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Auburn HC Steven Pearl - Texas Preview · The Auburn Undercover Podcast

• 0:01
  Yeah, good to be back home. Um, looking
• 0:03
  forward to, you know, playing in front
• 0:04
  of the jungle. Um, just a reminder, you
• 0:08
  can get your Outlive shirts outlive.org.
• 0:11
  Um, thank the
• 0:14
  South Carolina game was our we set a
• 0:16
  record for in-game sales. So, just
• 0:18
  encourage everybody to continue to
• 0:19
  support uh a phenomenal cause and uh,
• 0:22
  you know, we're we're looking for 100%
• 0:24
  participation in that game. So, um, you
• 0:27
  know, on to Texas. Um, you know, while I
• 0:31
  said Florida was the best team in our
• 0:32
  league, this is the most dangerous team
• 0:33
  in our league, and it's not even close
• 0:35
  in my opinion. Um, you know, they have
• 0:38
  four guys that account for 70% of their
• 0:40
  offensive production, and they have a
• 0:42
  bunch of guys that just understand what
• 0:43
  they're supposed to be doing out there
• 0:45
  in their roles. Um, [snorts]
• 0:47
  they have three guards that can beat you
• 0:48
  on any sing any given night. Um, that
• 0:51
  all do, you know, different things at a
• 0:53
  very very high level. Um, you know,
• 0:56
  they, uh, have beaten more top 25 teams
• 0:59
  than anyone in our conference with four
• 1:01
  top 25 wins. Uh, they have a top 10
• 1:04
  offense nationally. Uh, they're one of
• 1:06
  the best rebounding teams in college
• 1:07
  basketball. You know, in their wins,
• 1:09
  they're plus 16 in rebounds and in their
• 1:11
  losses, they're plus one. So, um, you
• 1:14
  know, we got to have the same intention
• 1:16
  that we did against Florida as far as
• 1:18
  rebounding the basketball because they
• 1:19
  do a great job, uh, of going to get it.
• 1:22
  Um, you know, Truman Mark, you know, we
• 1:25
  we played against him when he was at
• 1:26
  Houston. We went to the NCA tournament
• 1:28
  with Janai his first year and, you know,
• 1:30
  he he beat us by himself. And, um, you
• 1:34
  know, Don Swain is a a man and, you
• 1:36
  know, just does so many things well,
• 1:39
  gets the rim, can finish through
• 1:40
  contact, rebounds it, passes it. Um, you
• 1:43
  know, Jordan Pope has had multiple games
• 1:45
  this year where, you know, if you look
• 1:47
  at at Alabama against NC State and a
• 1:49
  couple others where he's just taken the
• 1:51
  game over and, uh, Invocitus is, you
• 1:53
  know, just a handful down there. So, uh,
• 1:56
  they got four, you know, just phenomenal
• 1:58
  players that, you know, are going to do
• 1:59
  a lot of really good things for them.
• 2:01
  Um, so it's been keeping me up at night
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  because, you know, um, they're probably
• 2:06
  the most talented team is from a from a
• 2:08
  guard standpoint that we've played up to
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  this point. um just as far as all the
• 2:13
  different things that those guys are
• 2:14
  capable of doing. So, going to have our
• 2:17
  hands full. Um we're going to really
• 2:19
  have to, you know, sit down and guard
• 2:21
  guard our yard and um you know, not
• 2:23
  require a ton of help. Um so, one of the
• 2:26
  best one-on-one teams in our in the
• 2:29
  country as far as what those guards do.
• 2:30
  And then they have, you know, probably
• 2:32
  the most improved big in college
• 2:33
  basketball. Um you know, we he was at
• 2:36
  FAU last year and we played him in a a
• 2:38
  scrimmage here. And to see him then to
• 2:41
  where he's at now, you know, they've
• 2:42
  done a phenomenal job just kind of
• 2:45
  improving his game and, you know, he
• 2:47
  leads the country in fouls drawn per 40
• 2:49
  minutes. He draws 10 fouls every 40
• 2:51
  minutes. That's nuts. So, does a great
• 2:54
  job of using his body for seals and they
• 2:56
  do a great job of finding them. So, um,
• 2:59
  and not to mention, they, you know, have
• 3:01
  a guy that played at Purdue with, uh,
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  with Camden that's, you know, from a
• 3:05
  winning program and shoots down near 50%
• 3:07
  from three. Um, so yeah, they got they
• 3:10
  got some pieces. Their their top eight
• 3:11
  is really good and uh our guys are going
• 3:14
  to have to have some special toh come
• 3:15
  out and get another win.
• 3:21
  >> As you were saying, like when you play
• 3:23
  [clears throat] a team like this, you
• 3:24
  know, how big is it with your one-on-one
• 3:26
  defense? Like I know you guys want to
• 3:28
  load into gaps and and have help, but
• 3:30
  how how big is this to just say, "Hey,
• 3:31
  just just keep the guy in front of you
• 3:34
  um you know, from beating you." Yeah,
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  it's it's about as important as, you
• 3:37
  know, any game this year, just not
• 3:39
  having to require a ton of help. Um,
• 3:42
  it's easier said than done because those
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  guys are really good at, you know,
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  setting up their drives and, you know,
• 3:47
  getting you on angles and scoring on
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  angles. So, our guys got to do a great
• 3:51
  job of just sitting down, um, being in a
• 3:53
  stance, you know, recognizing who can
• 3:55
  shoot it and who can't. U, we got to be
• 3:58
  disciplined in our closeouts and, um,
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  you know, we just got to understand who
• 4:01
  we can and can't help off of. And we
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  just got to be connected. Gota be super
• 4:04
  connected defensively against a team
• 4:06
  like this because if you aren't they'll
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  make you pay.
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  >> Talk about the last few games you guys
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  have been in control a lot of those
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  games versus maybe Georgia kind of
• 4:16
  trying to come back and then was was top
• 4:18
  but the last three it seems like you've
• 4:19
  had good starts and you've been in
• 4:21
  control most of the game. Just talk
• 4:23
  about how that's you know the impact
• 4:25
  that makes and what you can take from
• 4:26
  that.
• 4:28
  Yeah, I think we, you know, the last
• 4:30
  three specifically, you know, I think we
• 4:32
  did a better job of just executing the
• 4:36
  things that we talked about in the game
• 4:38
  plan offensively as far as what we
• 4:40
  thought would work. And, you know, um,
• 4:42
  scoring early and scoring late and not
• 4:44
  playing off one foot and playing off two
• 4:46
  feets been really good for us. We got to
• 4:48
  continue to do that. And you know, I
• 4:49
  think a big part of it is just our
• 4:50
  defense has just been a lot more solid
• 4:53
  and uh has allowed us to, you know, not
• 4:55
  just have to continuously take the ball
• 4:57
  out of the net. And we've been able to
• 4:58
  get some stops and get some rebounds
• 5:00
  and, you know, get out and create some
• 5:02
  advantage and, you know, be able to run
• 5:04
  some stuff and make them cover and done
• 5:05
  a pretty good job of executing even
• 5:07
  though we haven't shot it great. You
• 5:08
  know, we've done a great job of
• 5:09
  attacking the rim and playing off two
• 5:10
  and getting to the foul line and we're
• 5:12
  making free throws. So that that
• 5:14
  obviously all ties into being able to
• 5:16
  have better starts. Um and obviously two
• 5:19
  of those being on the road in really
• 5:20
  hostile environments. So um guys done a
• 5:23
  better job you know early in games that
• 5:25
  was a concern for us um leading up to
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  the you know after the first two SEC
• 5:30
  games but our guys have done a better
• 5:32
  job and we got to continue to in order
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  to you know beat the best teams on our
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  schedule.
• 5:37
  >> Stephen just how much has a healthy Murf
• 5:40
  added to you guys on both ends of the
• 5:42
  court and what are you seeing out of him
• 5:43
  really offensively and defensively?
• 5:45
  >> Yeah, it's been huge. Um, you know, I
• 5:48
  talked to Todd after the game and he's
• 5:49
  like, "I had no idea how athletic Murf
• 5:51
  was." And I was like, you know, yeah,
• 5:53
  that's when he's healthy, that's what he
• 5:54
  looks like. So, um, that just kind of
• 5:57
  and that that's that speaks volumes in
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  in itself when when it comes from Todd
• 6:00
  like that because he obviously has some
• 6:02
  phenomenal bigs on his roster. So, it
• 6:05
  just, you know, it improves everything
• 6:06
  that he does. You know, when he's
• 6:08
  jumping, he's able to finish around the
• 6:10
  room, he's able to block shots, he's
• 6:11
  able to get rebounds, and those are all
• 6:12
  the things that we need him to be able
• 6:14
  to do. And uh you know a healthy Murf
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  has obviously you know allowed us to to
• 6:18
  win four of our out of our last five.
• 6:20
  And but it's not just him like him and
• 6:22
  Philip have been just really really good
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  down there. And um they got to continue
• 6:26
  they you know can't let success change
• 6:28
  us. You know we got to stay consistent
• 6:29
  with everything that we've been doing
• 6:31
  and and those two guys have to continue
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  to do the things that have been proven
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  to be effective because it's helped us
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  win some games.
• 6:37
  >> Stephen, you guys had a tight game the
• 6:39
  uh the other game the other day out. Um
• 6:40
  you go I think Keshan went distance down
• 6:43
  near 40 minutes and then Kahad went all
• 6:45
  but 20 seconds I think in the second
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  half. Will you continue to be like that
• 6:48
  if these games are close? Stick with the
• 6:49
  guys that got you here and and play the
• 6:51
  heck out of him like that.
• 6:53
  >> Um I mean
• 6:56
  >> I mean why did Ke play some Why do he go
• 6:57
  the whole distance like that?
• 6:59
  >> I mean he had to.
• 7:00
  >> Yeah because he was we had some guys
• 7:01
  that had foul trouble. Um you know Kei
• 7:04
  is a guy that's in great shape you know
• 7:06
  and and while Kei is playing heavy
• 7:09
  minutes he's well conditioned to play
• 7:11
  those minutes. and like I think he
• 7:13
  missed two checkouts in the Florida game
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  as opposed to like 20 in the previous
• 7:17
  game. So it's like you know every single
• 7:19
  possession he was going to hit somebody
• 7:20
  and for us to be able to compete with a
• 7:23
  team like Florida requires that type of
• 7:24
  effort. So he's in great shape. You know
• 7:27
  uh Tahad I think played 36 and that's
• 7:29
  probably three more than what I would
• 7:31
  like for him to play. Um you know we
• 7:33
  need Blake to be able to get out be out
• 7:35
  there for a little bit longer than what
• 7:36
  he was. He got put out there in some
• 7:38
  difficult stretches when Florida kind of
• 7:40
  made their runs and it hadn't it had
• 7:41
  nothing to do with Blake being out
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  there. It was just, you know, they kind
• 7:44
  of had some momentum in those swings and
• 7:46
  Tahad got back in. So, you know,
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  Tahad's, you know, sweet spot is
• 7:49
  probably between 32 and 34. Um, and but
• 7:52
  Key, you know, we we trust Key to be
• 7:54
  able to be out there for a majority of
• 7:55
  the game when when we need him to. Would
• 7:57
  it be nice to not have to play him in 38
• 7:59
  minutes? Absolutely. But, you know, this
• 8:02
  league is going to require us to, you
• 8:04
  know, have to shorten our rotation a
• 8:05
  little bit and play guys more minutes
• 8:06
  than what they're used to. So, um,
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  that's why we, you know, kind of limit
• 8:10
  what we do in practice because we need
• 8:12
  those guys to be fresh and furious for
• 8:13
  games.
• 8:15
  >> KO led you all in plus the other guy 26
• 8:18
  minutes. It seems like last few games
• 8:20
  his defense has been really a key part
• 8:22
  of that. Like, how how big has he been
• 8:24
  as y'all have gotten so good over these
• 8:26
  last few games on the defense today?
• 8:28
  Yeah, it'd be great if he could stay out
• 8:29
  of foul trouble. I think he's been in
• 8:30
  foul trouble early the last two just he
• 8:33
  got two two quick ones in the Florida
• 8:34
  game after like a like a eight minute
• 8:37
  rotation and um you know we we need him
• 8:39
  to be out there but no he's just he uh
• 8:42
  you know really sits down and guards and
• 8:44
  you know you saw what he did against
• 8:46
  Miss with AJ Story who was six for 19
• 8:48
  and KO was on him a majority of that
• 8:50
  game you know KO is going to have his
• 8:52
  hands full again with you know Swain
• 8:54
  Mark and Pope all really really really
• 8:56
  talented scoring guards all of our
• 8:58
  guards have got Actually, all five guys
• 9:00
  have got to step up in this game and
• 9:02
  defend. And you know, it starts with KO
• 9:04
  because he's the guy that kind of sets
• 9:05
  the tone. And when KO sits down and and
• 9:07
  gets wide and gets in a stance and plays
• 9:09
  physically and jump contests every time,
• 9:11
  he's a differencemaker. You know, his
• 9:13
  body language the last two games was so
• 9:14
  damn good. He was just so calm. And he,
• 9:18
  you know, I think our guys fed off of
• 9:19
  that. You know, we had, I think, double
• 9:22
  digit leads in both games that got cut
• 9:24
  down to one possession or tied in both
• 9:27
  times in the in the huddle. You know, I
• 9:29
  thought everybody was very composed and
• 9:31
  did a good job of communicating
• 9:33
  constructively and we were able to find
• 9:34
  ways to, you know, extend those leads
• 9:37
  back out and I thought KO was a big part
• 9:38
  of that.
• 9:42
  >> Shooting 82% from the line as a team
• 9:44
  these last three games. I know how big
• 9:46
  it was against Florida, but to see the
• 9:48
  team as a whole, not just he going to
• 9:51
  line, but everybody kind of contribute.
• 9:53
  How how big has that been for y'all?
• 9:54
  >> Yeah, it's the difference in winning and
• 9:56
  losing. you know, we don't win all three
• 9:58
  games if we don't shoot that percentage
• 9:59
  from the free throw line. Um, or it's a
• 10:02
  lot closer than, you know, a 12-point
• 10:04
  win at Miss and a nine point win at
• 10:06
  Florida and however many we won by
• 10:08
  against B or uh, sorry, South Carolina.
• 10:11
  So, you know, it's um, it's the
• 10:13
  difference in winning and losing,
• 10:14
  especially on the road. And, uh, you
• 10:16
  know, our guys have just we've just been
• 10:18
  consistent in our routine. Like, we
• 10:19
  haven't changed anything. You know, we
• 10:21
  just continuously do what we do in
• 10:22
  practice. And our guys did a good job
• 10:24
  stepping up. And you know, obviously
• 10:26
  when Murf goes 12 for 13 in the last two
• 10:28
  games, that that makes a huge
• 10:30
  difference. You know, Tahad, I don't
• 10:32
  think missed a free throw in the last
• 10:33
  two games. Um, KO made all those free
• 10:36
  throws. So, the guys that have
• 10:38
  consistently been stepped up and making
• 10:39
  them have continued to make them. And a
• 10:40
  couple guys that haven't, you know, been
• 10:42
  shooting great percentages have stepped
• 10:43
  up and made some big ones. And, you
• 10:45
  know, Philip and Murf specifically made
• 10:47
  some huge free throws in the last two
• 10:49
  games that were able to help us kind of
• 10:50
  push the leads up.
• 10:53
  last week two and0 on the road. I mean
• 10:55
  that's you got to think in SEC play not
• 10:58
  many teams are probably going to have a
• 10:59
  two and a week on the road. It's almost
• 11:01
  like you're picking up a game on the
• 11:02
  league, but like
• 11:04
  >> how important is that?
• 11:06
  >> Yeah.
• 11:06
  >> Yeah, that's true. Um how important is
• 11:09
  that? Especially when you talk about you
• 11:11
  kind of mentioned this team maybe not
• 11:13
  even winning that game three weeks ago
• 11:14
  and then having to go two and on the
• 11:16
  road in a weekend play. Like what what
• 11:18
  does that say about just the growth that
• 11:20
  you're seeing so far? Yeah, we've just
• 11:23
  I've said it since, you know, since I
• 11:25
  was since I got the job, like if this
• 11:26
  team can continue to get better every
• 11:29
  single week, this team has a chance. And
• 11:31
  I think this team has done that for the
• 11:33
  most part, especially since we got back
• 11:35
  from Christmas. We took one step back
• 11:37
  and that was the Missouri game. But I
• 11:38
  thought even that week, we had great
• 11:40
  practices. We've had really good
• 11:42
  practices every single day. We've stayed
• 11:44
  consistent in what we're doing with our
• 11:45
  preparation and our routine leading up
• 11:47
  to games. Um but no, I mean road wins
• 11:50
  count as two and that Florida game may
• 11:52
  have counted as three, you know, um just
• 11:54
  because I don't think anyone else is
• 11:55
  going in there and beating them this
• 11:56
  year. I don't. Um you know, Miss has
• 11:58
  shown to be a really good home team. I
• 12:00
  think Arkansas is the only team that
• 12:01
  have gone there and beat them so far
• 12:02
  this year. So, you know, those are two
• 12:04
  tough places to play. You know, Miss was
• 12:07
  jam-packed. Uh that was the most people
• 12:10
  have ever seen in uh in the Odome. Um,
• 12:13
  so to do it in two hostile environments,
• 12:16
  um, is, you know, it shows that there's
• 12:18
  been progress made, but what do we do
• 12:21
  from here? You know, Miss had won three
• 12:23
  games in a row and then we came in there
• 12:25
  and beat them. You know, they they might
• 12:27
  have been feeling good about themselves.
• 12:29
  Florida had won five games in a row and
• 12:31
  they may have been feeling pretty good
• 12:32
  about themselves because, as they
• 12:33
  should, they're really, really good. We
• 12:35
  came in there and beat them. if we let
• 12:37
  this thing get to our heads and we
• 12:39
  don't, you know, get ready for Texas,
• 12:41
  like this is, you know, we got to keep
• 12:44
  that chip on our shoulder. We got to
• 12:45
  have our backs against the wall. That's
• 12:46
  the only way that we can play well. And
• 12:48
  um that's what we have to do in order to
• 12:50
  beat this team because they're they're
• 12:51
  so damn talented and they're they're the
• 12:54
  most dangerous team in our league. So,
• 12:55
  we got to stay locked into what we've
• 12:57
  been doing and uh continue to play
• 12:59
  hungry.
• 13:05
  want to ask you about Texas on defense.
• 13:07
  You know, they're more of an offensive
• 13:08
  team for most of the season, but the
• 13:10
  last few games they held Georgia to 67,
• 13:12
  made it to 64, and then to 74. Just what
• 13:14
  stood out to them about you, especially
• 13:15
  these last few games on defense?
• 13:18
  >> Yeah, I mean, it's it's interesting
• 13:20
  because, you know, sometimes when teams
• 13:21
  are playing well offensively, it can
• 13:24
  allow their defense to play even better,
• 13:25
  and we're we're guilty of that just as
• 13:27
  much as anybody. And I think Texas has
• 13:29
  has some of that as well. Like when
• 13:30
  they're knocking down shots and they're
• 13:31
  playing with great confidence
• 13:32
  offensively, then their physicality
• 13:35
  defensively and their movement
• 13:36
  defensively gets even better. So it's,
• 13:38
  you know, it's a it's a game where, you
• 13:40
  know, we have we have to be really good
• 13:41
  defensively because if they start
• 13:42
  hitting on all cylinders offensively,
• 13:44
  that's when they become really really
• 13:45
  dangerous defensively and they show the
• 13:47
  ability to sit down and guard and uh
• 13:48
  because they're capable. They're they're
• 13:50
  very very capable and um you know, they
• 13:53
  have good length. Um you know, they have
• 13:55
  good size down there. um you know they
• 13:58
  really loads the ball and try and strip
• 14:00
  and rip and plug the gaps and you know
• 14:01
  they're going to make us settle for
• 14:03
  they're going to try and make us shoot
• 14:03
  threes I'm I'm pretty sure in this game
• 14:05
  and um you know when the ball does go to
• 14:07
  the rim you know Boat Titus is sitting
• 14:09
  down there you know and just trying to
• 14:10
  get walled up at the rim so um we got to
• 14:14
  do a great job of all the things that
• 14:15
  we've talked about the previous weeks um
• 14:18
  as far as what we're doing offensively
• 14:20
  and just executing and staying
• 14:21
  disciplined in order to uh to score
• 14:23
  against these guys. Time.