What No. 14 Men’s Hoops Said at Friday’s Media Session
January 11, 2019 | Men's Basketball
by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – Ahead of No. 14 Mississippi State's SEC home opener versus Ole Miss, head coach Ben Howland and Aric Holman met with the media on Friday.
Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the men's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets by searching 'HailStateMBK' on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Below is a transcript of Friday's media session prior to practice.
Mississippi State Men's Basketball Media Session
January 11, 2019 – Humphrey Coliseum
Head Coach Ben Howland
Opening Statement
BH: "We have a very tough opponent coming up. I think Ole Miss is playing great. They're actually ranked ahead of us in the NET [Rankings] as I looked at it last night. That speaks [for the fact] that Ole Miss is a NCAA Tournament team. We have a team that we know is going to be in the NCAA Tournament at the end of the year playing here tomorrow. We're going to have to play our best to have success."
Q: How has the team responded to the South Carolina loss ahead of tomorrow's game?
BH: "We got back here on-campus at about 1:30 in the morning on Wednesday. So, we basically had Wednesday off, because that was our off day for this week. They came back and had a good practice [with] good focus yesterday. We had a long day [of] shooting, watching film and having practice. Today will obviously be shorter now with it being less than 24-hours before we play because it's a noon tipoff. But, I thought they responded well. We will have another, hopefully, good practice today."
Q: How is this Ole Miss team different from last year's team with Kermit Davis as head coach?
BH: "I think that all of those kids are a year older, more mature. I think they have worked incredibly hard since the new staff and Kermit [Davis] has arrived. You can see it in their bodies. I think they have done a good job at getting stronger in the offseason, but it's just a lot of work in the gym. [Devontae] Shuler is playing extremely well. He's a kid that from his freshman year to his sophomore year is usually your biggest jump year as a player. He's definitely made that jump, and he's very good. [Breein] Tyree is an all-league player in our conference. He's really playing well, and he was fantastic during their last road win at Vanderbilt with 31 [points]. He's a very good player who can really shoot it with range."
"They're a good shooting team. If you look at their offense efficiency, they're way up there shooting 38 percent from three. They're one of the top free-throw shooting teams in the country shooting 76 percent. They have a good defensive efficiency so if you put both upsides on the ball. [Terence] Davis was fantastic the other night. He's been good all year. His three-point percentage is outstanding on the year. He's shooting 42 percent and a lot higher than that in [conference play]. He's doing a good job rebounding the basketball, he's their leading rebounder. I think he leads them in assists, rebounds and is second in scoring so he's having a really good year."
"Their big kid who has really done a good job for them … [Dominik] Olejniczak is a good player. He's done a lot of nice things for them by setting screens and taking up space. He's scoring around the basket. He's a very good passer and a good skill level when you watch him play. He really has a lot of things going for him. They have two really good freshmen too with [Blake] Hinson, who has started every game for them at the four, and [KJ] Buffen. Those two guys split that time for the most part [at the four position], and they're really, really good players. They both stepped up and had huge games. I think Buffen stepped up and had 14 against Auburn. Hinson has been great all year so they have a nice rotation."
Q: How do you get more production out of your players toward bench points?
BH: "That's my fault. I think I said that on the air after the game, and I mentioned that in my post game comments. Playing time. I need to play Tyson [Carter] in more minutes. That was a critical error in judgement on my part during that game. The same thing with Robert Woodard II, he needs to get more minutes for us. We have to be more productive."
Q: Are you surprised that Ole Miss is as good as they are this year?
BH: "I'm really not. I thought that the talent that was left behind was good talent – I really did. We know that. Those guys came from a program where they had a tough year last year, but the previous years they had won 20 games, I think, four years in a row. They had a pretty good culture. Andy [Kennedy] did a pretty good job there. They had the down year a year ago, but I think they're really revitalizing it. They're coming in with a new enthusiasm – [Having a] really experienced coach like Kermit [Davis] has taken it and built something that is strong. They're doing it with those veteran guys with the exception of those two freshmen. All of those guys are good players. They have really worked hard. You've got to credit them for how hard they have worked and how hard they play together."
Forward Aric Holman
Q: Has the intensity of this game amped up since you're coming off of a loss?
AH: "Absolutely, you know all of the guys on the team know how important that this game is that's coming up. It's not just that game. We slipped up [last game], and we're not trying to have that happen again. Our focus is to take it up a notch."
Q: What can you guys do to be more aggressive on the boards?
AH: "I would say the little things like communication. I'm certain of that at times on defense. We need to just be more aggressive. At the end of the day, you know that's the main thing."
Q: Do you have more motivation to play against an Ole Miss team that seems to be pretty good?
AH: "I mean, we don't look at records. It's the next game up. We came off a loss that we feel pretty bad about. We're on to the next one, and that's what our main focus is."
STARKVILLE – Ahead of No. 14 Mississippi State's SEC home opener versus Ole Miss, head coach Ben Howland and Aric Holman met with the media on Friday.
Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the men's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets by searching 'HailStateMBK' on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Below is a transcript of Friday's media session prior to practice.
Mississippi State Men's Basketball Media Session
January 11, 2019 – Humphrey Coliseum
Head Coach Ben Howland
Opening Statement
BH: "We have a very tough opponent coming up. I think Ole Miss is playing great. They're actually ranked ahead of us in the NET [Rankings] as I looked at it last night. That speaks [for the fact] that Ole Miss is a NCAA Tournament team. We have a team that we know is going to be in the NCAA Tournament at the end of the year playing here tomorrow. We're going to have to play our best to have success."
Q: How has the team responded to the South Carolina loss ahead of tomorrow's game?
BH: "We got back here on-campus at about 1:30 in the morning on Wednesday. So, we basically had Wednesday off, because that was our off day for this week. They came back and had a good practice [with] good focus yesterday. We had a long day [of] shooting, watching film and having practice. Today will obviously be shorter now with it being less than 24-hours before we play because it's a noon tipoff. But, I thought they responded well. We will have another, hopefully, good practice today."
Q: How is this Ole Miss team different from last year's team with Kermit Davis as head coach?
BH: "I think that all of those kids are a year older, more mature. I think they have worked incredibly hard since the new staff and Kermit [Davis] has arrived. You can see it in their bodies. I think they have done a good job at getting stronger in the offseason, but it's just a lot of work in the gym. [Devontae] Shuler is playing extremely well. He's a kid that from his freshman year to his sophomore year is usually your biggest jump year as a player. He's definitely made that jump, and he's very good. [Breein] Tyree is an all-league player in our conference. He's really playing well, and he was fantastic during their last road win at Vanderbilt with 31 [points]. He's a very good player who can really shoot it with range."
"They're a good shooting team. If you look at their offense efficiency, they're way up there shooting 38 percent from three. They're one of the top free-throw shooting teams in the country shooting 76 percent. They have a good defensive efficiency so if you put both upsides on the ball. [Terence] Davis was fantastic the other night. He's been good all year. His three-point percentage is outstanding on the year. He's shooting 42 percent and a lot higher than that in [conference play]. He's doing a good job rebounding the basketball, he's their leading rebounder. I think he leads them in assists, rebounds and is second in scoring so he's having a really good year."
"Their big kid who has really done a good job for them … [Dominik] Olejniczak is a good player. He's done a lot of nice things for them by setting screens and taking up space. He's scoring around the basket. He's a very good passer and a good skill level when you watch him play. He really has a lot of things going for him. They have two really good freshmen too with [Blake] Hinson, who has started every game for them at the four, and [KJ] Buffen. Those two guys split that time for the most part [at the four position], and they're really, really good players. They both stepped up and had huge games. I think Buffen stepped up and had 14 against Auburn. Hinson has been great all year so they have a nice rotation."
Q: How do you get more production out of your players toward bench points?
BH: "That's my fault. I think I said that on the air after the game, and I mentioned that in my post game comments. Playing time. I need to play Tyson [Carter] in more minutes. That was a critical error in judgement on my part during that game. The same thing with Robert Woodard II, he needs to get more minutes for us. We have to be more productive."
Q: Are you surprised that Ole Miss is as good as they are this year?
BH: "I'm really not. I thought that the talent that was left behind was good talent – I really did. We know that. Those guys came from a program where they had a tough year last year, but the previous years they had won 20 games, I think, four years in a row. They had a pretty good culture. Andy [Kennedy] did a pretty good job there. They had the down year a year ago, but I think they're really revitalizing it. They're coming in with a new enthusiasm – [Having a] really experienced coach like Kermit [Davis] has taken it and built something that is strong. They're doing it with those veteran guys with the exception of those two freshmen. All of those guys are good players. They have really worked hard. You've got to credit them for how hard they have worked and how hard they play together."
Forward Aric Holman
Q: Has the intensity of this game amped up since you're coming off of a loss?
AH: "Absolutely, you know all of the guys on the team know how important that this game is that's coming up. It's not just that game. We slipped up [last game], and we're not trying to have that happen again. Our focus is to take it up a notch."
Q: What can you guys do to be more aggressive on the boards?
AH: "I would say the little things like communication. I'm certain of that at times on defense. We need to just be more aggressive. At the end of the day, you know that's the main thing."
Q: Do you have more motivation to play against an Ole Miss team that seems to be pretty good?
AH: "I mean, we don't look at records. It's the next game up. We came off a loss that we feel pretty bad about. We're on to the next one, and that's what our main focus is."
Players Mentioned
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