John Pelphrey Press Conference - Baylor
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas travels to Dallas to face former Southwest Conference foe Baylor on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in American Airlines Arena. The Razorbacks are 10-3 while Baylor is 11-1. Following is a partial transcript of head coach John Prelphrey’s press conference previewing the game.
Baylor:
“We’re looking forward to the game. Baylor is a team that has outstanding guards. They have five guys that are terrific. They are really good, especially from the three-point line. All of them are shooting 40 percent. When they come into the game, there will not be an opportunity to relax. They don’t know how long they will be in there. They’ve done a good job of creating a competitive environment on their team.
“In the front court, Kevin Rogers is as physically gifted as anyone in the country.
“As a team, they show a lot of zone, but defensively, we’ll have our hands full. They’re averaging 80 points (81.7) a game.
“It will take our best effort of the year, offensively and defensively.
“Scott Drew has done a very good job. They have a lot of talent. With the schedule they’ve played, they have some great wins in there.”
Defending the three:
“In transition, we will have to find their guys. We will be playing against the pick and role, so they will be taking on our big guys. When you go out and extend the defense in the half court to take that away from a three-point shooting team, it makes it easier to drive the gaps.
“We hope to limit their number of attempts. We need to hold them to a one and done. A lot of times rebounding a three-point attempt is hard with long rebounds.”
Playing in Dallas:
“I’m looking forward to a special environment. Coach (Eddie) Sutton talked about playing in Dallas. It’s not Reunion Arena, but it is Dallas. Hopefully we can play and do well against an outstanding team.”
Charles Thomas:
“Charles is a guy who is physically committed to being tough and getting things done. He plays the front of the press and we throw back to him off the pick and role. I’m not crazy about him shooting threes, but I like the way he drives. When he stays patient, he’s a weapon for us.
“I would say 80 to 85 percent of the time, he plays and practices the way I like. When he is focused, he is more than capable of getting done what we want. He and Patrick Beverley, if they aren’t doing their thing, even if they aren’t scoring, it changes things.”
Last game before SEC play:
“I don’t know if this game has any bearing on conference play, but it’s a big, big game for us. We will be in our red uniforms and we need to play well in red. We need to play with toughness and a mindset with a high basketball IQ.”
