Anthony Grant Press Conference Transcript - Jan. 12
1/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 12, 2010
Head Coach Anthony Grant
On last week's road win over LSU and the upcoming game against Vanderbilt:
"It is always good to start with a victory, especially on the road in this league. We're certainly excited about the win, but the focus for our team right now is to look at what lies in front of us and obviously we have a very challenging game coming up against Vanderbilt here tomorrow. Vanderbilt is a team that has won six in a row and, in my opinion, is probably playing as good as anyone in our league. They are a very dangerous team. They shoot the ball well from the perimeter and probably have one of the most dominant big men in our league, if not the country, in (A.J.) Ogilvy, in terms of his ability to affect the game in a variety of ways. It should be great challenge for our team and we are looking forward to it."
On if the team's short bench has affected the speed at which he wants the team to play:
"I think we have to play to our identity. That is the thing we have talked about all year. What we want to do with our team is put ourselves in the best situation to win. Every game brings different challenges. You are not going to do the same thing in one game, that you would necessarily need to do for the next, but I do think we have to have an identity that our guys understand how we expect the game to be played and what we want to do for us. That requires us to at times press, and at times man, and at times zone. We're going to try to push the pace offensively. We're going to do what we do."
On what Alabama has to do to slow down A.J. Ogilvy:
"He's a very talented player. Obviously, he is the focus for their team, but they have a variety of good players. You look at their point guard (Jermaine) Beal, he's having a great year. They have a freshman (John Jenkins) that is one of the tops in the country in three point field goal percentage shooting. They're led by their small forward (Jeffery) Taylor, who is the leading scorer and a very good defender. They pose a variety of problems. I think when you look at Vanderbilt you can't just focus on one guy. Even though Ogilvy obviously presents problems, I think they have a very good basketball team and a very deep basketball team and are obviously very well coached."
On how not having Andrew Steele has affected the lineup:
"It certainly does not help not having the extra body. Andrew started every game for us before he got injured. It's certainly a loss to our team. I think the thing that our team understands is that we're going to continue to go with the guys that are available. Obviously we've had a couple of losses this year, personnel-wise, and you hate to see that happen but that is a part of sports. Injuries do happen and a lot of that is out of our control. As a basketball team, we feel for the guys that aren't able to be a part of this season playing but they're still at every practice, they're there encouraging, they travel with us and are still a part of what we're doing. It's a matter of other guys having opportunities to step up and play a bigger role. That's how I look at it and we'll just continue to go forward."
On Senario Hillman's play of late:
"Senario is a guy that has been in this league for three years. For him, the thing that we talk about is him understanding how he impacts the game and the need for him to become consistent in what he does. I thought that his focus and the energy he played with in the LSU game was where it needed to be. The challenge for him right now is to become that consistent defender and offensive threat."
On facing Arkansas on Saturday:
"Every road game in this league is awfully challenging. In my years in the league, I always felt like Arkansas was one of the tougher places in the league to play. In their last game against Texas I thought they were very impressive with the addition of Courtney Fortson being back with them. I think that adds a new dimension to their team and now that we're in SEC play it's a brand new season for everybody. We expect a great environment and a very tough road game as is typical of this league."
On where his team stands in terms of preparation for remainder of the season:
"I think we're good now. We've gone through a few different phases. You look at the preseason conditioning and what we were trying to accomplish to get ready for practice. Once we started practice to do what we needed to do to be ready to play games. Now we're in that stretch where we had a little break over Christmas and had to get ready for conference season. To me, I want to see how we respond to different situations and the challenges that league play brings. We still as a team have room to grow and improve, both mentally and physically. Every game still presents challenges and hopefully we're a team that continues to get better as we go through the experiences of an SEC season."
Senior Guard Mikhail Torrance
On if the team's style of play has been altered due to injuries:
"Not at all. Not that I've noticed. Coach prepared us for it. He puts us in situations every day that prepares us for it. We prepared for seven weeks for situations like this. Some people have had to play extended minutes but I feel like our bodies are prepared for it."
On what it will take to defeat Vanderbilt:
"It's going to have to be a total team effort to stop a guy (A.J. Ogilvy) that's very skilled. You can't just tell one guy to go in there and stop him. They're a great team in transition so it's going to be a great game to see and I think it's going to come down to who can execute the best."
On how it felt to win the SEC opener at LSU:
"It felt great. Coach Grant does a great job preparing us. We knew exactly what was coming and we knew every play they were running. That was happening and we were pressing. Coach says he wants to win with style of play and that's what he means. We pressed them for about 30 minutes and then held up the last 10. When you're able to do stuff like that, it's good, especially on the road."
On the team's defense of late heading into Wednesday's game:
"It (defense) will be huge especially since they have a lot of three-point shooters. The scouting report this week will be very important and we'll have to lock in and pay attention. I know Coach will do that today and we'll have to be focused on what's coming."
Sophomore Forward JaMychal Green
On Vanderbilt's big men challenging him on Wednesday:
"I think this will probably be one of the biggest teams we play against this year. I know they have a couple of 6-11 guys, so this will be a great game."
On the lack of depth in the frontcourt:
"We are probably thin, but we're a lot stronger than we look."
On playing Vanderbilt:
"I think they are a pretty good sized team. They have great individuals. We are going to have to stick with our identity and try to slow them down in transition and just play a full 40-minute game."
