ESPN’s Seth Greenberg and Andraya Carter preview College Gameday

ESPN’s Seth Greenberg and Andraya Carter preview College Gameday

This is usually when you ask questions and we answer them more question Bob he he he’s killing it right now I’m just trying to get you know kind of get the Nolan Richardson golf tournament back in line I guess I guess for both y’all I know this was announced for the South

Carolina game but Aransas has lost twice since then they’re obviously having a rough go of it but it you know storyed program like Kentucky I mean do you feel good that you guys are here or do you feel like wow already saw struggling you know this not the best

Timing I think it’s great we’re here I mean you got Kentucky and Arkansas Arkansas went to the Sweet 16 three the last last three years you the sweet 16 or the lead eight every team there’s road blocks and detours the musb needs an oil change but you know he’s done

That before last year it needed an oil change and they got to the Sweet 16 so uh look every game here is an event they’re not games they’re events Kentucky comes in town it’s a bigger event so uh you it works out to be I’m EXC I’ve never seen a

Game in Arkansas so I’m excited I’m I’m excited to be here what about you yeah that’s what I was thinking I mean I remember playing here and it was a horrible you know your numbers it was a horrible place to play did you I hated

Coming here no I I also remember we lost here we got upset here I I won’t forget that it was terrible um so it’s a tough place to play I mean the the woo Pig suie the crowd the way the fans show up how loud they get when I think about an

Environment that’s going to be l and energetic we just had one at LSU last night um I expect the Arkansas fans to bring the exact same thing and so when it comes to showcasing a fan bases commitment to college basketball and to their team and to the program we’re here

For that and you’re going to see it on TV no matter I think what happens with the game um and you can you Arkansas it’s not like they have no shot they they have pieces and they have talent and they have guys that can step up

Kentucky does too so it’s going to be a showcase either way did we do the thing right the other day I think we no we screwed it up no Reese messed it up okay blame it on Reese you’re going to learn never bra it on blame it on Reese and

Number two is never take a shot of bis unless it’s going to break yep yeah you gota yeah B going to a break he doesn’t get another shot it yet yeah I’m learning I’m learning you know Jay was here for the Duke game obviously Aransas

Won that game with Tron Mark being out I don’t know if you guys got to watch that game what yall were doing that night but you know that was kind of ARG saw at its best and lately it’s kind of been at its worst um what do you think they got to

Do to get you know the mustb back back I I think the biggest thing is the hardest thing you know as a coach I’m just looking from a coach’s perspective each and every game you want to know what you’re going to expect from certain guys and it’s hard to know what to expect

From certain guys and that’s the biggest thing so the easiest way to get back and straighten thing out it starts with effort I mean it sounds simple it starts with being the hardest playing toughest team taking the energy of this crowd and basically infusing it in ter terms of

How how you compete that you’re not going to take a playoff you’re going to get to the next play that you’re going to stay together and deal do the hard things consistently and if you do those things that’s going to give you a chance and then they’re going to need someone to

Step up is it traymont Mark or is he going to play is it going to be you know which L Ellis you’re G to get you know which you know Lena you’re gonna get which brazila you’re GNA get I mean there’s so many variables in this team I

Think that’s the hardest thing for a coach you you go to sleep at night and you don’t know what you’re getting that’s a really really hard thing to be like you say well I can get I’m going to get this from this guy I’m going to get

This from this guy I know this guy’s going to defend play start uh you know and if we start to go south he’s going to bring our team together like I think that’s that’s what they’re dealing with so if you’re dealing with all those things first and

Foremost how hard will you compete and how long can you compete hard and when things if you get punched in the face can you get to the next play that’s really that’s to me the essence of tomorrow’s game I remember when I had Arkansas in the Bahamas earlier this

Year and there were a lot of bright spots when it came to effort diving on the floor Brazil with some putb dunks like those type of crowd infusing crowd energy infusing plays can I think pour into this team and help them pour into each other like getting really excited

About some of those little things the the gritty the toughness like one guy sitting in a stance and everybody on the bench getting excited for him being in that stance I think it’s more a sense of pouring into each other for the little things that like coach said just take a

Lot of effort then that other stuff starts to fall now everybody has more confidence everybody’s more confident in their role everybody kind of builds each other up there are times where sometimes I’ve uh watched Arkansas and it just felt empty maybe people didn’t know what they were supposed to be doing and I

Don’t know what your role is supposed to be so I can’t really help you and support you I don’t know what my role is so I can’t help get myself going either but I think support in each other and pouring in on some of those energy things especially tomorrow like just get

Hyped for a guy that’s sitting in a stance or get hyped for an offensive rebound get hyped about some of those little things and let that start to get you in a rhythm as far as the togetherness piece goes Andrea bouncing off that on the effort and energy type

Of plays I mean that’s something that people have questioned about Arkansas recently just uh the effort and energy um in your opinion like this late into a season how kind of alarming is that and how does that get kind of restored whenever you’re going through a stretch

Like this yeah I mean it’s it’s hard you obviously things don’t have to be perfect in March I think a lot of it starts in practice I I gotten see Arkansas practice but how hard you’re practicing how your effort level is in practice how you hype each other up in

Practice that type of stuff carries over into games it’s really hard to just turn it on um and so I think developing some of those habits if you start now there’s definitely time before it gets to March there’s time before the SEC tournament comes into play where some of that stuff

Can become a habit but it does need to start relatively quickly starts in a locker room I mean as a coach a player L team is better than a coach Le team it’s to me to me all that stuff starts in lock you’re only as good as your locker

Room so when you when your team is struggling what voice is in your locker room now if it’s a voice that’s going to and moan and complain and point fingers it’s hard to get out of that funk so like a leader has to emerge and

Again I you know I don’t know I haven’t been enough practices uh I have talked to mus a bunch but to me it starts with in your locker room because sometimes there’s nothing a coach can say like those dudes got to say we’re going to compete or we’re not

Going to compete like if you can’t compete tomorrow you got a problem like if you don’t play hard tomorrow Kentucky game day National TV all right so when you get punched in the face if you don’t respond all right there’s nothing a coach can say that’s either you either

You have pride and competitive Spirit or you don’t and so to me this this this thing all starts those guys in the locker room got to look each other in the eye and they got to look in the mirror and say like here’s the deal it’s

On me but who’s going to take that lead in that locker room because you get the wrong guy leading in that locker room and you got a problem you get someone to step up and say hey like we’re out there we got to this guy brought us to Street

16s and Elite 8s all right he know like either listen byy in or get off the bus and I don’t mean the mus bus like like playing is a privilege being a part of this program is a privilege if you don’t buy in you know sometimes there’s addition

By subtraction that’s that’s just the Old Coach talking to me like there’s enough Talent they got to buy into each other talking a little bit more about those past three yeah I know I felt energy com off talking about those past three uh sweet 16 runs and Beyond um just what

Were some things in those season that you saw out of these Arkansas teams that were good qualities that they need to get back to sharing the ball defending and buying into roles I mean when he when they flipped it last year guys like don’t show people what you

Can’t do don’t show people what maybe your workout guy tells you you should be doing or your Grassroots coach tells you should be doing or your parents tell you what you should be doing why show people what you can’t do like buy into what you do well if everyone buys into

I’m going to show people what I can do well I’m I’m G to because all these guys want to be Pros right well and I’m sure mus has told him the NBA is a league of role players there’s there are some dudes and then there’s a whole bunch of

Guys making a lot of money that can sit in the corner knock down a three and defend there’s a whole bunch of guys that can do all the little things to play off the two great players so I thought when those teams flipped it you saw guys buy to each other buying to

Their strengths sharing the back basketball whether it’s you know whether you know it was you know black who well the ball ended up in his hands so like the the roles were really started to get defined a little bit better dvo left the team he came back he was a different guy

When he came back 100% just an absolutely different dude when he came back so I I think those are the things and it goes back to what we said starts with effort but it also starts with embracing a role and giving up a little bit of yourself or the static around you

That people think is yourself to win and and that’s the hardest thing for not just here Cal’s got to deal with it in his group coaches across the country have to deal with it there’s so much static it’s the workout guy it’s the Au coach it’s the parents who have a vision

Of guys playing in the NBA it’s there’s it’s nil it’s collectives it’s making sure your social media is up oh by the way you got school I mean there’s so many things pulling at these at these they’re not kids these players right right now that they lose track of the

Most important thing like if we win it’s good for everyone like winning has got to be the priority so what can we do to help us win like what’s your priority if you that’s got to be their focal point or what do we have to do what can I do to impact

Winning and I think the team last year that’s what they bought into they bought into what do I have to do to impact winning and that’s what this team has to buy into this maybe leads into that but um it’s 19 games in do is it is there

Enough time for Arkansas to turn things around for both y’all go ahead yeah I think I I think there’s enough time to turn things around you got Kentucky coming in you still have multiple games left in the regular season you still can make a run in the SEC tournament which

Always helps kind of boost your chances of getting into the big dance and making some waves there so I wouldn’t say I wouldn’t say it’s too latec you could have opportunities for for Quad one wins I mean you’re going to have a ton of opportunities for clad one wins you got one

Tomorrow like you you beat Kentucky you don’t think that changes how guys walk into this practice facility every day you don’t think that changes how they look at each other you don’t think that changes oh man if we do this this and this we could be that same team that

Beat Duke so it like it starts like to me tomorrow’s game is a four minute game that’s what it is they like they gota they gotta win the first four minutes and then they got to go and compete the next four minutes tomorrow exame isn’t a 40-minute game it’s a 4minute game plain

And simple because if they get too far ahead of themselves all right then you lose focus like what can I do in these four minutes you know we got to defend we got a rebound we got to share the ball we can’t turn it over we got to

Take good shot whatever whatever month says are are the core things that they have to do to be successful four minutes that’s it you can’t just play off the emotion of the tip off and say all right well play no all right at the end of that 60-minute

Timeout all right all right what are we going to do the next four minutes and I would think that’s probably a little bit of the way that mus is going to appro approach the game speaking of that the last two games arkans hadn’t let it all

They Trail for like 39 some 39 some I’m not smart enough to add that up but they haven’t LED in either game they haven’t LED another game they’ve been behind so negative no no just just factual um I had a guy named Mark Burman who was my beat writer

At Virginia Tech you guys could be relatives he must be a good-looking guy um but I mean they’ve been playing from behind almost the& game was different but the other games they’ve been playing from behind a lot and you know I know the crowd’s going to be good tomorrow

But they got to keep the crowd in the game they got to keep belief how important are those first four minutes to to you know set the temp tone yeah I think it’s huge how how you come out and set the tone with your teammates with

Each other with your fans you let them know hey this is how we’re going to play and it it can be little things like just Sprint sprinting up and down the floor sprinting to your rotations I think when coach was talking about the effort and the things to get back on track it’s

Also just an element of trust you know like I’m going to defend on the ball how coach tells me to exactly how he tells me to because I trust the guy behind me to be in his spot to be in his rotation if everybody trusts that everyone’s

Going to do what they’re supposed to do then you can just do it as hard as you can when you’re wondering if the guy behind you or the guy beside you is going to do their job now you’re thinking too much and now you’re going to slow and now you can’t be effective

On the floor because you’re worried about what everybody else is doing if you trust everybody around you and they all trust you everybody can play hard everybody can do exactly what they’re supposed to do so that first four minutes in terms of effort energy and trusting the game plan and starting with

That that’s what you have to commit to in the first four minutes first loose ball there should be there should be white jerseys on the floor I mean if I was talking about say like that first time that thing’s on the floor all right we better have bodies on the floor

And that that that because what what happens if if there’s a loose ball and you see three white shirts dive on the floor tomorrow what’s this place in here going to look sound like people gonna lose their damn minds and that’s you know that gets them

Engaged you know so yes what do y’all think about Kentucky what what makes them so good I know they’re not very good when they don’t defend the ball so I mean like you say what you take the beat have some dudes that break him down off the dribble I mean like kuy’s

Talented as hell and and they’re really good offensively when they share it and Sprint the court Advance pass and and make one more but on the other end I mean Texas A&M back court scored 59 uh Georgia the second half they couldn’t keep me out of the

Lane uh I was pretty good uh I mean they got to guard the ball I mean Kentucky Kentucky has you know it they’re off to a great start they’re talented C’s h all those things but you know they don’t rebound defensive end great and they don’t guard the ball great so they’ve

Got to get better I mean last three game look Wilmington wins because their guards break them down and and get to the basket Texas s m they didn’t guard the ball the whole whole season now they did a good job against Miami they did you know they did a good

Job in other games but they are really really talented almost like too talented in a way but and they are very unselfish when they’re playing the right way I’m sure he has their attention because they surely didn’t play the right way against South Carolina and South Carolina had something to do with

It but they you know eight seven assists and eight turnovers that that a’t g cut it their speed when they do get those stops on defense and they get stops their speed and how quickly they get up and down the floor is it’s unreal just their Pace

That they play with coach talked about the kick ahead but even the kick ahead and then the quick DEC decision whether you’re going to drive and then you get the drift and then you get the pass right so it’s those quick decisions they’re all so good at making quick

Decisions with the ball in their hands so the pace is in the full court but the pace is also in the half court you can’t can’t miss a shot hang your head kuy’s already scoring their their pace is just Elite it’s like all Coach Cal worked on was transition offense because it’s so

It’s so good score you may get your ass back yeah it’s it’s their it’s their decision-making it’s their athleticism their skill and they think fast on that end of the floor if they thought as fast defensively as they thought offensively and just reacted and played that quickly on the

Defensive end I mean that’s the next step for Kentucky but their offense and their Pace full court half court is next level you guys mentioned about how talented the Kentucky back court is you know you guys got you guys sorry excuse me you have guys like Rob Dillingham

Reed Shepard Antonio Reeves who had 40 in this building last year what do you guys think that the Arkansas back court you know guys like Len blocker and dvo Davis are going to have to do down to a te in order to kind of keep them limited

And kind of slow them them down throughout the game I think the hardest thing is like you know you start the game then four minutes in you got to deal with Reed Shepard and and Rob Dillingham I mean I really like blocker I don’t think he I don’t think he backs

Down to anyone like I think set your defense two things you better be able to do against Kentucky you can’t turn it over and you can’t take a bad shot you take a bad shot you turn it over all right and you got a problem I

Mean you got a problem so I mean if you can set your defense and that’s what South Carolina did South Carolina owned the tempo and Rhythm of the game that’s part of the order of the upset if you own the tempo and Rhythm of the game

Then all of a sudden they’re playing on your terms so setting your defense by not taking bad shots and not turning it over not getting seduced by the pace I think it’ll be the key to defending that back court uh I think that’s going to be really really important and to make him

Take tough twos like get them off that line and make him take tough twos yeah I think a bad shot might as well be a turnover against Kentucky they’re they’re equal they’re the same thing also if you get them in the half court multiple efforts you know like if

Dillingham has the ball in his hands you might cut him off when he’s going to the right but he’s going to put it back in his left and go a second Direction so don’t get so happy that you cut him off this way and not continue shuffling the

Other way and change directions it’s the multiple efforts on defense that it takes same thing Reed Shepard passes he makes a cut maybe you stop him on that cut but then he’s making another cut so that multiple effort and you can’t relax um you might do something well and then

You relax and then beat so the multiple efforts and keeping that mentality is important more physical the game is tomorrow the better that’s their best chance I mean you know one thing must does that he has some bodies you know making the game South Carolina made that

Game really physical older team though I mean South Carolina’s you know they start four four seniors three of them 50 year guys I mean you know those are some grown ass men we’ve bored you enough haven’t we thank you appreciate