It's once again time for TIGER TALK on the radio waves throughout the Southeastern United States!
LIST OF AFFILIATES AND LINKS
PREDICTION: None tonight.
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BRUCE PEARL IS HERE
On the FAU game: "I thought we played much better at home. I actually think we played too well. It's just not going to be that easy every night. At home, we shot it really, really well. The guys were excited to be playing and the crowd was amazing. It's the best we've looked in a while."
On taking the exhibition games seriously: "I got a technical foul against Florida Atlantic game. It's like an SEC championship game for me."
"This is a team that will have 10 double-digit minute (guys.) We played 11 on Friday night."
"I don't think we will have a consistent starting five. I think there's a chance we'll go Big-Big with Dylan and Johni. In the backcourt, there could be some mixing and matching."
On Miles Kelly: "He'll probably play a few more minutes. He's back. With two weeks off for mono, I would have thought that his return would have been a little bit slower. He's a brilliant shooter. Miles will be a starter — as he gets to be 100 percent."
"We're going to be a good rebounding team, which means we're going to be a good fast-break team."
On point guard: "Three brand-new quarterbacks. And right now I anticipate rotating all three."
(He says he likes Tahaad at point. "He does some special things with the ball.")
On Vermont: "I'm not sure what Burgo was thinking about when he scheduled this one. This must have been the last game and he wanted to go on summer break. I don't blame him. We want to play mid-major, championship-type teams. This team was a 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They're very much like Yale, I hate to tell you. This will not be a stat-stuffing game at all."
***COMMERCIAL BREAK***
DJ DURKIN IS UP
"I'm just proud of our guys in terms of the effort they played with and the togetherness they played with."
On what they did against the run against Vandy: "A lot of their runs stem from an option-type philosophy ... we were focused schematically on getting the ball out of (Diego Pavia's) hands."
On coaching so many freshmen: "There's learning curve — just how important it is to execute and do your job and not freelance. They come from high school programs where they could go out there and run around and just play. I'm part of something bigger. I'm not playing 1 on 1 football; there's 11 of us out here."
Has he ever relied on this many freshmen? "Probably not. The good part is these guys aren't just playing — they're playing well and at a high level. How much are we putting in scheme-wise? How much are we asking them to do? There's that fine line of what's too much and what's too little."
On his run defense lately: "Our guys are executing for us at a high level."
On the goal line stand at UK with six freshmen on the field: "It doesn't go through my mind. After the game you start thinking about it. We put guys on the field who give us the best chance to win the game at that spot."
On goals for this open week: "It's still about technique and fundamentals. We can focus on tackling, stance, all the little things that add up to helping you be successful."
On his leaders: "I feel like we have good leadership. It's spread out. Keldric Faulk ... is an unbelievable leader for us. He's leading in his play and also off the field. We also have guys like J-Mac and Eugene, who are seniors. It's an easy time for a senior when things aren't going the way you want them to go for your senior year and be in the tank about it. They're not. I think we have a good mix. A guy like Kaleb Harris? He's a leader for us. Our group has a substance to them. It matters and their teammates matter."
On looking ahead to the ULM game: "We break them down right away and start getting that gameplan put in. We're full speed ahead on them already."
On practice tempo now rather than in early September: "There's a difference ... in the amount of reps and all that. There has to be a speed — this is how we practice. Maybe you limit reps for certain guys. Take a J-Mac or a Jerrin Thompson. They don't need the same reps a younger guy does. But if you change the practice speed? It's hard to get that back."
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