Feb. 15, 2008
Audio: Listen to the entire teleconference at SECsports.com
Vanderbilt basketball head coach Kevin Stallings and Florida head coach Billy Donovan discussed Saturday’s matchup with the national media during Thursday’s SEC Teleconference. Find out what each coach had to say about the upcoming game.
Vanderbilt Head Coach Kevin Stallings:
Opening statement:
We’re playing a little better and had a good performance on Tuesday night (against Kentucky). I think that defensively, we’ve gotten a little better over the last few weeks. We seem to be taking better care of the basketball. Those were the two things plaguing us early on. Hopefully, we will continue to improve in those areas. We can continue to become a better basketball team, but it’s a long, long season. You have your ups and downs. You have to do your best to stay even keel as possible. Hopefully, our guys understand you can’t get too high over a big win or too down over a big loss. We look forward to another chance at Florida because obviously, the first time they handled us in very easy fashion and very thoroughly. Hopefully, we can play a little better this time.
How do you think the freshmen aside from Andrew Ogilvy have played to this point in the season?
I think the other three guys have done a nice job. All of them (have done) really well at times and maybe just OK at times, but I think that’s the nature of any freshman. Keegan (Bell) has certainly given us consistent quality minutes off the bench. Darshawn McClellan has at times been almost spectacular for us but at other times pretty average. All in all, we’ve been very pleased with what we’ve gotten from him. Andre Walker has probably been playing his best basketball of the season during the last week or two. He seems to be on an up tick. We’ve been very pleased with their progress and performance thus far.
Did Andre Walker elevate his play in the game at Florida?
I think he did in some ways, although the deceptive thing about that was that he was playing out of position a bit. We didn’t feel like we were getting much from one of our positions, so we moved him into that spot that day. The game was over early, but I think he generated some confidence out of his performance down there.
Why has the SEC Eastern Division dominated the SEC Western Division in recent years?
I think the last few years, the East has just been better. There have been years when the West was better, but I think by and large, it hasn’t been just because of dominant teams. I think it’s been more of a top to bottom thing, but again, there have been years when it was the other way around. Certainly Florida’s dominance the last couple of years would skew anything into the East’s favor, but I think you can also evaluate it by how many teams have been to the NCAA tournament from the East compared to the West. That would give you an indication as well.
Is there any difference between styles of play in the Eastern Division versus the Western Division?
No, not really. To begin with, the two most dominant programs in the league, Florida and Kentucky, are in the Eastern Division. Now Tennessee has made a surge. I wouldn’t say though there’s a definite difference between the two divisions.
How important is a great start to a basketball game?
I think a good start is critical, especially as good as that one (against Kentucky) was, but the same thing happened to us in reverse at Florida. We got down really big early, and it was deflating. Obviously, you work to try and come out of it, and sometimes you can make a game of it and sometimes you can’t. I thought it was critical to our success in that particular game (against Kentucky) because we were able to get up and maintain it.
Florida Head Coach Billy Donovan:
Opening statement:
Vanderbilt right now is playing great basketball. I have to give them a lot of credit with the way their schedule fell early. Having to play so many (SEC) road games, they’re going to make that up on the back end (of the schedule). I thought they got some great road victories, and then certainly at home, they have played terrific all year long. This will be a tough game for us against one of the better teams in the league who’s really playing well right now.
Why has the SEC Eastern Division dominated the SEC Western Division in recent years?
I think that the East has, over the last several years, been very, very good, not to say that the West hasn’t. I do think the dominance goes in cycles. Not all teams play the same schedules. All the East teams play each other twice, and each plays a West team once. Oftentimes it depends on where you’re playing the West. Sometimes the better teams (from the West) could be traveling to the better teams in the East. I have never looked at our conference as East/West but instead as the SEC. I think on a given sight, anything can happen. For example, if you took Tennessee at LSU, LSU had a chance to beat them, even when LSU only had one conference win at the time. I have great respect for the West and the teams there. Arkansas is very good. Mississippi State is very good. We played Ole Miss on the road, and they’re very good. I think LSU is very talented and playing well. I think our whole league has gotten better.
How do you think Vanderbilt’s freshmen have played to this point in the season?
I think Kevin (Stallings) and his staff have done a phenomenal job recruiting and getting guys in there that have fit their system and how they want to play. I think (Andrew) Ogilvy for one is a great player. I enjoy watching film of Vanderbilt play. I think as a coach you appreciate the way they play. I think Ogilvy has great hands and a great feel of how to play. With what Kevin is doing inside their system, he’s really able to take advantage of him as a player. They have also gotten key contributions from many people. They have great leadership with their seniors, but a guy like Keegan Bell has played well. I think (Darshawn) McClellan has tremendous upside. They have a team with a mixture of talented, good, experienced veterans, and Kevin has added in some freshmen that understand their role. It has made them a pretty deep basketball team.
