Here are 5 quotes of note from Arkansas associate head coach Kenny Payne following his preview press conference ahead of Friday’s exhibition matchup with No. 1 Kansas in Fayetteville:
Shorthanded Hogs hungry to compete with Kansas
Both Arkansas and Kansas will be operating at less than full strength on Friday. The Razorbacks have been hampered by a number of short-term injuries, and it remains to be seen who all will be available for the exhibition.
“It’s what John Calipari brings to the table. The excitement, the recognition, not just regionally but all over the country. Everybody is going to be watching. To see this environment and how excited people are about this basketball team, even though we’re a little beat up, we’re coming out here and playing this exhibition and guys want to win. We may be limited in numbers right now, but we’re going to get after it.”
“I don’t know exactly (who is out) yet. The medical staff will help us with that. But the guys are getting better every day. We have been down. We’ve had a few weeks of having five guys at practice. So, that’s tough.”
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Clarity on Friday’s exhibition format
Bill Self unintentionally got fans stirred up with some of his comments about the exhibition format at Big 12 Media Day on Wednesday. Thursday morning, John Calipari clarified the teams would be playing a “real exhibition game” but will be playing four quarters to provide opportunities for more situational work (i.e. Zone/Press segments, four late-clock scenarios instead of two).
“When Coach Self and Cal got together and talked, they talked about being prepared for situations. By going to quarters, you get an opportunity to touch on different situations in the course of a game. It allows you to have multiple of those situations as opposed to playing straight out and you get an end of a 20-minute half. With quarters, you have more opportunities to touch on different situations.”
Adjusting on the fly against No. 1
Different coaches approach exhibitions in different ways. Eric Musselman attacked them from the standpoint of preparing for a real game. Others are more concerned about their teams specifically.
Arkansas is a blend of both, and one of the biggest things to watch Friday night is how the Razorbacks adjust on the fly and adapt to the challenges posed by facing the No. 1 team in the country.
“A little bit of all of it. We watched a couple of the stuff they did last year. This is a different team. I love it because there is a philosophy amongst coaches about your principles, your offensive and defensive principles.
“We don’t know what they’re going to run, so principles have to be tight and on point. We don’t know what offense Coach Self has put in or if he’s changing anything from a year ago. We know he’s got a really good team, and we’re going to have to adjust to some things he may be doing that he wants to do with his team.
“I’m excited about that, and I believe the best was to learn is when you can’t predict what they’re going to do, and they have to pick it up on the fly and fight through it and talk through it.”
Any ‘surprise’ contributors to look out for?
Arkansas recruited a very clear top nine for its rotation, but the roster is still filled out with depth and developmental pieces who can earn their way into the mix.
With so many players in and out with injury, the door has opened for some of the “other guys” to make an impression.
“They all have worked hard, and they all have put in the time to be ready to play. If you have a jersey on your back, you’ve got to be ready. Whether that’s contributing in practice, contributing in a live situation, contributing in the classroom, all of it, you have to be ready for this.
“(Casmir Chavis) has done a good job. He is one of the few that’s not injured. He’s been there. Melo (Sanchez) is injured. Ayden (Kelley) has done a good job, and so has Kareem (Watkins).
“They all have come in and done more than their share to prove they deserve to be on this roster. We are proud of all of them.”
Patience is a virtue for Razorback fans
Injuries aside, Calipari and the staff have been in lockstep with their messaging that what fans see in November will be much different as the season progresses, and his teams historically get better and better the more they play. Payne echoed that sentiment Thursday ahead of the Kansas exhibition.
“The first thing is for everybody to really understand we’re building a culture. We’re not walking in with a culture already established. We’ve got new players coming from different situations that are joining us, and we’re teaching.
“It’s a process. Every team Coach Cal has coaches over the years there has been a common denominator. The team gets better January, February and March. We have to approach this with that in mind knowing we’re teaching guys that have all been stars in their own right to buy into each other.
“That’s hard to do. If you’ve been the star on one team and got all the shots. Now you’ve got five guys that have all had success being stars. How do you get them to buy into what you’re doing?
“We have to teach them about respect. We have to teach them about the importance of being a unit. The importance of if one person lets us down we all fail. We’re teaching that. It’s a process and it will take time. The great thing is we have talented kids that listen to us. We have high character kids that want to do the right thing. Coach is doing a good job of really pushing these kids.”