years. I do think we're a better shooting team
13:48 but that still has to happen in a game. There was times in the last
13:52 couple years that we thought we could really shoot it.
13:56 If you need more than one or two
14:00 guys to make shots for you. Obviously in year one Mason
14:04 and Isaiah could really stretch the defense out. Moses did a great job
14:08 stretching the defense out. We need to
14:12 really play as well as you want offensively. We need
14:16 three or four guys at a time to be able to make consistent
14:20 jump shots. I think right now we can shoot. The biggest thing is
14:24 consistency will be a big thing for us.
14:28 Thanks coach. What if I don't move Mike?
14:30 (audience laughing)