Opening statement…
“I look at Arkansas as one of the top five teams in our league. You could say that there’s a lot of mystery about this team because there’s so many new pieces. But, they’re very old, and they’re really experienced. Eric (Musselman) is used to coaching first-year guys being a pro coach. He’s used to not always having guys for three and four years. So, he knows how to put it together. They had a phenomenal freshman recruiting class. Those freshmen, on a lot of other teams, would be starting a lot of teams in the SEC. He’s done a beautiful job of blending transfers with really good, young talent. I think they’re really good.
“You could question their schedule on paper, but you shouldn’t. I think a little bit like us, but even more so maybe, their home games against these mid-major teams, these mid-major teams are all going to compete for their league championship. I mean, Abilene Christian, Central Arkansas, Oral Roberts, North Texas, and all those teams are going to compete for their league. Arkansas had to play really well to beat those teams., You can’t just show up and beat those teams. They play hard, they’re scrappy, they’re tough. They play with a little bit of an edge. They’re deeper than they were a year ago. They may not have a Mason (Jones) or an Isaiah Joe, who were two incredible players. But I think you could look at some guys like Moses Moody, (Desi) Sills, (Jalen) Tate or Justin Smith – I mean, they’ve got guys. Arkansas will finish in the top five of our league. So it’ll be a real step up for us. The question for us is going to be how much step up do we have? Because we are really young – the youngest team I’ve ever coached. Our guys have worked hard. They’ve gotten better. They’ve been incredibly disciplined through the COVID. The question is, is it going to be are we old enough to be able to handle the pressure that Arkansas will put on us?”
On if Auburn has an edge with Arkansas playing its first road game…
“If Auburn Arena was alive and well with The Jungle and the sellout crowd and everything, I would say that we would have an advantage. But, I don’t think there’s going to be as much of a home-court advantage for anybody in college basketball. When you’re playing at home, the crowd elevates your game. Sometimes it can distract your opponent. I just don’t think that there’s going to be enough people in any building this year to be that distracting. I would venture to say that the home-court advantage won’t be as big as what it what it was pre-COVID.”
On point guard depth after losing Tyrell Jones…
“It obviously hurts our depth. We go with what we had really in the last game. Obviously, without Sharife (Cooper) and then without Turbo (Tyrell Jones), we’re down two point guards. I’m sure that’s going to be a part of a game plan – it’s been for everybody – they’ll press Justin (Powell), they’ll press Al (Allen Flanigan). Arkansas does a great job with their pressure trying to turn people over. That’s going to be something that we’re going to have to handle.”
On the character of the team entering SEC play…
“These guys are prepared, and they’ve respected every opponent. They’ve gotten better and they’ve grown. I’m very proud of them for that. Our shortcomings will not be because they didn’t train or prepare or their want to be coached. Our shortcomings will be physical. Our shortcomings will be a lack of strength. We’re pretty long. But being freshmen and sophomores, our bodies aren’t as developed as some of the older teams. I think Kentucky is a great example of that. Kentucky has always done the best job of any team in the country recruiting the best freshmen in the country and having more one-and-dones and more guys in the NBA because of their talent and the way they develop. But as freshmen in college, 18-year-olds in college, they’re not always as physically developed as older kids. So now you’ve got an era where every transfer is eligible, every fifth year transfer is eligible, every transfer that’s been at three schools is eligible, and they’re 23-24 years old. They’ve got an advantage. I don’t care how talented your 18-year-old kid is. We’re up against that. I liked the position our kids have put themselves in. You know, we’ve got to be able to guard it. And we’ve got to be able to try not to turn it over. The things that Arkansas does, they turn you over, and they’re hard to guard. So those are those are the two areas that we’re going to have to step up, but I like how hard my team has worked.”
On team being excited for SEC play…
“I think we’ve probably developed a little more confidence because we’ve got a chance to play against each other, but I’ll go back to what I said about our preparation. I was extremely impressed that our guys were excited about playing every night. We’re not good enough to show up and beat Appalachian State or Texas Southern or South Alabama. We’re just not. We had to step up and play well to beat them. So that was never an issue. The question is can we now handle the speed, the quickness, the size, the athleticism of the SEC night in and night out? And then what will happen to our confidence? What will happen to our growth? That’s what we’re fixing to find out.”
On first impression of new football coach Bryan Harsin…
“I called him the night he was hired. He called me back the next day. We had a good conversation. I told him how close Coach (Gus) Malzahn and I were and still are, but that I was here for him to help him be successful. It looks to me like we made an incredible hire because he is as good a man as he is a football coach, and he seems to be just a tremendous football coach and a great competitor. We’re all in. I look forward to meeting him in person. Like me, he’s a grinder. So he also knows what I’m doing right now – every day trying to get ready for the SEC season. He’s respectful of that. We have spoken a few times.”
On relating to Harsin, coming in as an outsider to the Auburn Family…
“I’ve been to Boise before. That’s a beautiful part of the country. He stayed at Boise for a long time, which tells you how loyal he is. It tells you how much friends and family really mean to him. He probably passed up a number of other opportunities to stay loyal to the people that got him to where he is. You get to a certain point, though, where you want to see if you can do it against the very best, and obviously he got to that point. He’s excited about that challenge. But I don’t think he comes to Auburn unless he was understood what the Auburn Family was all about. The people are the No. 1 reason that make this place so spectacular. The students that we attract, the faculty that’s here, the people that live in this community, and I told him Auburn is going to give Boise a run for its money as far as a place where your family can be happy, and be comfortable in a church setting, be comfortable in a social setting. This place is going to support you. You could talk about being an outsider, but I’ve got one son-in-law and he’s married to my daughter. He is no outsider. He is my son, and he is a part of my family. He is no less a son to me than Steven or Michael. Auburn people know that, and I think the coaches that do come here, we feel that. That’s why I always tell coaches, ‘Jump in with both feet. Don’t lease. Don’t rent. Buy. And jump in.’ I don’t think he comes to Auburn unless he sensed that as well.”
On defending the 3 against Arkansas…
“The 3 ball will be big. They’ve got a bunch of guys who can shoot it and who are dangerous from out there. The thing about it is you’ve got to guard them from out there. And so if you have to get out there and you have to guard them, they can also go by you. That’s the beautiful thing about the stuff that Eric (Musselman) does. It’s hard to guard, it’s well-spaced, and you’ve got to get out there. Well, if you get out there too far, they can drive right by you. It will be interesting. And obviously they’re great in transition. In transition, they score at a really high rate because they spread the floor, they’ve got guys that can finish, they can play fast. From that standpoint, nobody did a better job of playing fast than Nolan Richardson. I think for the Arkansas fans, they’re going to see a very fast-paced offense and a real commitment to attacking transition defenses, and that’s something that Nolan was known for. Now Nolan was also known for turning you over and pressing and trapping, but the way the rules are now with the verticality and things like that, they basically have taken trapping out of the game. So it’s harder to speed the opponent up. That doesn’t slow Arkansas down one bit.”
