The players are speaking with us to preview Auburn's game against Miami. Bruce Pearl comes next and we'll summarize him in another thread...
** Wendell Green on his reaction to dunk: I told him it's the best dunk I've seen in person. I was shocked. Zep Jasper thought it was young Kobe Bryant out there (gets some laughs).
** Zep: Miami has great guards, well coached, will come out ready to play.
** Wen on Miami's guards: We're going to try to force them into turnovers, make them take tough shots.
** Jabari Smith said he's probably watched that dunk more than anybody else, everybody tagging him in it. That's one he's going to show his kids one day. His dad said it wasn't better than his at LSU but he was fired up.
** Jabari on being compared to Kevin Durant: It makes me feel pretty good but I'm a long way from him on the court. I'm learning from him and looking up to him.
** Wen: Walker Kessler has blocked everybody in practice. Shooting over a person like that, there's no comparison. It gets you ready for finishing over guys like him. Zep: When guys go past us, we know Walker is back there to clean up for us.
** We had a bunch of assists, got to keep doing that, sharing the ball and not worrying about individual stats.
** Zep: I think we're the best transition team in the country. A lot of teams try to make us play slow ball. I think that's one of the most important things for us in this Tournament, to continue to push it in transition.
** Miami has three good guards. We haven't seen that in a while.
** Wen: Just watching the games before us, you see all the upsets so it's in the back of your mind. But we just want to go out there and have fun. Coach Pearl is a great motivational speakers so he does a good job taking the pressure off of us.
** Jabari: Rebounding is a big emphasis. We haven't been doing as well, talked with Kessler and decided we can't get dominated on the glass like we did at Tennessee.
** Jabari: Playing in NCAA Tournament is a dream come true. Just trying to take it in and stay here as long as possible. Zep: Just to put us in position to win the national championship, I believe that dream can come true.
** Zep on Miami actually having the best transition offense in country: We're a great defensive team and we've got to match up against their good guards.
** Jabari: JSU game definitely gives us confidence. We're hard to beat when we play like that, playing hard, playing loose and having fun. Zep: We're getting back to playing like we were early in the season. Wen: I don't feel like we've had fun playing lately and we got back to that.
** Jabari on Jaylin Williams: He's been good and practiced with us today. He looks good but can't talk very well. Zep: I told Jaylin, 'Let me see that smile.' I saw his chipped tooth and started laughing and he said, 'I knew you were going to do that.'
** Zep: Miami is a little like TAMU or Alabama. UM is a tough team, great guard, they like to shoot 3's and can all score, get downhill.
*****THAT'S ALL*****
** Wendell Green on his reaction to dunk: I told him it's the best dunk I've seen in person. I was shocked. Zep Jasper thought it was young Kobe Bryant out there (gets some laughs).
** Zep: Miami has great guards, well coached, will come out ready to play.
** Wen on Miami's guards: We're going to try to force them into turnovers, make them take tough shots.
** Jabari Smith said he's probably watched that dunk more than anybody else, everybody tagging him in it. That's one he's going to show his kids one day. His dad said it wasn't better than his at LSU but he was fired up.
** Jabari on being compared to Kevin Durant: It makes me feel pretty good but I'm a long way from him on the court. I'm learning from him and looking up to him.
** Wen: Walker Kessler has blocked everybody in practice. Shooting over a person like that, there's no comparison. It gets you ready for finishing over guys like him. Zep: When guys go past us, we know Walker is back there to clean up for us.
** We had a bunch of assists, got to keep doing that, sharing the ball and not worrying about individual stats.
** Zep: I think we're the best transition team in the country. A lot of teams try to make us play slow ball. I think that's one of the most important things for us in this Tournament, to continue to push it in transition.
** Miami has three good guards. We haven't seen that in a while.
** Wen: Just watching the games before us, you see all the upsets so it's in the back of your mind. But we just want to go out there and have fun. Coach Pearl is a great motivational speakers so he does a good job taking the pressure off of us.
** Jabari: Rebounding is a big emphasis. We haven't been doing as well, talked with Kessler and decided we can't get dominated on the glass like we did at Tennessee.
** Jabari: Playing in NCAA Tournament is a dream come true. Just trying to take it in and stay here as long as possible. Zep: Just to put us in position to win the national championship, I believe that dream can come true.
** Zep on Miami actually having the best transition offense in country: We're a great defensive team and we've got to match up against their good guards.
** Jabari: JSU game definitely gives us confidence. We're hard to beat when we play like that, playing hard, playing loose and having fun. Zep: We're getting back to playing like we were early in the season. Wen: I don't feel like we've had fun playing lately and we got back to that.
** Jabari on Jaylin Williams: He's been good and practiced with us today. He looks good but can't talk very well. Zep: I told Jaylin, 'Let me see that smile.' I saw his chipped tooth and started laughing and he said, 'I knew you were going to do that.'
** Zep: Miami is a little like TAMU or Alabama. UM is a tough team, great guard, they like to shoot 3's and can all score, get downhill.
*****THAT'S ALL*****
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