NEW ORLEANS – The LSU men’s basketball team went through an hour practice late Wednesday morning to conclude preparations for the Tigers’ Southeastern Conference opener against Arkansas that opens the event’s third trip to New Orleans Thursday at noon at the New Orleans Arena.
The Tigers, 17-13 and 7-9 in the SEC, are the eighth seed while Arkansas, 18-13 and 6-10 in the league, is the ninth seed. The winner stays alive and meets top-seeded Kentucky Friday at noon.
The game will be seen on the SEC Network (Baton Rouge -WBRH; Lafayette – WLAF; Monroe – KARD; New Orleans – WUPL; and, Shreveport – KMSS) with Brad Nessler and Jimmy Dykes. The broadcast will be on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network (New Country 100.7 FM The Tiger in Baton Rouge) including the Geaux Zone at www.lsusports.net/live and on the LSUsports Mobile+ apps for iPhone, iPad and Android (www.lsusports.net/apps).
The Tigers appeared relaxed and confident as they went through a nearly 55 minute session on the floor of the Arena, before meeting with the media both at the formal podium setting and in the dressing room. LSU and Arkansas are meeting for the third time this year with the teams having split their games – Arkansas winning in Fayetteville, 69-60, and then LSU winning in Baton Rouge, 71-65.
Justin Hamilton led LSU in the first meeting with 20 points, while Anthony Hickey had 12 points for the Tigers in Fayetteville. Ralston Turner led the Tigers in the Baton Rouge meeting with 16 points, with Hamilton scored 13 and Hickey and Eddie Ludwig scored 12 each.
In the two games, Hamilton averaged 16.5 points per game, while Hickey averaged 12.0. The Tigers shot just 37.8 percent in the two games against the Razorbacks and 5-of-31 from the arc.
Coach Trent Johnson indicated in the post-practice media session that Turner would return to the starting five after coming off the bench for the first time in his career against Auburn. He responded with a team high 14 points in that contest.
Turner, a sophomore, is averaging 8.9 points per game and will be joined by All-SEC Freshman team member Anthony Hickey (9.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.7 apg) and sophomore Andre Stringer (10.1 ppg, 2.6 apg) at guards with All-SEC Second Team performer Justin Hamilton (13.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg) at center and either freshman Johnny O’Bryant III (8.3 ppg) or senior Storm Warren (8.1 ppg) at the forward position.
Arkansas’ lone starter averaging double figures at 10.8 points per game is sophomore Mardracus Wade who leads the SEC in 3-point percentage.
LSU will be trying to end a three-game losing streak, Arkansas two. Arkansas leads the series, 31-23, and 2-1 in SEC Tournament games. The last time the teams met was in the first round of the 2003 tournament with LSU winning in a game played across the street at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
The Tigers are 22-32 since the renewal of the tournament in 1979, but LSU has won its first game in the event no matter what round it is was in 15 times. The Tigers won the 1980 championship in Birmingham. Arkansas has a record of 3-7 in 10 first round appearances and has not won a first-round SEC Tournament game since the 2007 season.
Updates during the game will be available on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/LSUBasketball and on Twitter @LSUBasketball.
LSU Media Session
CLAUDE FELTON: We’re ready to begin with LSU. We’ll have Coach Johnson give some opening thoughts on his team coming into the tournament. Then we’ll take your questions just for the two student-athletes and excuse them to the locker room, which is open at this time by the way. And then we’ll finish up with some questions with Coach Johnson. So coach if you would begin.
COACH JOHNSON: Thank you. Well, what a difference two weeks makes for us. Obviously the last two weeks haven’t been very good in terms of us being able to play well, but we’re looking forward to a new season. And this is a fresh start for be us. I would be remiss if I wouldn’t congratulate Anthony for being selected to the all-SEC Freshman Team, and also Justin being selected to the SEC Second Team. These are two guys that came into our program with a lot on their plates and have stepped up to it in terms of putting this team on their back at times, making plays down the stretch. So we play a very, very good Arkansas team that is very well coached by Mike Anderson and causes a lot of problems if you don’t handle their pressure. But again, we’re looking forward to the challenge tomorrow.
CLAUDE FELTON: We’ll take your questions for either student-athletes. If you’ll raise your hand and we’ll get a microphone to you.
Q. Obviously it’s been a tough couple weeks. Talk about the team’s attitude coming into the tournament, how you guys are feeling.
ANTHONY HICKEY: We feel pretty confident. Everybody is getting their confidence back. Everybody is pumped up. We’re more hungry for the wins. And we got a big making up to do and we’re going to own up to what we need to do as a team.
JUSTIN HAMILTON: We’re really excited for this new opportunity and we have been working really hard the past couple days in practice and just getting back to what we were doing in the beginning of the — or the middle of the SEC play and we’re just ready to show everyone what we can do.
Q. Justin, could you talk about the benefit of playing this tournament, Baton Rouge, having to only travel 80 miles, and do you feel like you guys can get a boost from the home crowd here?
JUSTIN HAMILTON: Yeah, it’s great. We didn’t have to take a flight and so that was always good. We just drove down here today. We’re hoping that we can have as many people come here and we’re going to have the home crowd like we do early in the season.
Q. Can you talk a little bit about the last three games. Was there any common thread in why you struggled, what you were thinking the last three games.
ANTHONY HICKEY: Last two games, you know, late situations going into the game, our defense, we slacked on the defensive end, we didn’t execute on the offensive end, it was our own fault as a team. It was good it was early on in the year and we got another opportunity and we’re going to take ownership of it.
JUSTIN HAMILTON: We just slacked off in the defensive end at times. We didn’t execute, and we know that it was all on us. We knew that or we know that we can fix those things and so in the past three days, we have been trying to get back to playing LSU basketball and just executing and playing with a lot of effort and intensity.
Q. Coach, is this the type of tournament where a lower seed can do well, catch lightning in a bottle? You saw Georgia do it in 2008, win the tournament, being a lower seed.
COACH JOHNSON: Well, I think when you look at the balance of this league, and it speaks volumes to South Carolina early in the year going on the road, Ohio State, one of the premier teams in the country and having a chance to beat them there. Obviously, Kentucky has gone wire to wire, but we look at the balance of the league, and I think if any team is not ready to play to their strengths, certain teams can advance in this tournament. So a lot happens at this time of year, a lot of guys are banged up, but again the bottom line is you do what you have been successful at all year long and you’ll have an opportunity in the league this year.
ANTHONY HICKEY: Like coach says, it’s about who finishes all at the end of the season. You get another opportunity then. You play everybody again and you get another opportunity and you just have to be able to complete what you’re going to do.
JUSTIN HAMILTON: It’s March, so anything can happen, and so we know that coming into this, no matter what seed you are, you still have to play your best game to beat the opponent.
Q. Just what’s your thought on Arkansas after playing them twice and splitting home and home.
ANTHONY HICKEY: The best team is going to win. It’s either win or go home. We already played. We know what we’ve got to do, but we’ve still got to adjust what we’re going to do. We got to take care of the ball and be ready on the defensive end and it’s going to be a grave defensive game on both ends.
JUSTIN HAMILTON: Arkansas is a very talented team, young team, they pressure a lot. So we just have to handle the ball and just make sure that we execute our stuff and don’t get into a hurry, fast-pace game that they want.
Q. As a point guard, how have you benefited from having a big man inside like Justin? And Justin, as a big man, have you benefited from having a point guard like Anthony.
ANTHONY HICKEY: On offense we work inside south. So we feed our big men and then our perimeters work off our big men. So it’s a good thing for both sides, because if they double, we got a perimeter wide open to knock down the jumper. And then if they play off of us, we can go inside. So it’s based off our offensive intensity.
JUSTIN HAMILTON: It’s great. Anthony is a really fast, quick point guard that he passes the ball great, and so it’s always keeping me aware that I can just be looking for the ball because he can put the ball in tight spaces. And so at the end of games, I think we have had a really good connection just setting screens and working off each other. And it’s just been really, it’s a lot of fun.
CLAUDE FELTON: We’ll excuse the student-athletes and you can return to the locker room. We’ll take questions for coach.
Q. I know you played Arkansas just a couple weeks ago, a game that you guys had in control for the most part. At the end of the game it got to a two-point game. What made it difficult for your team against them down the stretch? Was it their defense, that they were banging on you inside in the paint?
COACH JOHNSON: Their pressure causes problems for you because they attack you offensively. But they give you so many different looks on the defensive end. Whether it’s a two-two-one on a full court, man-to-man, run-and-jump, three-two, face guard, go back to a matchup zone. So they really do a good job of keeping you out of rhythm. But they’re always in the attack mode defensively and then they’re always in attack mode offensively. So their game, regardless of who they play, they’re going to play in spurts. So it puts a premium on if you don’t get back and limit their transition opportunities, keep them out the middle on the half court, you’re going to struggle. For us, we have to like any team we have had success at, we got to go inside out and pound the ball in the post and shoot the ball well.
Q. Mardracus Wade, he’s leading the conference in 3-point shooting, under 48 percent. He shot 20 percent last year and, like, 44 attempts. What’s your take on the guy, what’s he done this year to improve that much?
COACH JOHNSON: He’s a big improvement, but whether it’s him, whether it’s B.J., whether it’s Scotty, there are four of them that shoot the three, but also they put it on the floor well. So, yeah, you push them off the 3-point line, then they can bounce it one, two, three dribbles and get in the lane. But he is, I want to say, him and Steele from Mississippi State, every time I watch tape on those two, I feel like they don’t miss. They never miss perimeter jump shots in a row. But this team and Arkansas, they have got three or four perimeter guys that shoot the three, but they can put it on the floor and get to the rim. So it puts a lot of pressure on your defense. It puts a lot of pressure on your post guys being able to help.
Q. Can you talk about how much progress you think the program has made this year and do you think you have to win a game in this tournament to clinch some kind of post-season opportunity?
COACH JOHNSON: The second question, I don’t know. I don’t spend a lot time worrying about that as opposed to just making sure we play good basketball and player better basketball than what we played in the last two weeks. And a lot of that has been us not defending, but also the ball not going down for us. Now, in terms of the progress of the program when you look at the numbers, we have improved in win/loss cases. But for me, I tend to evaluate that at the end of year because bottom line, there are more games to be played right now. And if you would have asked me that question two weeks ago, my answer would have been the same with everybody else, I thought we were on cloud 9 because we were in a pretty good situation. So I tend to wait to the end of the year and evaluate everything starting with me going down.
Q. You played Tennessee last week, just curious what your take on them was and the way they’re playing going into the tournament.
COACH JOHNSON: I don’t think they’re playing very well. I think they’re horrible (Laughter.) … No, I made this comment the week before we played them, I remember watching them in Maui play Memphis, play Duke, and then you could tell right then, it was a very tough-minded, very competitive group. I think Coach Martin’s done an exceptional job, instilling his philosophy, so on and so forth. And then they get Wes Unseld, Jr., eligible, which is Stokes, they get him eligible. So they’re a very physically, mentally tough team, and you have to congratulate them because this thing’s based off of playing your best basketball at the end of the year, and they’re doing that. So I mean, hats off to them. I was joking, sarcasm, so we don’t need no bulletin board material, okay?
Q. You didn’t have Johnny O’Bryant when you played Arkansas the first time. You did when you beat them at your place. Just what kind of difference did he make whenever you played them the second time around?
COACH JOHNSON: I think it was another body, but the big difference when we played them the second time around was Eddie Ludwig came off the bench and gave us a lot of help. Johnny, I think, struggled. He had six turnovers but his ability to rebound the ball really helped us. So again as opposed to any one guy making a difference, all year long, we have had to operate with everybody on all cylinders. I use the terms all the time all hands on deck, as opposed to any one guy. So Johnny helped us because he was healthy and he could rebound the ball … But the key to that game was Eddie Ludwig came off the bench and was able to score 12 points and handle the ball versus their pressure at the four spot.
Q. Last time you played Arkansas, they haven’t been playing very well. They have lost seven of nine. Based on what you’ve seen what’s kind of been the difference down the stretch for them? Are they wearing down or anything?
COACH JOHNSON: I know it’s hard for everybody to understand at times, but you look at the balance of this league, sometimes you just have to tip your hat to the opponent. And when I look at them on tape, it’s like, Are there kids playing tight? I don’t think so. They just missed some shots at key times, and they have had some breakdowns. This time of the year, kids aren’t trying to miss shots, not trying to do things to lose a game. But it just happens. That’s just the sport. Especially when there’s so much balance.
So they beat Auburn twice. They’re right there with Vanderbilt, so you have to tip your hat to this league and the overall balance of it and how hard it is to win in college basketball, as opposed to whatever, why are they struggling, so..
Q. You split home and road with everybody in the west this year. Can you kind of speak to that, why do you think that was and does this neutral floor situation kind of scrap that whole deal and what do you have to do to get a win on a neutral floor?
COACH JOHNSON: Neutral, home, road, away, I know you heard me say this before, I’m a firm believer in good teams, good players, but more importantly, tough teams, mentally tough players, doesn’t matter where they play, when they play, who they play, and they’re going to be successful.
In reference to us splitting, I think we have got a deeper team here, more talent. Obviously this group, the nucleus of this group went through a lot last year, and the last year and a half. So you can look at experience, you can look at this, you can look at that, but I think it’s basically based off of talent and these two guys who just left are a reason being.
Q. Is there anything you can do about the shooting? I know you referenced the shooting, you weren’t happy with that. As a coach can you coach that? What do you do?
COACH JOHNSON: Well, we chart uncontested shots and again, I’ve said this about three or four weeks ago, it’s amazing to me that how many open uncontested shots we didn’t finish or plays in the post. But as long as guys are taking good shots from the frame work of our offense and are being aggressive, I’m not going to worry about it. I’m not one of these guys that’s going to get on my guys and say you got to do this, you got to do that offensively. There’s only one part of this game that kids really get to enjoy playing and that’s on the offensive end. so I try to stay as positive and encourage them as much because everything else in terms of defending, taking care of the ball, and rebounding, that’s something that you have to stay on them constantly about, but it’s unfortunate and it always happened for a couple guys on this team in different situations. But the bottom line is if they weren’t out there working and in the gym and trying to get it corrected, I have a problem with that. But we’re doing that. Auburn we were 9-17 from the three, in the post we were 2-19 from our two best players. That hasn’t happened all year long. So I mean my goodness, hopefully that’s one of those games and we just move on.
Q. Against Auburn you used Ralston off the bench and he seemed to play pretty well. Do you see yourself using him in that role this week and also with Jalen, is he healthy where he can practice with you guys and could be available if you need him in the tournament?
COACH JOHNSON: Jalen is healthy. He did practice the last day and a half. He had a lot of spring, a lot of bounce, and in terms of bringing Ralston off the bench, I think the most success this team has had is when I got ejected at Ole Miss, so I think I need to stay in the locker room and let those guys be coached by Donny and I think we’ll be okay. Ralston is going to go back to the starting lineup. He’s going to be back in the starting lineup. You guys didn’t think that was funny? Good. I didn’t either.
Q. With you guys being so close by and this is your home state, do you feel like you got a home court advantage tomorrow?
COACH JOHNSON: No. No. Because we’re not playing at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. And again, this is a tournament, I’m one that always I said it before, don’t matter where you play, who you play, when you play. If we’re not mentally tough and we’re not mentally right, like I think we will be, you’re going to struggle. So but, no, I don’t get caught up in all that.
Q. You said you didn’t think it would be a home court advantage for you guys, but can you just speak to the significance for the state of Louisiana having the tournament here in New Orleans and also the Final Four later this month?
COACH JOHNSON: I said this going into this year, the SEC the national championship, basketball venue here and SEC tournament, the Final Four speaks volumes to this area in terms of being able to attract some of the premier sporting events in the country. I think the Super Bowl is here next year, isn’t it? So I think it just speaks volume to it. So it’s neat timing and it’s good for the state.
CLAUDE FELTON: Thank you very much.
ARKANSAS MEDIA SESSION
CLAUDE FELTON: We’ll take questions for coach and then take questions for the student-athletes after coach’s opening statement.
COACH ANDERSON: Obviously it’s a time of the year where the records are 0-0 and everyone’s trying to get that automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. So the SEC tournament is a huge, huge event for all the teams that are involved in it. So we’re excited to be here and playing against an LSU team that we faced earlier in the year. We split, so it should be I think a competitive game, where guys are going to get out there and leave it on the line. Right now it’s a one-game season and we know that. And I’m sure all the teams in here know that. So we’ll come out and hopefully put one of our better performances together.
This is when you want to get on a run and play some of your best basketball. We have had periods during the year, and hopefully this will be an opportunity we can really put some things together.
CLAUDE FELTON: Take your questions for the student-athletes.
Q. B.J., just wondering if you could talk about being second-team all-conference, I guess you’re only fifth Razorback to ever get all-freshman and all-conference recognition in the same year, and also talk about maybe from the freshman standpoint, the excitement of the tournament. This is the first time you guys have gone through this.
B.J. YOUNG: I’m just thankful for the opportunity that the coaches in the league thought I was good enough to make those teams. I’m just thankful for that. This is a great opportunity for our team to make some noise in the conference tournament. It’s a one-game season, like coach said, and we have come down here focused and ready to get a win.
Q. You guys haven’t played your best basketball down the stretch, but like you guys talked about, there’s new life right now. What gives your guys confidence, makes you think your guys can pull off something here.
MARDRACUS WADE: I believe in this team, this style of play, I believe in the coaching staff, and I believe in each and every one of us. We go in and work hard every day and we practice how we play. And I just have just a belief in these guys that now that they know it’s 0-0 coming into this tournament, they’re a little more hungry, and they want to win. I’m excited for my team and we are anxious to get out there and show the world what we can do.
B.J. YOUNG: It’s a great opportunity for our team and it’s new life. And the style of play we play, we can beat anybody and we can jump out to early leads and just control the game from there. So that’s what we’re going to try to do, start fast and just take control of the game.
Q. Baton Rouge is 70 or 80 miles away, LSU’s obviously playing in their home state. Do you feel like the visiting team for tomorrow’s game?
MARDRACUS WADE: Not at all. This is on a neutral floor and anything can happen. And we just come in just feel like this is our house. No matter where we play, when we play on the road, we feel like this is our house. And we got to go in tomorrow and play like this is Bill Walton Arena or any other place, and I think if we can come in and play like that, we can come in and get a W.
B.J. YOUNG: They kind of have a home court advantage in their state, we don’t look at it like that. It’s just another game on a neutral site. We are here to win and do our best efforts and do what we do best and play fast and take it from them.
Q. You lost 7-9 down the stretch, but you put some stretches earlier in the year where you played some good ball. What was the difference in the losses lately and what do you need to do to get back to playing to like you were?
B.J. YOUNG: We got to close out games. I think we control games through the whole game and sometimes we just kind of fall apart toward the end of the game. But we have been playing well, we just got to figure out how to close out games. And I think we’ll work that out in practice. We’re ready to show that we worked on it.
MARDRACUS WADE: I feel like sometimes we get early leads or get leads and we just play the player instead of playing to win. And we got to turn it around and we got to play to win, finish out games, no matter what or who we’re playing, we got to step up, make good decisions, just got to keep the tempo up. We start playing fast and then we try to slow it down, try to run stuff and that’s not how we play. You ever see us play, we’re full-out 40 minutes. We can’t have spurts. We got to play like this the whole time if we want to win. And I think we have the key players that can do it. I believe in the coaching staff, I believe in everybody in this team, that we can come in here and get it done.
Q. After playing LSU twice, splitting home and home, just what are your thoughts on LSU, what kind of team they got what you got to do tomorrow.
B.J. YOUNG: They have a pretty good team. I know we beat them at home and they beat us at their place, but we played really good at their place. And we had a chance to win that game, but we just let it go at the end of the game. But, um, they got good players and I think if we play our style and just play how we play, we can control the game with our speed. So, yeah.
MARDRACUS WADE: I think we just come into this game and just focus with the right mindset, knowing that we come in play how we play, that we can come in and win. LSU obviously is a good team. They have good players, have good freshman. They have the Stringer kid, Ralston, Hamilton. We just got to work on the key factors on those teams, and we got to try to cut off the head, which is the point guard, and slow him down and get him playing how we play and make him uncomfortable. We’re not trying to steal the ball. We’re trying to make him uncomfortable and play our way and how we want to play.
CLAUDE FELTON: We’ll excuse the student-athletes and take questions for coach.
Q. You’ve been kind of critical of your defense down the stretch here, particularly in the half court. What are you guys working on and what makes you think you can play better defense?
COACH ANDERSON: First, I think we get some guys back healthy. I think if you know our team, we have had guys going down and we go down to eight scholarship players. Marvell was out for awhile, Michael Sanchez was out for awhile, and I think that those guys are very, I think, instrumental in what is taking place. When you talk about the early surge when we were playing well, what they brought to the table was very important. Mike’s physicalness, his toughness, Marvell’s athletic ability. So now we’re starting to get those guys back a little bit more healthy. So with that being said, I think in this particular game I think our defense is going to have to be the difference. I think it’s energy and defense right now. We got to be able to rebound the basketball. I thought at their place, they did a good job of controlling the glass, especially in the second half. We had some unforced turnovers where there would be charges or just playing in a big hurry. And I think that’s the thing with a young basketball team is that they have periods where they kind of panic a little bit. And that’s what they talked about, not closing out games. So I think we’re a little bit better in that department. Even as we come into this tournament, we kind of limp a little bit. With Julysses Nobles, he kind of tweaked his ankle in the last game at Mississippi State and hadn’t practiced the last two days. So it will be interesting to see how we come out. But I still like the mindset of our guys. I think there’s no quit in them. I think they’re continuing to work hard and I think defensively we will be a lot better in this tournament.
Q. I know you haven’t had all the pieces and players you hoped to have this year, but just how do you feel summing up where you are compared to maybe what you thought it might be like this first year back at Arkansas?
COACH ANDERSON: Well, one of the things coming in, there was a lot of question marks. There was a lot of unknowns. I was in a position where I had a lot of no one’s at Missouri, but I came into a situation where there was a lot of unknowns. So through the spring and through the summer and even through the fall, you find a little bit more about your players — but I don’t think you really find out more, you find out really about them when the season is on. And I think these guys have given me everything they got. Obviously we don’t have all the pieces right now, and that’s the thing to me is that, as we put more pieces together, I think you’re going to see a team that I think people will kind of be leery of playing.
Marshawn Powell going out was huge for our basketball team. So it’s been a team — it’s been a year of kind of adjustments, making adjustments. But I think when you talk about the youth of this basketball team, four of your top players are freshmen. They were in high school. I think they have done a remarkable job. The thing you want as a coach is to see them finish it out, and that’s what we haven’t done. When you talk about the last seven out of nine games, they are games where we have been in and where we just didn’t finish, we didn’t play well, we didn’t execute well. Understanding what it takes to win on the road, we finally got over that so coming into this tournament, this provides us another opportunity to see where we are, not only this basketball team, but even as we move forward our program. But I think there’s been progress made and I think changing the culture is changing the mindset, let. Me put it this way, there’s hope again. There is hope again.
Q. Justin Hamilton had a big game against you guys both times that you played this year. What are your thoughts on the impact he’s had his first year in the league? And also what are some things you think your team can do differently against him this time around?
COACH ANDERSON: I tell you what, he’s a very good player. He’s 7 foot, he’s pretty versatile. And he’s an experienced guy. You’re talking about a four-year junior? Played against him at Iowa State. He’s long. He’s gotten stronger. But I think what you got to do is keep him guessing where people are coming from. I think the times that we have been successful against him we have been pretty active, whether you got one or two people coming at him. But I think the first thing, you got to keep him off the boards. I thought he did a yeoman’s work at their place. I thought in the first half at our place, we did a very good job and we got a lead and I thought all of a sudden I think Hickey did a good job of getting the ball to him and the screen and roll. At their place, I thought he did a good job of really attacking the glass. And he and Johnny O’Bryant. So that’s going to be our task right there is keeping those guys off the glass. Their best offense is to shoot it and go get it. I think that they prefer a half-court game, and we want to be up tempo. But I think our defense is the thing that’s got to be solid, and we have got to put bodies — that’s why I say, a guy like Michael Sanchez is important to our basketball team. It’s important for Devonta to give us that physicalness. As well as now we have a guy by the name of Brandon Mitchell who is starting to play and playing awful well for us, helping us off the football team. So he provides a level of toughness. I think this time of the year you got to have toughness. Not only do you got to have guys that can play, you got to have a toughness. Because people are so familiar with one another.
Q. Wade improved his 3-point shooting to 27 percent this year from like 20 to 47. He’s leading the league. Did you see that coming? What are your thoughts on that?
COACH ANDERSON: Well, I think that a lot of it has to be attributed to Mardracus. I think he really put the time in. We talked about coming in, the style of play, and I think for a guy like him, it’s going to free him a little bit. Because if you are attacking, especially offensively, your big guys running the floor, you’re pushing the ball, that defense is not back. So it gives him an opportunity to knock some shots down. I think on any team you got to have somebody that can knock shots down. Every team I’ve had, I’ve had guys that can. You got to. You got to find them, whether you’re in a man, zone, but I think a lot of that goes to Mardracus, because he’s put the time in on it and he’s been knocking shots down. Our guys have been doing a good job of getting the ball to him.
Q. Drake talked about how this team’s at its best when it’s playing fast, but by the same token, you said you don’t want them to hurry because of the mistakes. Is that kind of a fine line between playing fast and too fast and how do you stay on the right side of it?
COACH ANDERSON: That’s the process we’re going through right there. We want to play fast, quick, but not in a hurry. I think that’s what young guys, they think fast is really boom, just going down and shooting it and one pass. And if you’ve had a chance to watch any of my teams, we may push it down the floor. We pass it 12 times, we’re going to take good shots. It’s run and execute, it’s not run and gun. But more than anything else, I want these guys, that’s why I said, it’s a process to understand that defense. I think defense is the thing we’re going to continue to hang our hats on, we got to hang our hats on. And I think the more we learn and understand that…That’s why I said the we’re laying the foundation in terms of how we want to play and the things we got to do in order to play that way. And I think defense has got to be the catalyst of it and I think the offense will take care of itself.
Q. Following up on what you said earlier about it being a work in progress, making progress, what are some things that your teams do well in the past that maybe you haven’t had the bodies to do this year?
COACH ANDERSON: I think the numbers. I think the reason why I don’t think we really closed games out well, I think fatigue has been a big factor. You look at the minutes that some of these guys are playing. Mardracus Wade, Julysses Nobles, you know, it’s as great as when we were on a national championship. I think the most anybody played on that team was like 29 minutes a game. Scotty Thurman, for his career averaged 28 minutes a game. So it’s about efficient when you play, it’s about how efficient you are. Sometimes it’s not just a quantity of minutes, it’s the quality of minutes. That’s where we want to get our players and our program to where guys are playing quality minutes. You look at a guy like B.J. Young. I mean, here’s a guy that’s coming off the bench and he’s your leading scorer. He’s shooting over 50 percent from the field, over 40-something from the field. I mean that’s pretty good. And.
So if you get more guys in that mindset, not necessarily just from the scoring standpoint, but just the quality minutes, so when you talk about the bodies, I don’t think we have had the bodies that we needed. And, of course, losing a guy like Marshawn, that really hurts you because he’s a guy that’s capable of being a double-double guy. And you got to have a go-to guy. So when you look at our four situation, I mean, we’re trying to do it by committee, where I think our guards, they will continue to get better. We got some young guys that are — that got a chance to be very good players, outstanding players, but they have been thrown into the fire. A guy like Hunter Mickelson, you can see the potential there, but he’s been thrown into the fire. But with that being said, what you saw this year, there will be a whole lot, they will be a whole lot better next year.
Q. I was going to ask you about, with a young team, a developing team, what does this event, the SEC tournament, how can that contribute to the long range goals?
COACH ANDERSON: This is something they haven’t experienced all year long. We had an invitational tournament, but we didn’t have one of this format. So this can set the stage for what’s going to take place in the future, and providing some things take place in here to another tournament, post-season tournament. Not only that, in future years we have a tournament set that we’re going to an exempt tournament that we’re going to next year and the following year. So for young guys, this is the first time for them, and so that’s why they’re excited about it.
Q. Continuing with that thought, do you feel like if you perform well in this tournament, there might be another post-season tournament for you this season, besides running the table and making the NCAAs?
COACH ANDERSON: Well, that’s what this tournament is all about. It’s about trying to survive each game and get through it. And the automatic bid goes to the winner of this tournament. But we want to play some good basketball I think more than anything else. Try to improve upon what we have done this year, in this particular game. I think the first game is always the most important game.
So I can’t see that far down the line. We’re getting ready to face an LSU team that they’re hungry, we’re hungry, so we’ll play the first game of the tournament. There’s a lot of unknowns because you never know how your players are going to come out. That’s the interesting thing about the first game in a tournament for any team. You don’t know the psyche of your team, but I like how our guys are approaching this.
Q. You mentioned Brandon Mitchell. He’s going to come back home for this one. What kind of excitement have you sensed from him, and he’s only 6’4″, what has he done to maybe offset the size disadvantage that he has playing in the post?
COACH ANDERSON: Brandon, I’m sure he’s excited coming back home. He’s from Louisiana and we played at LSU earlier, I don’t even think he played much in that game. But I think he’s in better shape now and he’s starting to help our basketball team. I mean, he’s a leader. I mean, he’s got — this guy plays football, so he’s a leader. He’s got the toughness and people don’t realize he was a basketball player before he became a football player.
And I think that’s, to me, his basketball IQ is very high. I mean, he helps our basketball team, with the shortage of players that we do have. So I just think 6’4″, his toughness and he’s very athletic, too. You can put some guys out there and they can kind of mumbo jumbo everything up, but things kind of flow when he’s out there. Things happen when he’s out there. So I’m excited he’s out here and helping our basketball team.
CLAUDE FELTON: Thank you very much.