Feb. 12, 2009
Audio: Listen to the entire teleconference at SECsports.com
Vanderbilt basketball head coach Kevin Stallings and Tennessee head coach Bruce Pearl 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:
Not much has changed since I spoke on Monday, because obviously we didn’t play mid-week. So, we have tried to use this week for two different purposes – one to get better, and one to get healthier. I’m hopeful that we’ve been able to accomplish both of those.
It looks to me like Tennessee is playing very well. Any time you when a league game in this league by 30 points you’ve done something well. I think that they look like they’re playing much better than they were the first time around when we played them. So, we know that we have a tremendous challenge in front of us, but we’re going to go do the best that we can and see what happens.
Where do you need to improve defensively against Tennessee?
Well, they wore us out inside in that game. Wayne Chism really played well and really hurt us. I think if you look at their league stats – they’re shooting 48 percent through nine games through the league season. It was very close to their average. So, they’re obviously doing a great job. When you start to look at their numbers and you look at their assist/turnover ratio, they’re doing a great job of executing their offense and taking the right shots. Because when you’re shooting 48 percent from the field in this league, and you’re averaging way more assists than turnovers, you’re doing a great job of running offense and taking the right shots.
How healthy is A.J. Ogilvy, and how important is his production to your success?
He’s healthier than he’s been, and his productivity – like three or four other guys on the team – is critical for our success, because if he doesn’t provide at that position then we don’t get as much out of it. But, we have a few other players who we can say the same thing about. His productivity like a lot of our mainline guys is very, very important.
What type of effect has Bruce Pearl had on the Tennessee/Vanderbilt rivalry?
I don’t know. I would say that the head coaches are more caretakers of it than anything else. I think that it’s always been pretty intense. I think that any time the two teams play it’s been intense. The 10 years that I’ve been here they’ve all been very intense games. Some have been blow outs in both directions, but they’ve been intense games. The crowds have been intense. I would imagine because of Bruce’s personality and flamboyance there are a few Vanderbilt fans who like to dislike him more than maybe they have some other coaches. I don’t think it’s changed the nature of the rivalry, because the rivalry’s intense no matter who’s coaching the game, me or him or the people before us.
Is it just the Vanderbilt fans who like to dislike him more?
I think that people probably tend to dislike people who win a lot, and he’s certainly won a lot. It’s probably not just exclusive to our people, because he’s winning too much for a lot of people’s taste… including mine (laughs).
Bruce Pearl, Tennessee head coach
Opening comments:
It’s obviously a great rivalry (between Vanderbilt and Tennessee). We’re going to be celebrating 100 years of Tennessee basketball Saturday afternoon, and going to be honoring the All-Century team, a 20 member team we announced Friday. Lettermen will be back. I’m really glad it’s going to be against Vanderbilt, because they’re such a great program and a great rival here in our state.
Vanderbilt’s put three straight wins together. In so doing, their offense has been tremendous. They’re shooting percentages are way up over the three wins. Ogilvy and Jermaine Beal have really stepped up and played like the experienced players that they are. We played really well at Memorial Gym, and many of the things that we did there we felt like were things we needed to win the game. It’ll be interesting to see the adjustments we’re going to have to make on Saturday to win.
Do you think the rivalry between Vanderbilt and Tennessee has taken on another level since you became head coach?
I don’t know what the rivalry was like before I got here. I just know that historically… Vanderbilt’s been a great rival… For me, it’s always been out of respect for Vanderbilt’s program. It’s been out of respect for their tradition to honor them in a way by calling them a rival. I think now that we’re in the SEC East and we play them twice a year and it’s in-state, our fans live next door to their fans, I don’t know how it could be any more of a rivalry with me than it’s always been.
Even though I don’t know what it was like, I would imagine it’s always been a great rival.
What has Vanderbilt been doing better offensively lately?
I think Ogilvy’s getting healthier, and I think Beal’s a real key to their team. He has shot the ball better and with more confidence. The stretch of games they lost was a stretch of games against Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee – three teams that are tied for first place in the East. Then the games that they won… at Auburn was a great, great win for them to get it started, and then Alabama and Ole Miss were games that you thought could, should and did. I think the play of Beal and Ogilvy would be the things that I would point to.
Talk about Scotty Hopson and what he’s doing better now.
You look at Scotty’s numbers in the SEC, his shooting percentages are high, particularly from the 3-point arc. One of the things that Scotty’s not been given enough credit for is people evaluating freshmen in the league. There’s a number of shots he’s taken. He has been patient. He hasn’t forced to get his name out there or worried about what people are saying about whether he’s a highly rated freshmen coming in and not putting up the numbers of some other freshmen. Well, he’s on a team with three established players in Chism, Tyler Smith and J.P. Prince. He’s doing a great job of complimenting.
He has really worked hard to improve his defense. His man does not score often. His one-on-one defense is good, and that bodes very well for him in the future. His off-the-ball stuff will improve with experience – his help-side, his ability to make plays, loose balls and rebounds as he gets stronger and more physically developed.
Don’t forget, there are some freshmen who come in as men and some who come in young. Scotty’s a young freshman physically, and that’s going to change with time. His attitude has been great. He is shooting the ball well, and playing better intensity.
