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

• 0:00
  All right, back on the road. Uh, I think
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  it's our third and four on the road. Um,
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  you know, obviously playing at a really
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  tough spot. Um, you know, Tennessee is
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  obviously really good at home. Um, you
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  know, really good in general this year.
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  I think they've only lost one at home.
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  Um, coming off two huge wins, um, both
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  on the road at Alabama and at Georgia.
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  um you know had a lot of step up in
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  those games and you know kind of similar
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  to us last week when you know we won two
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  on the road you know kind of changed the
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  trajectory of of their season and you
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  know um they've physically just kind of
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  went in there and punked both teams um
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  and that's what they're really capable
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  of doing have some really good pieces
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  you know Jacobe Gillespie and Native
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  Mint are an absolute handful um you know
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  they're combining for you know half
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  their points essentially uh in
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  conference so far this
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  uh both, you know, bring different
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  dimensions to what they do and uh you
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  know, we're going to have our hands full
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  trying to guard those guys and then they
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  got a bunch of guys that just know what
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  they're supposed to do and uh you know,
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  they do a great job at it. So, best
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  offensive rebounding team in college
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  basketball. Um you know, in their SEC
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  wins, they're averaging 20 offensive
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  rebounds per game, which is nuts. Um,
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  so, you know, we're uh while Florida was
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  a battle, uh, this one's, you know,
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  going to be that and some as far as
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  trying to keep these guys off the
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  offensive glass. Um, uh, so, you know,
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  and then, you know, historically we've
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  had a hard time scoring on Tennessee,
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  you know, told our guys if you want to
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  do something that last year's team
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  couldn't do, and that'd be like score
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  more than 50 points on Tennessee because
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  we just we couldn't do that last year.
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  Um, so Coach Barnes has done an
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  unbelievable job. Um, you know, with
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  everything that they've accomplished and
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  all the success that they've had, they
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  play with a different level of toughness
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  and physicality and grit and, uh, you
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  know, it served them well. So, another
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  phenomenal opportunity for our guys, um,
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  you know, to
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  try and beat one of the best programs,
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  uh, in our league over the last, you
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  know, 10, 11 years. So, take any
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  questions,
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  >> Justin?
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  Steve, you talked about, I think, a
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  couple of times after Florida and after
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  this last game where you're not sure if
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  this team would have won that game two
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  weeks ago, three weeks ago. Do you
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  attribute that to the middle on the
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  court, a mental thing, maybe just a
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  belief in what they're doing and then
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  could you go back three weeks and see it
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  coming? Like were there small things you
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  think back and go, there's a thing I saw
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  or a thing that happened that now
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  looking back I can connect to what
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  they're doing now? I think we've just
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  been really consistent in our routine as
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  far as what we've been doing after every
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  game as far as learning um from our
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  mistakes and learning from the good
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  things that we did and all that means
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  nothing if you don't apply it to the
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  next game. I think our guys have done a
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  good job of applying it to the next game
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  for the most part. Um, you know, after
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  we started 0 and2, um, you I kind of I
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  was we were one and three and I was
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  like, we're getting better and no one
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  wanted to hear that and, you know,
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  everybody thought I was crazy for saying
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  it, but like, you know, I saw what
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  practice was like every day. We had
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  great energy in practice and and the
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  guys were just, you know, locked in. Um,
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  and uh, you know, just stayed consistent
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  with our film prepared in film, our
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  preparation in the scouts. and uh
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  ultimately it's led you know to four
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  straight and five out of our last six.
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  So I just think more than anything
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  through ups and through downs we've been
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  consistent in conference play in
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  everything that we've done and we got to
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  continue to do so if we want to, you
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  know, keep trying to get better.
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  >> You mentioned the rebounding,
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  [clears throat]
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  but is this another one where you kind
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  of go in like the Florida game and be
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  like, "All right, if you don't check out
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  on every possession, they're just going
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  to throw it off the backboard against
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  y'all."
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  >> Yeah. Um, if if winning is important to
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  you and that's what you that's what
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  matters, then you'll check out every
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  possession. If you don't, they're going
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  to make you look stupid. You know, they
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  had 26 offensive rebounds at Georgia.
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  Um, made them I mean, if Georgia gets
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  one, if they get one less offensive
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  rebound, Georgia probably wins the game.
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  It's not just offensive rebounds, you
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  know, in their in their SEC wins, 20
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  offensive rebounds and they're scoring
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  like 18 second chance points off those.
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  So, it's like it's it's turning into
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  points. So, you know, if Georgia could
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  have just held them to one less, they
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  probably win that game. So, it's a
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  really important part of the game. Um,
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  and they do such a good job of just
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  physically crashing every single
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  possession. And, um, you know, they have
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  multiple bigs that can just kind of come
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  in droves and be effective. They had two
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  guys that had seven offensive rebounds
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  in the last game. Just nuts. So, um,
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  yeah, if winning is important to our
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  guys, you know, we'll physically check
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  out every possession. If it's not, then,
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  you know, we'll look silly.
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  >> Ted's got here in the notes, you guys
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  are 55% from the floor in the second
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  half in your wins this season. I know
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  you talked about, you know, Berggo and
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  how good of a job he did in that Texas
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  game, but just how nice has it been this
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  season to not only have somebody that
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  you trust so much to to make adjustments
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  offensively, but somebody that you're
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  very familiar with in terms of you all
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  coaching together?
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  Yeah, I mean it's uh it's one testament
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  to Mike and you know making adjustments
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  at halftime, but two it's you know I
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  think our guys have done a good job of
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  understanding that early in games teams
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  are fresh and teams are going to guard
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  you a little bit differently than they
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  will in the latter 20 minutes and as
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  long as we stay as long as we trust what
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  our game plan is and just continue to do
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  those things like ultimately teams will
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  break down and when teams get tired what
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  do they do? They foul and that's what's
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  kind of happened in the second half of
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  games this year. Um, so you know, Mike's
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  done a great job making adjustments and
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  our guys have done a great job of just
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  being locked into the things that we
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  need to continue to do um, in order to
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  to attack what they do. Tennessee
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  historically has been one of the best
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  defenses in college basketball every
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  single year and they've given us a ton
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  of fits on the offensive end and we've
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  struggled to manufacture points. So,
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  it's going to be another challenge, you
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  know, um, uh, tomorrow, you know, in
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  Knoxville because they do such a great
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  job of one plugging gaps, making you
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  pass the ball. And, uh, you know, we
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  have a team that has, we have a bunch of
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  guy, not a bunch of guys, we have guys
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  that can go get their own. You know, we
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  got to do a really good job in this game
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  of being willing to share the basketball
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  and get off it once we draw multiple
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  defenders because that's what they're
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  going to do. and they just make multiple
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  efforts and they um fly around and um
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  you know it's going to require guys to
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  knock down shots and uh you know we just
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  got to stay consistent with the things
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  that we've been doing.
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  >> Coach, knowing your player history with
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  the University of Tennessee, how
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  emotional will it be, you know,
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  returning back to Knoxville this time as
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  a head coach?
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  >> Yeah, I mean I don't want to make it
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  about me. Um you know, I've been there
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  before as an assistant, so I don't think
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  the emotions will be much different. you
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  [clears throat] know, um, played five
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  years there and gave, you know, all my
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  blood, sweat, and tears to that
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  university and had a lot of great times
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  and won a lot of games and, you know,
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  everything's connected. You know, I
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  don't meet my wife if it wasn't for the
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  University of Tennessee because I went
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  to Nashville to visit a former teammate,
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  Jordan Hal, and a buddy of mine, Bubba
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  South, whose parents might be sitting
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  right next to our bench actually on
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  Saturday, which would be cool. um he was
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  the one that was working out at
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  Britney's gym and he was like, "You need
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  to come meet this girl." So like if I
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  didn't play basketball at Tennessee, I
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  don't meet my wife, I don't have my
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  daughter, you know, it's all it's all
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  connected. So like, you know, from that
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  standpoint, you know, and half half my
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  groomsman I went to Tennessee with like
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  that was that that was the best thing
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  that ever happened to me was being, you
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  know, in Knoxville. And then if they
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  hadn't fired our asses, like we wouldn't
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  be here. So like best thing that's ever
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  happened to me is being in Auburn too.
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  So it's like I can't I mean I can't
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  thank him enough for everything that
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  happened in Knoxville. Best f best years
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  of my life, you know? Did medical sales
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  for three and a half years. I learned
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  from one of the greatest sales reps in
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  medical sales history, Ron Barzac. I
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  know I'm giving you a lot of names you
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  don't give a about, but like that
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  all correlated to me understanding how
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  to recruit sales and like so you you
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  know what I mean? There's so many things
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  that happened at Tennessee that have,
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  you know, shaped my life to what it is
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  today. So, I'm I'm eternally grateful. I
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  would like a letterman's jacket at some
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  point cuz I still haven't gotten that.
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  But, like, my years there, like, you
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  know, were some of the best of my life
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  personally because it shaped the man I
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  am today. And, you know, a lot of things
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  kind of fell in place for me to, you
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  know, be where I'm at in this year.
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  I was going to ask about Nate for them.
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  Seems like really in SEC play he's
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  starting to kind of get going, you know,
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  even more. What have you seen out
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  [clears throat] of him? Just the
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  challenge he faced. He's really
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  talented, but also really large as well.
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  >> You know, Coach Barnes and his staff
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  have done such a good job with him. Um,
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  you know, early in the year when you
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  watched him, he was upright and he
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  didn't really get in a stance and play
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  physically offensively and people were
• 9:04
  kind of knocking him off his spot. And
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  as the years gone on, you can just kind
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  of see his progression of being way more
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  aggressive and way more physical in what
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  he does. And there was no better game to
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  look at than the Alabama game. He was a
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  monster in that game. And he's just
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  gotten way more confident and way more
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  aggressive in what he's doing
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  offensively. And that's a testament to
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  to coach and his staff just continuing
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  to work with him every single day. And,
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  you know, um they're going to have that
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  kid ready for, you know, the NBA draft
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  come June. And uh you know, he's going
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  to be a handful. So, um, you know, we we
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  got to do a great job of just trying to
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  be physical with him and not let him get
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  to his spots on the floor cuz when he
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  does, like, you know, he's legit 610,
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  611. He's going to shoot right over the
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  top of you. So, you know, they're like,
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  if you were going to compare him to
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  somebody, you know, he's not as good of
• 9:51
  a shooter as Jabari, but like he's got
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  some of like a lot of that in his game,
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  you know what I mean? And um that's what
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  makes him, you know, such a tough
• 9:58
  matchup because if you put a guard on
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  him, he's going to post up, shoot the
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  top of you. If you put a big on him,
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  he's able to, you know, drive around
• 10:04
  you. So, he's a great player and uh you
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  know, I know our guys are excited about
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  the matchup.
• 10:09
  >> Yeah,
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  >> that was my question as well. Just I
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  didn't know if he gave you any Jabari
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  vibes and asked an answer.
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  >> Yeah. No, I mean he's he's he's a super
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  talented player. Doesn't doesn't shoot
• 10:19
  the same volume of threes that Jabari
• 10:20
  did. Um but you know that his mid-range,
• 10:24
  you know, turnaround jump shot that
• 10:26
  Jabari had was so good. Um he he has
• 10:29
  that. So, um, you know, special player
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  and, uh, you know, big- time talent.
• 10:36
  >> Stephen, you talked earlier in this just
• 10:37
  today about getting in the gaps. I've
• 10:39
  heard you say that. I heard a lot of
• 10:40
  other coaches say that. It's a new
• 10:41
  phrase to me. Is it a new paradigm like
• 10:44
  defensively to get in gaps? Patino used
• 10:46
  to talk about got to get deflections. Is
• 10:48
  it the same concept basically?
• 10:49
  >> Yeah. I mean, part of being in gaps is,
• 10:51
  you know, deflections is more stuff like
• 10:53
  on the ball, but, you know, being in
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  gaps is more just about offering, you
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  know, help to the guy that's on the
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  ball. Um, Tennessee does such a great
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  job of assisting the basketball that
• 11:04
  that might, you know, that could be a a
• 11:06
  challenge because anytime teams are in
• 11:08
  gaps, they do a great job of getting off
• 11:09
  it to the next guy and they make shots.
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  So, um, but what we've been doing as far
• 11:14
  as loading the ball since we don't have
• 11:16
  great rim protection has been really, I
• 11:17
  mean, it's been the reason why we've won
• 11:18
  five out of the last six because we've
• 11:20
  just really offered help, loads the ball
• 11:22
  and and made teams settle for for
• 11:23
  contested threes and uh, you know, while
• 11:26
  teams are shooting a good percentage
• 11:27
  against us from three. Um, you know, you
• 11:30
  got to kind of trust what it does over a
• 11:33
  40-minute game. And um you know it
• 11:36
  burned us at Missouri uh cuz they made
• 11:38
  seven in the first half, but I think for
• 11:40
  the most part it's it's been really good
• 11:41
  and it's given our guys more confidence
• 11:43
  guarding the ball. They know there's
• 11:44
  somebody to their right and to their
• 11:45
  left just in case their guy does drive
• 11:47
  by. And um so it's something that this
• 11:49
  team that it's been the identity of this
• 11:51
  team and it's one one that we got to
• 11:52
  continue to build on.
• 11:55
  >> Then I was I was ask for them. He never
• 11:58
  comes off the floor and he's been really
• 11:59
  shooting well at [clears throat] home
• 12:00
  especially this year. How big is he and
• 12:02
  know what kind of challenges he bring? I
• 12:04
  mean, he leads them in points, he leads
• 12:06
  them in assists, he leads them in
• 12:08
  steals. Um, you he does everything for
• 12:11
  them. Um, you know, they're probably
• 12:13
  their he's their best volume three-point
• 12:15
  shooter. Uh, he's got a lot of, you
• 12:19
  know, he's really shifty with his
• 12:21
  handle, can go either direction. Um,
• 12:23
  does a great job of setting the table
• 12:25
  for the rest of those guys, getting
• 12:26
  other guys involved. So, you know, one
• 12:28
  of the best guards in our league. Um,
• 12:30
  but you're right, he's going to play the
• 12:31
  entire game. So, you know, our guys have
• 12:33
  to do a great job of defending him
• 12:35
  without fouling and, you know, try and
• 12:37
  wear him out with uh the things that
• 12:39
  we're doing defensively and, you know,
• 12:40
  you got to make him cover a little bit,
• 12:41
  but, you know, he's just another guard
• 12:44
  that Rick's brought in that's just
• 12:45
  seamlessly fit into that role and, you
• 12:47
  know, he's done a great job for him. So,
• 12:49
  um, really good player and, uh, you
• 12:52
  know, just has such a big impact on on
• 12:54
  what they do as a whole.
• 12:56
  You guys compared Sway a couple times in
• 12:59
  the summer kind of having the skill set
• 13:00
  of Isaac Aoro and there were a couple
• 13:02
  possessions in the Texas game where you
• 13:04
  could really almost felt like you were
• 13:06
  watching Isaac there. How much of a of a
• 13:07
  boost is it for you as a defensive
• 13:09
  minded coach to have a guy developing
• 13:11
  like that that you can sort of deploy in
• 13:13
  a lot of different ways?
• 13:14
  >> It's great because you can get in film
• 13:16
  and just like watch 30 seconds of
• 13:18
  Sebastian guarding um Jordan Pope
• 13:21
  one-on-one and be like that's what it
• 13:23
  looks like. So if you guys want to play
• 13:26
  in the NBA like he is one day guard like
• 13:28
  him. Um you know so it it it makes
• 13:32
  everyone be more accountable for their
• 13:34
  one-on-one defense. He covers up so many
• 13:36
  mistakes you know just because he makes
• 13:38
  multiple efforts. Um and he's just a
• 13:40
  willing learner. You know while he made
• 13:41
  some mistakes as well like he's the
• 13:43
  first one to try and figure out what
• 13:45
  he's got to correct and how to be better
• 13:46
  at it. So he just you know it a lot of
• 13:49
  his impact doesn't show up in a box
• 13:51
  score. Um, but man, as as a freshman,
• 13:54
  like him and Isaac are two of the most
• 13:55
  impactful freshman that, you know, we've
• 13:57
  ever had. And, uh, you know, he's the
• 13:59
  difference between winning and losing.
• 14:01
  So, um, he's been great. And, uh, you
• 14:04
  know, I just know he'll continue to
• 14:05
  improve as the year goes on.