BATON ROUGE – LSU men’s basketball coach Trent Johnson met with the local media on Monday to discuss the Wednesday’s upcoming Southeastern Conference basketball game with the University of Arkansas at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and to review the opening SEC win at Auburn this past Saturday.
The Tigers are 9-7 on the season and more importantly, 1-0 in league play, while Arkansas comes to Baton Rouge with a record of 11-3 and also 1-0 in the SEC West after a win in Fayetteville over Tennessee.
LSU defeated Auburn by a score of 62-55 after nearly setting an NCAA record for giving up just six first half points to the home-standing Tigers. Garrett Green had a career high 18 points and Matt Derenbecker in his first start of his college career, added 15.
Tickets for the game are available at LSUtix.net and at the LSU Athletics Department Ticket Office. The game will be regionally televised on the SEC Network and outside the SEC area on ESPN3.com. The radio broadcast will be available on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network (WTGE New Country 100.7 FM The Tiger in Baton Rouge).
LSU Basketball can be followed on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/LSUBasketball and on Twitter @LSUBasketball and @LSUCoachJohnson.
Trent Johnson Media Session
January 10, 2011
Opening Statement …
“Arkansas is a much improved team throughout this year from last year. One of the things that impress me the most is defensively because they really cause a lot of problems for you in man-to-man and zone. Their perimeter players are very quick and have a level of toughness that you really appreciate. Obviously with (Glenn) Bryant, (Delvon) Johnson, Marshawn (Powell) and other kids on the back line, they are for real. They are as good a team as there is in our league. They had one game which was very uncharacteristic of them this year and that was at Texas, but Texas is a very good basketball team and caught them at the right time. Other than that this is a very steep challenge, and probably the best team we have had come into our home court all year long. Offensively (Rotnei) Clarke is Clarke, he is special. This is a very explosive team, a very talented team and a very well coached team. John (Pelphrey) has done a very good job with this group in transforming them from last year where they were offensively orientated to this year where they are really defending in the full court and causing a lot of problems.”
On Arkansas forward Marshawn Powell …
“I thought Powell was one of the best players as a freshman in our league last year. The Kentucky group overshadowed a lot of guys, but he was as good a player as there was last year in our league as a freshman and a player. He can score inside and out and he has a very good feel for the game. He is a tough and very competitive individual. After watching him play against Tennessee, he is back to full strength.”
On how well his team played defensively in the first half against Auburn and what he was thinking when he saw the score was 32-6 at the half …
“My thoughts were that the first five minutes of the second half are important. We talk to them regardless of if we are behind or ahead it is about the next possession. We have to try and win the next possession defensively or offensively. Then also as a staff we need to be realistic that we were good defensively but (Auburn) missed some shots. As much as we talk to our team, it is real evident in college basketball. You can’t be blinded by playing well just because you are shooting the ball well. Against Florida State the ball went down for them but against us it didn’t. I thought we did a decent job defensively and I thought they were bad offensively and missed some open shots, but it was nice to be in that position being up at half because we knew at this level of play that they would make their runs.”
On out-rebounding Auburn …
“We said this at the start of the game, we have yet to out-rebound a team on the road. For us to be successful we have to dominate the glass and take care of the ball. In the first half we were good in all aspects.”
On Ralston Turner‘s progress …
“Ralston is week-to-week and not day-to-day. He won’t practice this week. I will not put him out there unless he is 100 percent. The reaction to a stress fracture, the next worse scenario is a stress fracture which is a long going healing process. We will go with the lineup that we started versus Auburn on the road.”
On what Matt Derenbecker brings to the starting lineup …
“Matt is different. Matt is a guy that shoots a stationary three. He can get to the rim going to his left, which is his strong hand. Ralston shoots it off the dribble and could score inside and out. Matt is playing well and it is one of those scenarios where we expected him to be playing like this early on so he is coming around. Our lineup is not going to change but we are going to need other guys to step up. Garrett (Green) played well and Matt played well offensively. Aaron (Dotson) is going to have to start shooting the ball better and Storm (Warren) is going to have to start giving us a little more. It is the same old story for us. Regardless of who is out there we are going to need other guys to make plays.”
On what Garrett Green is doing to play so well …
“When he plays within himself and doesn’t try to do too much and he doesn’t get too down on himself he has the ability to hit open jump shots. He had a lot of dunks and put backs, and that was based off of Andre Stringer and Chris Bass getting into the lane. Garrett’s whole thing since he has been here is just his confidence and his understanding that this is what you need to do and play within yourself. If he does those things he has the opportunity to help us on a consistent basis.”
On if the team is going to play mostly zone defense for the rest of the season …
“Well I see us in a situation where we have to play a lot of zone because our defense from a man standpoint at the point of attack is not where it needs to be. A zone defense affords you the luxury of your opponent making an extra pass or two which takes time off the clock. Then we can go down offensively and manage the game to our liking, which is a possession by possession game. Yes we are going to run when we have opportunities, but to run you have to defend on the half court and full court in man and zone, and we haven’t been able to do that on a consistent basis. We are going to use zone and whatever we have to do to compete and win games.”
On if the Auburn win will give the team a boost of confidence …
“Well obviously it should give you some confidence because winning gives you confidence. It is real important for me to get them to understand this word I always use called false confidence. Auburn is Auburn, now it’s Arkansas. I said this about a month ago, for whatever reason we compete harder and play better on the road. We haven’t played well here at home, so we have to get that answered. I don’t get caught up in all of that. Everyone talks about momentum and confidence, but I tend to dwell on just the next practice, the next play and the next possession.”