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SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENT


March 11, 2009


Rotnei Clarke

Courtney Fortson

John Pelphrey


TAMPA, FLORIDA

CLAUDE FELTON: We'll get opening comments from coach Pelphrey.
COACH PELPHREY: I think any time you're involved in tournament-type atmosphere, it's certainly exciting. And if you have a chance to stick around, there is nothing like it. To have another 40 minutes of life, of your basketball life, left. You know, for us right now in the Southeastern Conference Tournament is an opportunity to earn an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament. In order for us to get that done, we've got to win four games and specifically we've got to deal with the University of Florida from the start.
We're excited about the opportunity. I think our team is excited. They've been resilient all year long in terms of liking to play. I think that even late in the season we've played some of our best basketball, although we didn't get the rewards of winning.
So we're here. We're excited. Had some good workouts. We understand it's going to be a tremendous challenge with Florida. Calathes is tremendous. And Billy has done a great job of putting together an offensive basketball team that it feels almost impossible to keep them from getting wide open three point shots.
And some things in the last game for us that hurt us were our turnovers. And the fact that we couldn't limit them on the offensive glass. They had tremendous energy. Good, tremendous respect for their basketball team. So we understand who we are, and we understand who we're playing.
CLAUDE FELTON: Questions for the student-athletes.

Q. Can you just talk about how your freshman season has gone? Kind of the ups and downs and what you think you've learned? Kind of sum it up where you think you are right now from where you started?

COURTNEY FORTSON: : I think our freshman season has been going well so far in terms of us learning from the experience part of the SEC. You know, our record doesn't show it, but we have a lot of experience under our belt. We don't look at each other as freshmen anymore. We look at ourselves more as sophomores.
ROTNEI CLARKE: I felt like, like we said, we've tried to take it into three parts of the season. Our non-conference started off real well. You know, we got into the SEC, it was basically our second part of the season, we looked at it. And we've been having a tough time through that. But this SEC Tournament is a chance for us to make a difference. You know, I think we've gotten better as players. I think we've drawn closer as a team as the season's been going on. And we've had a lot of really good experiences. We'll never forget this freshman year. But like Court said, we're looking at ourselves now as sophomores because we've been through enough games to not call ourselves freshmen anymore.

Q. In terms of specifically about your freshman season kind of how it's gone for you and how you think you've grown and matured and where you are now compared to the start?
ROTNEI CLARKE: At the start, it was a little tougher for me. I've had a tough time getting some open shots and some open looks. I went through a little bit of a slump there, and I kind of got out of that.
I think that's games have gone on I've been able to get into a groove and be able to play with Court and Stef who can give me the balls when I'm open. They do a really good job of that. And I felt like I've done a little bit more than just be a shooter lately. I felt like I've developed how to and when to attack and when not to attack. I feel like I've gotten better as the season's progressed.

Q. You talked a little about seeing the season as three parts. Are you kind of glad to be in the third part now? Does that kind of give you guys a sense of rejuvenation?
ROTNEI CLARKE: Yeah, we're really excited to be here. I know Court and me are both really excited to be here right now with you all. It's like coach said, it's a tremendous opportunity for us. We're going to have to go into this thing to win to get an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. And, obviously, Florida's going to be a tremendous challenge. It's going to be tough for us. But we're looking forward to the opportunities.

Q. How different are you guys from the last time you played Florida? Do you think you've improved in some areas in the last two months?

COURTNEY FORTSON: : I think so. I think we're taking in the game plan a little bit more. We take it a little bit more seriously. We pay attention to every little break down. We're watching film. We know what they like to do. We know their tendencies better, so, yeah.

Q. With all the minutes you've played and all the stats you've piled up, how do you get balls for the future of the back court here?

COURTNEY FORTSON: : I think our future back court is looking tremendous. With me and Rot coming back, and Stef coming back. I think it will be great. I think it will be great. Rot knee as a shooter, we know each other better than ever, so it will be great.

Q. Same for Rotnie?
ROTNEI CLARKE: Even though the season's over, you know, like next couple of years, I'm looking forward to it. It's fun. Really, playing with Court, and it's fun playing with these guys. Knowing that they can get you the ball when you're open. You know, Court makes everyone around him much better. I just feel blessed to be able to play on this team and play with these guys.

Q. Has fatigue set in at all with either of you playing the number of minutes as a freshman?

COURTNEY FORTSON: : I mean, surprisingly it hasn't really set in like I thought it would. I guess when you're young your body gets used to the type of beating you take in the SEC, so not really.
ROTNEI CLARKE: I don't think it's really taken a toll on me either. I felt like I'm still as strong as I ever was. I don't feel tired. Like in the shoot around today I felt fine. Just been in there getting a lot of treatment, so my body feels fine.

Q. You guys kind of came into the conference season with a bullseye on your chest after what you did in the non-conference, obviously as the West Six Seed. You're flying a little under the radar coming into this tournament. Are you comfortable in that role?

COURTNEY FORTSON: : Of course we're comfortable in that role. You know, people don't show no respect, we have to gain it. That's what we're going to have to do in this tournament. That's how it goes.
ROTNEI CLARKE: I think like Court said, we're comfortable with it because that's how we started the season. Was under the radar. And having a good non-conference schedule that put a bullseye on our back. But going into this tournament like you said, we are under the radar again. But I feel like that's a place where we're comfortable being.
CLAUDE FELTON: Thank you. We'll continue with questions for Coach Pelphrey.

Q. Obviously you've had three games against Billy Donovan, you know him really well. How much were you prepared to take him on do you try to get inside his head to try to figure out his game plan and his tendencies, what he likes to do to try to give yourself an advantage?
COACH PELPHREY: Well, obviously, I do feel very close with Billy. I don't know if that means I know his basketball team. I haven't been there for a while. This is my seventh year away from the University of Florida.
Outside of Walter Hodge because I tried to recruit him to south Alabama, nobody knows who I am there. So I don't have a familiarity with the program. Certainly, for this basketball game, we have played them once. You do understand what's going on around the SEC in terms of paying attention ask watching games. But it's kind of twofold. We'll obviously have as good a book on the University of Florida and what they're going to try to get done. But we've got to make sure there are some things that we have to take care of on our side of it. And we've got to make sure that we're organized.
I don't know if my relationship with him helps or hurts in terms of preparation for this basketball game.

Q. I know the first time, maybe even the second time you coached against Billy, it was an awkward feeling. Has it gotten old school now? You guys have gotten to a point now where it's going to be a regular thing, and you think it's not as big a deal?
COACH PELPHREY: Yeah, I don't know. We'll see. I think at the end of the day, there's going to be, before you lay your head down, there's going to be something there. My family has tremendous love and respect for his family. I hope that never goes away. I think we've both also done this enough now to where it's never been about us. It's about the basketball teams that are playing in the games. So I would say that's probably where the focus from our standpoint will stay.
There's always going to be a piece of me that thinks about him and his family at the end of the day.

Q. You've played in this league, you've coached in this league, but you've got over 50% of your starting lineup that hasn't played in an SEC Tournament. What have you told them to get them ready for what they're going to face tomorrow?
COACH PELPHREY: I haven't really made too big a deal about all of that. Bottom line is these guys have been through a season now. I hope that not too many would surprise them.
I think the one thing that we have talked about and that is a little bit different in tournament atmosphere is it's a one and done situation. You kind of win or you go home, so to speak. And that is a different feeling.
So we've talked about that, and how exciting it is to be able to win and stick around and get another 40 minutes of basketball life. You know, hopefully we can play well enough to put ourselves in a situation when the clock winds down tomorrow night that we'll have a chance.
The bigger focus for us as on opposed to the tournament and all that stuff, is what we've got to do to prepare to play as well as we can against the Gators.

Q. You were obviously playing at a pretty high level during the non-conference season. What changed during the course of the conference season and how have you played differently?
COACH PELPHREY: You asked me what happened between the non-conference and conference season? That's a great question. Obviously I haven't gotten to the end of the season yet, so there will be time for evaluations, and we'll obviously give some great explanation for it hopefully.
But I think just initially looking at it, we talked about from day one this is a rebuilding year for us. We lost six seniors. We lost our best player in August. In August, we got really lucky and was blessed to have Marcus Monk join our basketball team.
We experienced an incredible week with him when we beat Oklahoma and Texas. I could have just never imagined him contributing the ways he did. We lost him. That made eight. Eight guys right there in less than a year. That's very difficult.
We knew those things. Now coming into this year, we wanted to work hard, establish our style of play, and continue to build on our brand of what it's going to be like as we go forward. And understand we still could create some excitement because of some of the young players we have in our program. A lot of those things have all happened.
When you beat people like Texas or when you first of all, no matter who you play at Bud Walton Arena, if you have an understanding of what's going on in terms of offense and defense, and you you play hard and you overachieve, you've got a chance to beat anybody there.
Those people, the way they cheer, it's difficult for me in this environment to tell you what it's like. Show up and experience it sometime, and you'll know exactly where I'm coming from. So anything is possible at home if you play hard and you've got some resemblance of what it's all about to be part of a team.
I do think that with the success that we may have had or perceived success that we may have had in a non-conference schedule, when you start the SEC play, there is no more sneaking up on somebody, surprise. This guy surprised me with how well he can do this or that. The familiarity is there.
Not that we would not have prior to that, but I think that we've got a lot of people's best shot, especially early. I think that we played well. I just don't think we played well enough.
I've said this all year long, I think this basketball team. I like them. I appreciate their resilience and toughness to come back ask work. They do understand what it's all about being part of a team. They get along.
Our turnovers are lower than they've ever been right now. We're not real deep, but I think 6 out of the last 7, maybe 6 out of the last 8 we've led the second half and had a chance. It's not like we're getting hammered or blown out. It's not an easy answer to give to you. I know I've gone a little long here. But I guess at the end of the day I like my basketball team. I'm excited about the future. I think there are some things we've got a chance to build on.

Q. You mentioned Nick Calathes as a guy that's impressed you. What is your overall opinion in his game? Is he the guy that drives Florida, is he the guy you need to stop to win this game?
COACH PELPHREY: Oh, yeah, there's no question about that. There are other good players on Florida's basketball team. But my respect level for Calathes and the positions that Billy puts him in, it's just at the highest level.
I tease all the time when people ask me about him. I say nobody in the history of the game has run pick-and-roll better except maybe John Stockton. And I'm being a little facetious when I say that, but I'm not too far off. There's not another college player. There's probably a handful of guys at the next level to me, this is just my opinion, and I'm titled to have it.
But the way he reads defense is just truly remarkable. I think sometimes he surprises the guys because they get the ball and they're so wide open. He's great at coming off of it for a score, a foul for himself. He's great at coming off of it and getting the highest lay-ups.
And if you can shut those two things off it's going to go back to Parsons or Werner. An extra pass to Hodge, Irving Walker. Yeah.
The thing about that third pass, a lot of guys can do the first two things. They can come up pick-and-roll, the score, maybe hit the role guy because those players are right in front of you.
But when you start throwing the thing back across the floor with the speed which he throws it with, it's very difficult defensively to shrink the floor and then get back to those guys. It's like I said before, it's almost impossible to keep them from getting open three-point shots. Tremendous, tremendous offensive scheme. Tremendous, tremendous player.

Q. The decision to leave Jason Henry behind. How disappointed are you in him, and what sort of things went into that move or that decision yesterday?
COACH PELPHREY: He obviously is behind. We made a statement. I think any time that happens you're disappointed. But I'm going to focus on the guys that are here and be excited about what we've got in front of us. We may decide to talk about some of those things later. But, again, he's not here. You always are disappointed. We're going to do as well as we can with the guys we've got. We're going to roll with who is here.

Q. As a Kentucky native, Kentucky grad, you remember the days when the Wildcat fans would come in on the second day of the big blue invitational and just take over the city, take over the arena. I don't think we're going to have that this year. Does the SEC Tournament need Kentucky? Need the Kentucky that we used to watch? The old Kentucky that used to take over, used to win every year? Does it have to get back to that for this to succeed?
COACH PELPHREY: The SEC Tournament?

Q. Yes.
COACH PELPHREY: Oh, I think there's going to be an SEC Tournament regardless of who is playing well. We've got 12 awesome institutions. I think more so than any other time in our history, the coaching is outstanding. The players are goes up and down a little bit. But the players are as good as anybody in the country. And the institutions are spending more money than they ever have on basketball programs.
It's more competitive than it ever has been. Does it mean we're not going to have ups and downs just like anything else: The tournament in terms of attendance and being quote unquote successful maybe financially or whatever, I don't have a great grasp of that.
I will say this to you, from an historical standpoint Kentucky will always be Kentucky. They get to the semifinals this year, don't think that that won't happen again. It's going to get crowded. I don't know, maybe you heard something I haven't.
I've been in kind of seclusion, I'll be the first to admit that. I don't hear everything that's going on. But they win one or two games, it's going to be very blue.
I'm looking forward, you know, last year one of the things that I -- this is too strong a word, feel cheated on last year because of the tragedy with the weather and stuff, is that I know we're in the semifinals and we're going to be in the finals at Arkansas, there's going to be a lot of red in the house, too. That was one thing we didn't get to experience last year because of the storm and stuff.
Yeah, I would tell you that I don't know in terms of making things a success. They're certainly going to anticipate Kentucky going somewhere. And I'm excited about being the head coach of the University of Arkansas where I have a chance to hopefully be a part of something that I got to experience as a player. I'll never forget being in Birmingham when the hogs rode in, it was a different deal there, too. And they rival Kentucky in terms of the way they travel. But this tournament's always going to be special. And, like I said before, across the board, top to bottom, I think it means more than it ever has in terms of basketball.

Q. Talk about if you can evaluate Rotnie and Courtney's freshman years to this point where they were and where they came from, and how the future bodes for them?
COACH PELPHREY: We needed Courtney to come in and be our point guard and do it on a daily basis. And he has. We thought heed with do some of these things. I think he has surprised us with being as consistent as he's been able to be in terms of night in, night out.
He hasn't quite totally been the typical freshman. Doesn't mean he's had bad days on or bad games because he has. But that's everybody. So we're very, very pleased with him. We're not satisfied, but we're very, very pleased.
Rotnei Clarke, the same way. He came in, both summer sessions, handled the workload. I'll never forget him hitting the huge three-point shot in our first game at home to give us a chance. I know that he talked about maybe going through some growing pains there, kind of at the start of the SEC.
But I think he's playing some of his best basketball right now. He is doing more than just shoot the basketball. He's finding shots in places. He looks strong, fast. He's getting better with some of the defensive things. Very, very proud of those two young men.
The bottom line is, too, when you have an ability and you work hard and you're coachable, you've got a chance to have success. More than likely you'll run right into it. It's when you don't work hard and you don't have a good attitude towards coaching that you'll always be somebody that we wish we could get more out of.
Those two young men have done very, very well. And we're very pleased with them. We're not satisfied, but we're very pleased with their freshman year.

Q. And the future?
COACH PELPHREY: As far as the future bodes, we've got two guys that we no know can compete in this league. And we have two guys that care about the University of Arkansas. Both of those things are very, very important to the basketball coach.

Q. You mentioned earlier that you guys have struggled with depth a little bit this year. Now with Jason's absence, he could fill in at the four or the three. How will you you manage your bench differently tomorrow?
COACH PELPHREY: Ideally just for the two Mikes to stay out of foul trouble. I told those guys to be nice. You know, just stay out of foul trouble. But we had to avoid it a little bit in Gainesville. We had to avoid it the other night at Vanderbilt.
But ideally, that would be the best thing for those guys to play large minutes. And then Brandon and Andre is going to have an opportunity to get in the game and compete there.
Obviously, too, we've got the golfer over there. So he knows to be ready. He knows a couple of different spots. So I'm not opposed to putting him in there either.

End of FastScripts




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