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SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 7, 2007Patrick BeverleyGary ErvinStan HeathSteven HillATLANTA, GEORGIA THE MODERATOR: Okay, we're ready to begin with Arkansas. We've got Gary Ervin, Patrick Beverley and Steven Hill along with Coach Heath. We'll ask Coach and each of the student-athletes to give us their thoughts on the Arkansas team heading into the tournament. Coach, would you begin. STAN HEATH: I think we're playing well at a good time right now, and our defense has been the key for us. We've been a team that is starting to guard people very well. At the same time, I think we're starting to click a little bit better offensively, and we're getting more production from different players. Gary has played, stepped up his last few games, and Patrick has been pretty consistent all year. Steven's obviously been a big force for us defensively. But the latest thing that's given us a nice little push is our other freshman, Michael Washington, and Stefan Welsh have both given us big games in our last two wins that were very important for us. So right now we've got to be ready to go. South Carolina is a very good basketball team. Our league is so good, any time your teams that finish at the bottom can beat the team that's finished at the top, it's a huge statement. And that's what's happened in our conference so far. Q. Patrick, your thoughts heading into tournament, please? PATRICK BEVERLEY: After the two victories we just want to keep our confidence level up, that's the biggest thing right now. And just continue playing the type of game we've been playing as a team, and just keeping the defensive intensity up, that's the biggest thing for us right now. GARY ERVIN: I think coming into the SEC season, we've got two great wins, one at home, and one on the road. We just want to continue to do some of the things that's we've been doing, And it starts on the defensive end. Everybody knows that we're going to step up on offense when needed. But the biggest thing is our two freshmen that came off the bench the last two games for us. And we're going to continue doing the thing that's made us successful. STEVEN HILL: I don't know that there's that much more to add. But like I said, we're real excited. We have some momentum, and we're definitely ready to go out there and get some victories. THE MODERATOR: Let's take questions for the student-athletes. Q. Can we just talk to Patrick, talk about SEC Freshman of the Year. Then when you're done, Steven, if you'd talk about just what it means to be able to achieve both of those honors as far as Defensive Player of the Year, and freshman for you? PATRICK BEVERLEY: You know, with that award, I would say that's the same thing, you know. That's not possible, you know, because I really think that award should be like a team, a team award. You know what I'm saying, it really doesn't show the value of the team by that award. But my team, when I have bad games, when I have great games they just ride me through. And it's just good learning, learning the game from key veterans like Gary Ervin, and Charles Thomas and Steven Hill. Going out there and playing with the type of confidence every game. And just continue to grow on the basketball court. Just get smart and learn more things on the basketball court. So that is the biggest thing right now. STEVEN HILL: Obviously, like Patrick said, whenever you get individual awards, it's a reflection on the team, and this year our team was really good defensively. You know, we led the team in field goal -- or we led the conference in field goal percentage defensively, and we really stepped some things up that we had been lacking in the past couple of years. So we're real proud of that. Q. This is for Patrick: Tubby Smith was in here talking about how he's really impressed when Kentucky came to Fayetteville, you came up to him before the game and introduced yourself. He said that's kind of uncommon. Wondered if you can talk about that, that aspect of your personality. PATRICK BEVERLEY: You know, before the game, it was just -- it's just good to meet a coach like that. You know, just a great coach that he is. You know, I just don't do that with him, I do that with a lot of coaches. Just go out there and just have a great game, and mutual respect both ways. Q. Steven, earlier this afternoon Richard Hendrix called you Erazorback for blocking shots, what do you think of that nickname for blocking shots? STEVEN HILL: It's something I've never heard before, and it's funny because he's probably one of the toughest guys all year to guard. And coming from him, that's a huge compliment, and very clever. THE MODERATOR: Okay, we'll excuse the players. You can return to the locker room. Q. Stan, you talked about the young perimeter guys you have all year. Can you talk about what specifically that you've been impressed with that they've been able to do that's helped you specifically in these last two games and gives you confidence going into the tournament? STAN HEATH: I think any time you go through a season, you have a lot of new players, especially on the perimeter, brand-new perimeter. We lost, you know, Modica, Brewer, Jefferson, just so much. You wonder about the consistency of how they're going to perform. And you also wonder how they're going to handle adversity. And obviously we went through adversity, went through some ups and downs. Sometimes when you go through that, you could crack and all of a sudden, the bottom can fall out. I guess what I'm most pleased about is that didn't happen with this group. They fought through it. They've improved, they've become better from it. They've become closer because of the adversity they faced. So that's probably the biggest thing I'm proud about of how they withstood some of the things they've had to face this season. Q. Coach, there's been speculation about your future. Is that something you even think about at this point, or can you address it at all? STAN HEATH: Well, I can only say that, you know, I learned a long time ago that there's pressure in this profession, period, and every game could possibly be your last game. So my concern has been to make sure my players are focused on playing the game, and playing it as hard as they can, playing to have some fun, and playing out there together. And as long as I'm keeping my players and their mindset in that direction, I'm fine. Q. You talked about the individual honors that Patrick and Steven got. Talk about their seasons. What did you think of their honors? STAN HEATH: Well, I'm proud of both of them. And I'm proud of what they just said, that it is reflective of their team and their teammates. I really feel both of them are deserving of what the accomplishments that they received. Patrick, I think for a freshman, was incredible. To be as consistent as he was, to handle the pressure the way he did, to perform at the high level against this great competition in this league, it's not normal that you have a freshman that's able to come in the way he did, especially at the guard position. I think it's a little bit different at those power positions, because physically sometimes you can just dominate because of your size and athleticism but he's done it with his head. I can't tell you how many times he's drawn fouls at key times during the season. He's been a guy that kind of breathes a little confidence and toughness into our basketball team. Steven, on the other hand, is just a guy that I just remember his freshman year, with him walking and chewing bubble gum wasn't the easiest thing in the world, And now he's one of the most athletic runner, jumper, timing, intimidating guys in the paint in our conference and you know, we wouldn't be the No. 1 field goal defensive team in our league if it weren't for Steven Hill, because when we make mistakes, he corrects them. Q. Stan, when you talked about the pressure, these guys know about the bubble and all that stuff. Can you talk about trying to keep the pressure off of them in terms of the NCAA Tournament. STAN HEATH: Well, we backed ourselves into a hole with, you know, games that possibly we had in our hands and didn't get, and now we've got to fight our way through it. If there was pressure, if there is pressure, and there is, we probably felt it a lot more a couple games ago than we feel it now. The concern I have a little bit right now is I've got probably more than anybody in the league, as many new guys in their first conference tournament appearance. I want to make sure that for 40 minutes they're not -- they're just going to go out and play. They're not going to worry about the stage, they're just going to go out and play, because if you have a bad two minutes, three minutes, five minutes, you can be history real quick in this league. Q. Stan, the fact that you had to replace your entire perimeter this year with new guys, has it changed your perspective at all on how long it takes a new college player to adapt to the game? STAN HEATH: Well, I think every kid is a little bit different. There are freshmen that are just special, special. That Durant kid is unbelievable, And there are some that can come in and be difference makers right away. That's not the norm. That is the exception. That's probably a 5%, max 10% that that happens. Normally it takes a good freshman, a very highly recruited freshman probably into his second year. Joakim Noah is a great example. His freshman year compared to his sophomore year, night and day. And I think that's a little bit an extreme as well of how well he did. But our freshmen, and I think freshmen as a whole can contribute. And they can help a basketball team. Now what Patrick has done for us is exceptional. To come in and become our leading scorer, get rebounds, get steals. You know, he guards people, does a lot of things like that. I think that's exceptional, and that's rare. We feel very fortunate that we have a guy like that in our program. Q. Stan, this is kind of a two-parter: Talk about, if you would, not being the same team, maybe the first time that you played South Carolina, and then going into a tournament in the postseason in basketball. It's kind of like a second season, new life, all opportunities are on the table. Would you talk about those two things? STAN HEATH: Well, you know, we didn't handle success and failure early in the season very well at all. We were a team, especially the non-conference, that had good success, and all of a sudden when we hit a bump, boy, we struggled with it. I think the same is true with the early part of the conference season. We had come off a good win against LSU, and all of a sudden, we went on the radio and were just a totally different team. Some of that was South Carolina, some of that was us. But we've learned and we've grown through that. I think our ability to win at a tough place like Vanderbilt, who has a very, very good basketball team, did a lot for our confidence. And we're hopeful that that's going to carry us, that kind of momentum's going to carry us as we start this first game against South Carolina. So I do think we're a different team. I think we're much more mature. I think we can handle runs and setbacks during the course of the game a lot better than we did before. And I think at the same time we're a team that sometimes we really get pretty good, pretty wound up for the rated teams and all of a sudden, we play a team that didn't have a number behind their name and we didn't perform quite as well. I think we've moved past that stage as well. Q. Can you talk just about new life in the postseason. STAN HEATH: Well, it's definitely a new season, new opportunity for us. This time of the year it is pretty much one and done. You lose in the conference tournament, you're done. You lose in the postseason, NCAA, or whatever it may be, you're done, so that's a new thing for us in a certain way. But the most important thing we got to understand is yes, we've got another opportunity in front of us, but we face a very good South Carolina basketball team that we have to play well against. Q. Stan, considering the key players you lost last year and all the young players this year, has this program, in your mind, continued to improve, to answer all the critics? STAN HEATH: I do, I definitely do. There is no other team in our league that has three brand new perimeter players in their backcourt. Nobody has that. And we're going up against the teams in our league, and this is probably the most talented group, collection of players in the SEC in a long, long time. So I think in fairness, it's obvious to anybody who even, doesn't even follow basketball, if Ronnie Brewer's a part of our basketball team, how different we are. But him not being here, this group has competed against everybody very well. We laid an egg, probably in one game all season. So we've been fairly consistent. This team has handled that. There's no seniors on the roster, so it is very obvious that this team's going to be better as the future goes on. And I think that bodes well for the progress we've made and where we are, and the possibilities that still exist this season. Q. Coach, we talked about how inexperienced your perimeter game is, when you look on the other side, Tre' Kelly is about as experienced as it gets. Can you talk about how you prepare for almost a one-man show like he is. STAN HEATH: You know, he can control the game, and that's scary a little bit. Because he can literally control the tempo of the game. He can have a strong impact on the decision of who wins and who loses. So we've got to find a way to continue let that happen. He's a great player. He's able to score, he's able to make the guys around him better. He shows tremendous leadership out there on the court. And we've got to find a way to try to turn him down a little bit. Run different guys at him, disrupt him. Whatever we can, but at the same time, if he is able to just do what he wants to do, the last time that happened against us, we allowed two or three other players to really step their games up, too. And that's the equation that they can win with. We've got to make sure that one of those two doesn't happen. Q. Can you talk about just what Sonny Weems has given you from the beginning till now. People talk about Patrick, who won Freshman of the Year, and Gary's addition, but can you talk about what Sonny has given you. STAN HEATH: Sonny is probably the barometer on our team. When Sonny plays well, we're normally in pretty good shape. Because we almost need that third dimension to help us, and Sonny has had some really big games for us. He's also had some games where I think he could have done a little bit more. I'm hopeful that right now as we get to the end part of the season, that Sonny's matured enough to be a consistent player through this tournament, and as we continue on through the season. When he's playing well, we're a different basketball team. THE MODERATOR: All right, thank you very much. End of FastScripts |
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