BATON ROUGE — Two days prior to his team’s matchup against Mississippi State, LSU men’s basketball head coach Trent Johnson spoke to the media to give a preview of the 7 p.m. contest at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
LSU Basketball Media Session
January 19, 2009
HEAD COACH TRENT JOHNSON QUOTES
Opening Statement
“Mississippi State is very impressive. Their skill set is unlike anything we have faced all year long. They have five or six perimeter players, and I do say five or six that are very skilled and can get their own shot. The thing that impresses me the most is whether they make it or miss it, they push the ball up and shoot it deep. Our transition defense, our ability to cover the three-point line is going to be huge come Wednesday. You are not talking about guys who are just catch-and-shoot guys. They can put it going right or going left. Their freshman point guard (Dee Bost) is probably as impressive a player as there is in our league if not the country. The first time I saw him on videotape, I said ?Whoa.’ Of course we know who they have in the middle.
“I think Coach Stansbury has done a really good job in a short period of time with this team in making the decision to go small. Obviously they are playing really well right now. We are going to have to play our best game defensively. We are going to have to sustain it for 40 minutes because this is not a group where you can just help off on this guy or that guy. You have to guard all five starters and then they come of the bench with two or three good players.”
On motivation to beat Mississippi State …
“I don’t know if we need any motivation. I am not one of these guys who gets caught up in false motivation and all of that nonsense. The bottom line is this is a good basketball team, and this is another league game. As I have said all year long and these guys know that, if we are not at our best and competing at a fever pitch, we are going to struggle. I am more concerned about us being able to understand that we have to exert a lot of energy and we can’t have a lot of breakdowns defensively in the first or second half against a group like this because they are really capable of exploding on you. It’s not one or two guys; it’s a handful of guys.”
On defending Mississippi State …
“It’s a whole different match-up. You can’t compare this group to Ole Miss. You can’t compare this group to South Carolina. I feel good about it just from the standpoint that I think we have a little confidence coming off a good home win versus South Carolina in which we played very good in the first half, a good road win where we played good in the first half but like I told them, you are going to have to play 40 minutes because this is a team that is really capable of going off on spurts. We have not faced and Tasmin (Mitchell) has not guarded a guy like (Ravern) Johnson all year long who is a 6-7 long, lean, athletic, skilled guard. This is a different type of challenge for us, and I saw them a little bit when they played Washington State. At that time they were still experimenting with playing four or five perimeter players. They were getting the shot that they wanted against a very good defensive team. This team is a handful.”
On if he sees LSU getting better as the season progresses …
“I don’t know if I say it as much as everybody else says it, but the key for us is to try to get better. The teams I have been affiliated with in my short nine-year period as a head coach, in eight of those nine years teams have gotten better as we went down the stretch. Obviously we are getting better and playing better, but at this time of the year ? middle of January to the end ? it becomes match-ups, adjustments and good players making plays with confidence. The teams that are able to deal with the external stuff, what everybody is writing and saying, and concentrate on dealing with their emotions, staying grounded and knowing that they have to A, B and C ? those kinds of things are important.”
On if the team is all where he wants them to be …
“The guys are comfortable in knowing that this is where we want to go, and they know ?I’m a rebounder, I’m a defender.’ They are comfortable in knowing that when you come of the bench into the game you have to be ready to give us something, and they know they have to take care of the ball. Am I comfortable with their roles? Yes, because we are who we are. I am not going to put a kid in a situation and ask him to do something he can’t do. There are some guys on this team who can shoot the ball. There are some guys on this team who can score the ball, so when people ask me questions about if we need more scoring off our bench ? the only thing we need off our bench is defending, rebounding and taking care of the ball. Offensively you will have opportunities to shoot and score if you are a scorer or a shooter, so I am comfortable.”
On Quintin Thornton and his role …
“He has been great. Q is one of those guys who really understands the nuances of playing basketball. He understands the importance of team. He understands his role is to give us great energy defensively, to set good screens, to make the right pass and also he understands now to step up offensively. He is working extremely hard right now out there shooting free throws because he knows he will be in situations, as much as we go inside out in the post, that he will have to knock down some free throws which he did a couple games ago. I always use the comment with these guys ? the game is fair. What you put into it is what you get out of it. I wasn’t here last year, but you talk about a guy who gave up his redshirt year to help this team at a crucial time. That speaks volumes of Quintin.”
On how important it is to have a big man who can pass in order to break pressure …
“It depends on the scheme. Ole Miss came with a 2-2-1 full court (press) so we were able to put Chris (Johnson) in the middle and turn and find Marcus (Thornton) or Tasmin (Mitchell) on the baseline. Chris can pass and he can catch it, and he makes good decisions when he is confident. It is really important that you can have a big man who can pass and catch, and we have five guys on this team ? six when you look at Terry (Martin) and seven when you look at Alex (Farrer) ? who can catch. I am not talking about scoring and shooting. I thought against Ole Miss and against South Carolina when teams come up and try to pressure us, if we make good decisions we will be fine. That led to a lot of open shots for Marcus and Tasmin because of CJ’s ability to pass and find the open man.”
On Terry Martin …
“The game is fair. There are no secrets. If you work hard, buy into the team concept and do all the little things, then you will be rewarded by playing well. Terry is fine.”
On if a huge crowd energizes him or the team …
“It will energize the kids, but for me I have to concentrate on the job at hand and making sure these guys are grounded. Is there a part of me that will feel good? I will feel good because I think if the people come out, they are coming out to support this group because they are playing the game the right way. In terms of whether I would coach differently or be emotional, I don’t know. I have been in some packed houses before. I get real emotional when you are in one of those venues with 50,000 people because that means you are playing in late March, so I will crack a smile then. We are grounded right now.”
On if it helps the team if the crowd is big and supportive …
“Kids are kids. As much as I sit up and say it doesn’t matter and you have to do this and do that, you saw against Washington State how emotional we were. There is a fine line there because emotion only lasts so long. You have to be able to settle down and play the game. You have to be able to settle down and execute. Emotionally in a packed house, that excites the living tarnation out of the kids.”
On if he is concerned about his starters logging too many minutes …
“Not at all. I thought our non-conference was huge from that regard. Right now, Garrett (Temple), Tasmin (Mitchell) and Marcus (Thornton) play four games where they average more minutes. Bo (Spencer) has played more minutes than anybody in the long haul. Right now we are in a situation where you come out Monday and have a hard day. Tuesday you taper it down. You play Wednesday. You come back out Thursday and shoot, and it is a film day. Friday you come out and get full speed a little bit, and Saturday you play. All your conditioning was done in October and November. Half of these guys are pouting when I take them out. We are healthy right now and we have no excuses for not playing hard and competing at a high level. Sometimes you won’t play well because of who you play, but minutes and all that other nonsense, no. Guys will get in foul trouble and guys will come of the bench and have opportunities to play well. That is what you have to do.”
On his impression of Jarvis Varnado …
“I love him. He is quick to the ball. Offensively he has really improved from last year. I just watched game tape from last year. He is one of those guys who gets a lot done because of his quickness and his length. He blocks shots but he blocks them the right way. He can get you two man removed. He can block it one man removed. He can come weak side and do a lot of things, but he is really impressive. He is a handful. A lot of kids who can set an on-ball (screen) and slip it and roll ? he can catch it in traffic and finish short or mid-range jump shot. He is a handful, and with the way their perimeter guys are playing he is really tough to guard because you can’t leave any of those guys to help off on him. We have been able to cover down off one or two guys when CJ or Q were having problems, but not with him. He is a good player.”
Garrett Temple Quotes
On what he likes about this team …
“I like the camaraderie we have had the last couple games. Most of the time people are responsible for their actions. Coach (Johnson) holds us accountable, and our team does a good job holding each other accountable because coach isn’t there all the time. Besides the Utah game we have competed the last couple of games, and that is a real plus. That is what I like about this team the most.”
On how big this week is with Miss. State and Xavier …
“It is a big week, but we are taking it one game at a time. We are just worried about Mississippi State. They are 3-0 in conference. They beat us twice last year, a very bad home loss last year. This game is for the lead in the (SEC) West, so we are just worried about Mississippi State. They will come in and run the ball. They have a small line-up, so we will do the best we can to get ready for them.”
On Miss. State’s four-guard line-up …
“It is a physical team usually, probably because they had the biggest guard in the conference last year in Jamont Gordon and a very good post player in Charles Rhodes. Their coach has done a great job in finding their niche which is athleticism, speed and shooting the ball well. They use what they have to their advantage. They are going to spread you out, and (Jarvis) Varnado does a great job of doing what he needs to do offensively in the post keeping guys honest, so it will be a good test for us with Tas and the other big men to guard out in the perimeter, as well as us the guards guarding out in the perimeter.”
On how he has improved his shooting …
“Last year my wrist was broken or whatever the whole season since Maui, so that probably had a little bit to do with it. The year before that I put up a lot of shots, so my percentage went down when league play came around. I have been working, putting up shots after practice and during the summer after I got my wrist better. Coach has a lot of confidence in me and with me playing the wing; it takes less pressure off me brining it up. That has a little bit to do with it too.”
On if they feel more confident at home …
“Like Terry said, it is natural to be more comfortable at home. Me personally, I actually get up for away games, especially if it is a hostile game. Your adrenaline is pumping a little bit more. With away games the fans are there and they are one you already so you have a chip on your shoulder when you play away. At home you have that comfort zone, and hopefully the fans come out and support us Wednesday.”
On if Mississippi State is doing dribble-drive with four guards …
“They do that but they also have some of their old plays in there. They did that last year with the weave through three men or four men. They still run a couple of diagonal screens for the big men. It will be a tough guard.”
On what Quintin brings to the team …
“He comes in and is physical. He is not as big in person as he looks on TV, but he is very physical and strong. He knows his role better than anybody else on this team. He comes in, plays great defense and scores the ball if he has an open shot. He screens and runs the plays and does a great job of that. He is a big asset to this team.”
On games at home where the crowd made a difference …
“Ohio State, and I wasn’t even playing my true freshman year when Brandon Bass and Darrell Mitchell both had 30-something points. We beat them in double overtime. It was a big, big game. The crowd got us hyped. Tack Minor said ?Double-double, 10 and 10.’ He was telling Kent Lowe it was his 10th assist running down the sideline. The crowd was really into it. The Connecticut game two years ago was really raucous with the crowd. They helped us beat that team.”
On having a big crowd this year …
“I was really surprised and happy about the student section last game. They came out and filled all their seats. Maybe we should have let them fill the seats that the paid customers didn’t use. The student section did a great job coming out. Now we just want the public to come out and support us because hopefully we are on to something special. We have to give them what they want which is wins. Playing hard is what will get it.”
Terry Martin Quotes
On if they feel more confident at home …
“We feel more comfortable at home, but away games we also have to make it happen on the road because to win in the league you have to do it on both ends. We are a little more comfortable at home though.”
On Quintin Thornton …
“I agree with Garrett, but I feel he is as big in person as on TV. He knows his role really well. He is trying to change it up and get his offensive game more into it, but he knows his role because he is a defensive player and a rebounder. He comes out there with that on his mind, and that helps us as a team.”
On if his suspension is behind him …
“I feel confident. I told him I just want to help the team and be a part of this because I feel like we have something special this year. I want to be a part of it, and I feel like my teammates and the coaching staff has put everything behind us. We are just looking forward to try to win.”