Razorbacks Looking at Season, Emotions in Meeting Duke

With a shot at the Final Four on the line, the Hogs know they have a big hill in Saturday's game against Duke

allHOGS Staff | Mar 26, 2022

Here is the complete transcript from Arkansas players Au'Diese Toney, Stanley Umude, Jaylin Williams and Davonte Davis previewing Saturday's matchup with Duke and a lot of other areas.

Q. This question is for Au'Diese. I think I looked this up, right, two of your top four scoring games career-wise are against Duke, 27 and 22. What is it about you and Duke, and does that give you some added confidence going into this game?

AU'DIESE TONEY: It's just another game really. I was used to playing them a lot in the SEC, so I'm used to playing them, knowing their strengths and weaknesses, but it's just another game now.

Q. Stanley, in a way in neutral venues you have been pretty lethal from the three-point line this season. If Duke goes man or zone, do you feel like this could be a game that you could take advantage of?

STANLEY UMUDE: Yeah. I think it could be a good game as far as if they go zone to stop our rim attack maybe we can get some sets to find some open threes, things like that. I think it will just be about getting out there and trying to see how they're guarding us and making adjustments from then.

Jaylin Williams-Gonzaga — Kelley L. Cox / USA TODAY Sports

Q. For Jaylin, having gone up against Gonzaga's bigs yesterday and now Duke has another pair of really, really good bigs, is there anything that you can take away from what you faced with Timme and Chet, or is it a completely different ball game all together with the way that these guys play for Duke?

JAYLIN WILLIAMS: It's going to be another hard rebounding night for sure. Their whole line-up is pretty big, but we just have to play strong, and it's a whole different game for real. Their bigs are different bigs. They got a selfless center. They throw a lot of lobs to him, and they have Paolo. He is one of the best players in the country, and he can play from anywhere on the court, so it's a whole new game, and we have to be ready from the start.

Q. Stan, I'm just curious in the film that I have watched on Duke already what differences do you see between them and the team you just beat, Gonzaga?

STANLEY UMUDE: I would say they got a lot more guys that like to dribble drive and can shoot. I think they've got five guys averaging double figures, so I think knowing our personnel is going to be big as far as because they've got different guys that like to do a lot of different things. I think just really locking in our personnel is going to be huge.

Q. Jaylin, for you, you were asked about Duke's bigs, and you mentioned Paolo in passing. Specifically, what kind of challenge does he present? Seems like kind of a unique player, and certainly very poised for a freshman.

JAYLIN WILLIAMS: Yeah. He has a lot of size. He is 6'10", 250, and he also can move really good. It creates a lot of mismatch things, but we played against players the whole year. We've gone into situations where we changed our defensive looks at people, so it's a different challenge, of course, but we have something that we're going to do, and we're going to be ready for them.

Q. Jaylin and Devo, any time you go to an Elite 8 it's special, but after last year when you guys were kind of locked up in the hotel, couldn't really do anything, how much more special is this experience doing it for the second time when you get to see the city, see your families, and kind of do things off the court?

JAYLIN WILLIAMS: Yeah, it's way different. Like you said, last year we didn't really get to go through a real March Madness because it was in the bubble, but this year has been way different. Walking through the hotel and seeing all the fans yelling, it's just been crazy. It's what you grow up wanting do play in and play for. This is one of the things you look forward to, but it's been a crazy experience, and I'm happy I'm here.

Davonte Davis-Gonzaga — Kyle Terada / USA TODAY Sports

DAVONTE DAVIS: Like Jaylin said, I think it's very nice being able to see our family and our fans support us, and I think last year took some of that away from us, but we didn't let it get to us, so I think this is helping us out even more. Hopefully we get past this round and advance.

Q. Jaylin, so much obviously is made about you taking charges, but I'm wondering growing up with three much older brothers how much is that just being bodied around and bullied by them?

JAYLIN WILLIAMS: Yeah. Growing up playing with my brothers, they used to always just use — or body me because they were so much older than me. We would play H-O-R-S-E, and they would dunk it, and I couldn't dunk it yet, so they would make fun of me with things like that, but now, of course, I'm the one that can dunk, and they're older and they can't dunk, so we'll play H-O-R-S-E and dunk it and get them letters. Just playing my brothers, I'm pretty sure that's what got me liking to play physical.

Q. Jaylin, I'm curious what happened last night a couple of times that led you to doubling over. I think I saw you one time you said you were dizzy. Did you kind of feel like I guess a responsibility to kind of stay on the floor even maybe when you didn't feel 100%?

JAYLIN WILLIAMS: I wouldn't say I wasn't 100%. I don't feel a responsibility. I know everybody on our team is ready, but there's a lot of times where I just stay out on the court. The coaches do a really good job of trying to call time-outs. We get breathers during the commercials, but I don't feel a responsibility or anything like that.

He did that move, and he kind of elbowed me on the side of the head, and I wasn't dizzy or nothing. It just kind of stung a little bit.

Q. For Jaylin. Question about J.D. and just his mentality that allows him to be confident enough and determined enough to keep shooting 29 times when the ball is not going in very often.

JAYLIN WILLIAMS: Yeah, J.D. is a confident player, and we're just as confident as he is in him, and J.D. does such a great job of creating. He creates just as much for everybody else as he does for himself, so when he is feeling confident in himself, when he is hitting shots, he is doing everything for us, and he does just as much on the defensive end. He is one of our best defensive players, and he is just great overall.

But he has a lot of confidence in what he does. We see him work. He stayed after shot for I don't know how long today after practice, and he just works on that, so we're going to have as much confidence as he does in him.

032422-Davonte Davis-Gonzaga-kyleterada-2

Q. Hey, guys, I'll ask this one to Stanley and Devo, but Coach K was up here talking about how the Final Four is the Mecca. There's nothing like it. I'm sure you've watched it on TV. Describe what it would mean for you guys to get to New Orleans.

STANLEY UMUDE: It would mean a lot. To me personally it's been a long journey to get to the NCAA Tournament, so making it with this team would be really special for me for sure.

DAVONTE DAVIS: Like Stan said I think a few of our staff members are also from New Orleans, so I think it would be very special not only for us, but for them as well. I think it would be fun.

Q. Question for Au'Diese. You obviously were able to sort of make life miserable for Nembhard. You have some familiarity with Duke's back court, with Jeremy Roach and with Wendell. Is that something that's potentially replicable, and just in terms of their back court, what do you make of them?

AU'DIESE TONEY: Jeremy and Wendell are very good players. They like to go downhill a lot. It's basically just it's going to be a guard game really. Just who can keep who out of the paint. That's pretty much what we all have to do is try to keep them paint touches, limit their paint touches. Just go with the flow.

Q. For Jaylin and Davonte. Growing up in Arkansas, how much is the '94 championship game part of the, I guess, growing up -- how educated are you -- was it part of growing up?

DAVONTE DAVIS: I think that was the last time we actually played Duke, so I think this is going to be really fun and special for a lot of older guys that used to play here. So I think it's going to be a lot of eyes on this game, and I think it's going to be really fun knowing that that was the last time we played them.

JAYLIN WILLIAMS: Yeah, I was nowhere near born then, (laughter) but you hear growing up in Arkansas, everybody knows about that team and what they did for the state and just being able to get close to the same position they're in is great. Just being in the same position.

Q. This is for Jaylin and Stanley. If the other guys want to chime in. Everybody knows Coach K is retiring after the season, so all these games could be his last, but they keep advancing, so you guys could be the team that ends his career. Just wonder what your thoughts are on that.

STANLEY UMUDE: We haven't really been thinking too much into that. I think we're just focused on how we're going to attack them offensively and how we're going to guard them defensively. And obviously he has had a great career, Coach K. Right now we're just focused on how we're going to try to beat them.

JAYLIN WILLIAMS: Like what Stan said, he is one of the greatest coaches ever. That's not on us. We're going to go out there and play the game, and it's just another game for us.

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