Opening statement …
“We are preparing for a South Carolina team that has played seven games compared to our 15 games. They had three different interruptions in their season. Its head coach, Frank Martin, fought and defeated COVID on two occasions. Of course, Frank Martin fighting anything, you know he’s going to come out on top. Therefore, we are praying and happy for your health. This is a typical South Carolina team. They are physical. They play hard. They defend very well as a team. They lead the league in offensive rebounds. They have always been a team against which it was very difficult to face the attack because they extend so much. When we were able to beat them, we were able to beat them with a great game of point guard, and guys being able to drive downhill. Samir Doughty, Jared Harper, J’Von McCormick, Isaac Okoro, clashes that can turn corners to get to the edge. So, for us, our creators outside the jump will have to be good because it is difficult to play against South Carolina. Lawson and Cousinard were all guys from the conference pre-season. I must remind my guys, as we get into some of these fights, first, South Carolina returns practically five games, four for sure. They have a lot of their guys back. We didn’t have anyone pre-season at the conference, and that’s okay. But I want to say this to my boys, in the sense that we have a lot to play for, both individually and as a team. So I think South Carolina is a team that will end up being right in the middle for the top division of our league fighting for one of those last places. That’s how I see it now. I know they don’t have as much work as some, but I think they have the pieces to get there. We fought in South Carolina and had great home wins against them. Since I’m in Auburn, I don’t remember for sure, but I think maybe my first home win at the SEC was against South Carolina. It was Missouri or South Carolina. I don’t remember. But I remember that we won the SEC regular season championship at home, when the confetti almost came out of the rafters too early, causing a technical foul in a disputed game. So, let’s see if we can put two halves of basketball together, this time on the road. “
On the challenge of a quick turnaround …
“It is a difficult turn for children. I think the interesting part of this is, look, the children are resilient and they will be fine. We will be fine for Saturday morning’s game against South Carolina. We had a lot of time to prepare and rest. South Carolina played a game on Tuesday and Saturday at home. So, they had more time to prepare and rest. But, we have enough. You get home on Wednesday night at 1:30 pm to 1:45 pm. Who knows what time the children will sleep? You took the COVID test from 7:30 am to 7:45 am the next morning. It’s three-four, four-five hours of sleep for sure. So you practice yesterday. You are limited in what you can do in this practice, and here we will practice today at 1:30 am, we leave at four o’clock. It’s ‘ready or not, here it comes’. But we’ll be fine. “
In Sharife Cooper in his first games …
“He did a great job. He’s a great defender. He has the ability to do whatever he wants with the hands of his legs. I think the teams will make him try to settle for the 3 ball. In my opinion, it would not be a deal with Sharife. He can actually shoot him. He’s hard to deal with on the edge. You have to referee him to the basket because he has the ability to float and stay in the air. People have always managed to block his kick because he is six feet tall, but he is able to stick with his kick and score difficult 2s. That is a big difference for him. So, when it comes to what you do offensively, it’s hard not to put it in your hands because it could score and deliver to other people. Obviously, I think he did a great job. You know, the other night, when we ran out of gas, he had to play 36 minutes again. Allen Flanagan was in trouble. Allen is my backup guard. That was many minutes. From the coach’s point of view, with Allen having four, maybe we could have put Jamal (Johnson) there, who had not been a point guard since the Ole Miss game, and that was because he had to. So it hurt us a little bit in the end. I think Sharife did very well. He is taken in our locker room. He’s not used to losing, and neither am I. “
In South Carolina being better than your record …
“I think South Carolina is very capable of running this year. They have a lot of guys back. Frank (Martin) is a great coach. I am not excluding them. Like I said, I think they have a chance to be an NCAA tournament team this year. They have to win some games, obviously, but there are a lot of games ahead of them that they can win. I like their team. “
About the leadership that Sharife Cooper showed …
“I would like to think that we are digging a small niche in Auburn for fast, small and fast shipowners. Whether it’s Tahj Shamsid-Deen in my freshman year or Jared Harper or J’Von McCormick and now Sharife Cooper and then someone in the years to come, it’s been a position that the guys have done really well. I put the ball in my owner’s hands and let them play. As for Sharife being a leader, he is called the Alpha dog. It doesn’t matter how old you are or how big you are. It’s who he is. He always had that Pied Piper effect to be able to lead so much in his personality, in his friends, in his high school – they won a national championship at McEachern High School when he was a junior. He was a school leader. He was a community leader. The fact that he played only four games with us and lost 72 practices and a few months, he still remained as connected to the players as possible, encouraging them and leading. It’s great to have you out there. “
In AJ Lawson and Jermaine Couisnard of South Carolina …
“When these two guys are there, they win. When they score 80 or more points for Frank (Martin), they are 60-5. These two children, what do they do best? They score. So, when they’re scoring, they win. We have to do a good job of recognizing that and do the best we can to make others score and not let these guys get away. But if Couisnard and Lawson can see it, they can do it. “
About how Justin Powell is doing …
“The only time we see Justin is when we do the COVID test because of the concussion protocol. He’s on a daily basis. They didn’t let him come and practice as part of the concussion protocol. I think he’s closer to moving again, but he’s not there yet. Mentally, he is struggling because he wants to be out there. But you can’t be there if you still have symptoms and headaches. He’s doing the best he can. “
In the game plan, if the teams arrest Sharife Cooper …
“Arkansas did this a few times, and JT Thor hit a 3, Jaylin Williams hit the middle of the floor and gave Babatunde (Akingbola) a dunk pass. If they do that, it means it’s 4 against 3. So, you need to be able to have the spacing to be able to attack 4 in 3. It bothered us a little bit against Arkansas, but it wasn’t the turn of the game. I’m sure the teams will try to hold the ball in their hands, and that means that there are four offensive players against three defensive players. But the key when that happens is to attack and take advantage of the numbers. “
On motivation without NCAA tournament …
“You take Arkansas in the second half. Arkansas almost has to win this game (to enter the NCAA tournament). I even said before the game. They are starting to think, ‘We need to get this one to go to the tournament.’ They played like that. This is an advantage for our opponents. Frank Martin put in (AJ) Lawson and (Jermaine) Couisnard – ‘If we go to the tournament, then this is what has to happen.’ This is a great motivator for playing in pain, playing with fatigue and doing the things you need to do to win. We are not going to the tournament this year and we don’t have that motivation. But the motivation for us is to be able to win, to be able to grow, to be able to improve. For me, it was a missed opportunity in Arkansas, winning at Bud Walton for the third time since I got here. It may have been two in a row. I don’t think we’ve ever done that. Making history. We haven’t won in South Carolina the last three times we’ve been there. We have to face a team from Missouri that already defeated Oregon. They beat Illinois. They are in their 30s on NET. They are going (to the tournament). They are one of the best teams in our league. This is going to be an opportunity Tuesday. So we have to go to Baylor and play against the second team in the country. We still have a lot to play for, but the only thing we don’t have is that we don’t have the ability to say ‘Hey, this is about sowing. It is about competing for a championship. ‘We don’t have that opportunity this year. “
In teams getting more physical with Sharife Cooper …
“I thought he handled it very well (against Arkansas). He doesn’t complain. He’s a tough boy. It is returned. He’s hit hard. He is always hit when he is touched, so this is not new to him. “