Feb. 19, 2009
Audio: Listen to the entire teleconference at SECsports.com
Vanderbilt basketball head coach Kevin Stallings and Florida head coach Billy Donovan fielded questions about their matchup Saturday with the national media during Thursday’s SEC Teleconference. Find out what each coach had to say about the matchup.
Kevin Stallings, Vanderbilt head coach
Opening comments:
We play one of our worst games this season last Saturday at Tennessee. Then we turn around and play one of our best games of the season the other night against Kentucky. So, you don’t know what to expect from one moment to the next perhaps, but we did feel good about how we played Tuesday night.
Florida whipped us unlike anybody else all season long the first time around. So, we’ll obviously have to try to figure out a way to be better than we were in that first game. It’s a big challenge to go down there and play. That’s a very difficult place to play, and they have a very good team. We’re just going to have to figure out a way to be better than we were the first time.
What makes Florida such a difficult place to play?
The environment and atmosphere is terrific for college basketball. They’ve got great fans, but the biggest thing that makes it difficult is their playing and their coaching. Their players are outstanding, as is their coaching. So, that’s the biggest reason. It’s just one of the tougher places to play in our league for sure.
After the win over Kentucky, do you allow yourself to look down the road to what could be?
Our deal has been to try to be better today than we were yesterday. That’s all we’re trying to do. We’re just trying to be a little better each time out. It works sometimes and sometimes it doesn’t. We’ve played better basketball lately, aside from the game in Knoxville, Tenn. So, we’re feeling better about our team and our confidence and ourselves. I just think we’re doing a little better than we were a few weeks ago. So, we just have to try to continue that momentum and see if we can keep it up.
Is a younger team more likely to ride a momentum swing and get good things from it?
I don’t know. I think it has really been an interesting excursion for me this year. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a team this young, but I’ve had some really, really young teams before. I’ve had some young teams without seniors like we have this year and big freshmen classes and things. But, I don’t know if we’ve ever had a team quite this young.
Some of the things that we’ve dealt with, in terms of things that have gone through their heads, have been absolutely mind-boggling to me. Yet, it is just sort of is what it is, because these guys have been extremely coachable and extremely hardworking, but some of the things that come up are really staggering.
I tend to think that a veteran team that gets on a little bit of a run and gets their confidence up, it probably benefits them more when things are going well, because they probably know how to deal with it more effectively. Managing the emotional level with the highs and lows with a young team is very challenging.
Can you share any of the mind-boggling things that have gone through your players heads?
The first one that I dealt with was when we played South Florida down at the Sommet Center back in December. In the first half, I couldn’t believe how uptight we were and how nervous we were. We’d already been on the road. We had been to a tournament that we had one down in Mexico. I got informed that they were really nervous because we were on ESPN.
So, I told them we’d better get used to it, because we’re going to be on ESPN every game next year. It’s just stuff like that, as crazy as it is.
Billy Billy Donovan, Florida head coach
Opening comments:
I think Vanderbilt is playing terrific basketball right now. I think when you look at their team there’s a lot of youthfulness there. They have continually progressed and gotten better. I think Kevin (Stallings) has done a terrific job with this group. They have a great, great core group of guys who Kevin is going to be able to build upon and work with for obviously several years. I think right now over the past couple of weeks they have definitely grown and developed as a team, and probably are a team right now playing with a lot of confidence.
What makes your home gym such a difficult place to play?
I think there are a lot of very, very good atmospheres in our league. Vanderbilt has a unique place, and a place that I think has great character to it and great fans – the same thing with Rupp Arena, the same thing with Tennessee’s place, the same thing with Arkansas and Mississippi State, LSU. I think that there are really good venues across our league, and I think all of the fans do a terrific job.
I think like anything else a crowd generally gets involved and is good when a team is playing well. I think the thing that probably makes our place a little bit more unique than some is that the fans are so close to the court. I think because of that it’s maybe a little bit different than some. I think our fans have done a terrific job since I’ve been here. They’ve created a really, really good environment for our team.