Dec. 6, 2008
Kentucky Head Coach Billy Gillispie
On the play in the second half …
“There was a big difference in effort and execution. We started doing what we were supposed to be doing. We started enforcing our will instead of letting Miami dictate the game in our own gym. It was a matter of effort and more concentration and carrying out assignments.”
On Jodie Meeks’ 10-point performance …
“He missed a bunch of shots. When you play lethargically and are not carrying out assignments then that reveals itself in offense. It is a lot harder to hit guarded shots. We were playing against a zone most of the night and we should have been able to get the ball where we wanted to. People don’t make guarded shots. We were foolish to take those kind of shots. Our whole deal was to get the ball to the inside. We looked at the post-game stats and see that Jodie (Meeks) had 17 shots, DeAndre (Liggins) had 15 shots and Patrick (Patterson) only had 13 shots. When Patterson went 8-for-13 then it is not that hard to figure out who should be getting the ball. We needed to play inside, out more.”
On the game…
“I think it was just a case of not carrying out assignments. I don’t think we functioned very well as a team when we faced a little adversity. When someone takes it right at is, I don’t think we stepped right up to get what they want. When you play outside-in, then it is going to be a long night and that is exactly what we did. Miami has a really good three-point shooter as well and he played inside out. He got the ball to the rim and got to the foul line, that is how you are supposed to play. Miami was able to do that against our defense and we did not play very good defense in the first half. We didn’t help each other in form or fashion during the first half. We have to carry out assignments and we have to have better leadership. We need to move the ball much more quickly, but most importantly we didn’t carry out assignments.”
On how we played in the second half …
“It was much better, but the pace was still way to slow. We are walking the ball up the court to much and we are not reversing the ball enough. All we had to do was get the ball to the short corner or high post or drive to the elbow to more effective tonight. We didn’t do that enough tonight. When we finally started doing that then we started scoring more in the paint like we wanted to.”
On facing different defenses …
“I don’t mean any disrespect to the zone because that is what Miami did and they played really well tonight. When we started doing what we were supposed to do and got the ball where it needed to be then we were a much better team. Sometimes we scored more and sometimes we didn’t, that is part of the game. Miami played very smart because of the way we were playing offense they just stood back and waited for us. That is what I would have done if I was Miami . We didn’t attack like we needed to and weren’t aggressive enough. That is how we got so far behind in the first half. Even when Miami was playing man-to-man we just didn’t have any leadership on the court. We needed more direction and more passion to score and get inside off the dribble. I am very disappointed in the way we played.”
Kentucky Players
#23 Jodie Meeks
On the team’s play and his individual play in the first half…
“I’m not really sure what was going on. We came out in the second half and got back in it. It was just one of those nights. I couldn’t seem to hit anything. The shots I was taking were pretty good shots, just none of them would fall today. I guess you have games like that.”
On not starting in the second half…
“It was the coach’s decision, not my decision. So, he didn’t start me that is his call. I guess I wasn’t rebounding well and taking quick shots.”
On the difference between the first and second halves…
“They came out on fire and they were hitting everything. We were kind of standing around on offense. We weren’t shooting the ball like we should have. We were kind of catching it and holding it, looking at each other figuring out what to do. I think in the second half we did a better job of penetrating the gaps and getting it inside and making some offense.”
On how the Miami zone affected the offense…
“We play against the zone in practice every day. It was just one of those games where we were playing out of sync. When that happened we had to fight uphill and we could never get over the hump.”
On what Coach Gillispie told the team at the half …
“He just said don’t give up, it’s a long game. There is still 20 minutes left in the game. Even though we are down by 20 we can come back in a half and that we had to come out tough. We took the message that he said, and I thought we did a good job of turning it around in the second half.”
#54 Patrick Patterson
On the team needing more leadership …
“I I know me, Jodie (Meeks) and Perry (Stevenson) aren’t doing the things we should be doing whether it’s stepping up in practice when people mess up or out there on the court. My part as a leader, I’m not doing everything that I should be doing and I’m not stepping up.”
On his shooting percentage in today’s game …
“I’m not the type to complain about not getting the ball. Coach is always getting on me saying that I need to pass the ball to my teammates especially to those who shoot a lot. Darius (Miller) and Jodie (Meeks) are always looking for me to pass the ball so I need to be the man out there and demand the ball. I’m shooting really well so I need to pass the ball to my teammates.”
On the loss to Miami …
“The way that we played the game tonight was painful. We had a horrible first half and we cut the 20-point lead at the first half to four points and they pretty much handed us the win. We just didn’t take it. I know I had a huge turnover. Jodie usually hits those wide open three-point shots but tonight he couldn’t follow through.”
#21 Perry Stevenson
On following the game plan …
“It takes a really good team to stick to the game plan and we kind of got away from that. As we got closer to it, we cut the margin down. We just have to get off to better starts.”
On the team’s mindset going into the second half …
“Coach said we had to be tougher so we just had to do that. We definitely figured that we had a chance. It’s a familiar place; we’ve been down and came back to win. We knew they weren’t invincible. ”
On spreading out the team’s shooting …
“Our shooting has to be balanced out a whole lot more even if I have to sacrifice my shots to balance that out. We just have to give each other the ball; that’s how we win.”
Miami Head Coach Frank Haith
Opening Statement …
“Obviously, I thought that it was a great win for our guys. In the first half, offensively we were very good and in the second half we just missed some shots and we lost some of our rhythm. Down the stretch, we missed a lot of free throws and normally we are a very good free throw shooting team. I felt like our guys hung in there and made the tough plays in a hostile environment. It was a great atmosphere and I am very pleased with the win.”
On Brian Asbury’s seven-point performance …
“I told the team after the game that Brian really stepped up and that is what a veteran and senior is suppose to do. He made two big shots and some big free throws, but also he made some big rebounds. A key thing that we talked about with this team is to have other key guys start making plays, and Jack McClinton obviously made his plays but we had other guys step up and make plays as well. James Dews made some shots and all our post guys played great post defense on Patterson, which was a key to the game.”
On the play of James Dews …
“It was great to see him come back and play good. He had struggled a little bit in the Ohio State game and really hadn’t shot the ball well all year. He is a really good shooter and it was great to see him come out and make shots. We need either James or Brian to step up and be that third scorer for us and James stepped up and made those plays tonight.”
On his thoughts of UK freshman DeAndre Liggins …
“He has great size for a point guard and he controls the ball well and plays above us. He is really good in transition and that was my biggest concern for this game. He kind of turned the momentum in the game when he came in. When they get some stops and get into transition they are really good. He is going to be a really good player and will continue to get better and better.”
On Jack McClinton’s game-high 23 points …
“I was little concerned if we were going to have to slow him down a little bit since he missed last game but Jack is a real competitor. He come out ready to play and was very focused. We wanted him to drive the ball more and I think when you see him stop settling for jump shots and start attacking the basket he is especially tough to guard.”
Miami Players
#23 James Dews
On second-half play …
“I think we came out too flat the second half. Kentucky is a great team. They are a team that makes runs. They came out poised and ready to play the second half. A team like Kentucky isn’t going to stay down the whole game. They came back strong the second half. They are a physical team altogether. We had shots that didn’t fall and their shots started falling the second half, that’s what changed.”
On UK freshman DeAndre Liggins …
“Liggins is a great player. He has a nice size, he can shoot, create plays and get to the hole. He played a great game tonight.”
On guarding UK scoring threats Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks …
“We wanted to play good team defense. Everybody on the team is capable of different things. We really didn’t have a focus on a player, just to play good team defense overall.”
On Kentucky as a team …
“They have great players and a great coach. That makes them a great team.”
On three-point shooting …
“As a team we shoot the ball very well. Coach wants us to get open looks and take the shots. We have to be confident and that’s what we did tonight.”
On building the 20-point halftime lead …
“We came out and played hard and together. We shared the ball very well. We shot the ball very well.”
#33 Jack McClinton
On what was different in the second half than the first half …
“Basketball is a game of runs. We played a great first half and made great first runs. We knew Kentucky was going to get on the running (game). We closed those runs and came out with a victory.”
On if Kentucky did anything differently the second half …
“They didn’t do anything differently. We just had too many little mistakes and missed a lot of layups. We missed a lot of free throws. We just need to learn from this victory. We won, but there are still a lot of things that we did that we can go back and watch film and learn from.”
On his thoughts about DeAndre Liggins. ..
“Liggins is a great player. I really didn’t know much about him. He’s a great player that plays at a great pace. He’s a better shooter than I thought. He’s going to be a great player in the future.”
On the play of UK’s post players …
“Definitely. We knew Patrick Patterson and the other (post players) are big, strong guys that like to post up. We knew that we have a strong post, too. They met the challenge and did a great job today.”
On Kentucky’s three-point shooting …
“We definitely prepared for their three-point shooting. They are a great three-point shooting team. I think they are pretty much underrated but (Jodie Meeks) had a lot of great looks. He’s a great shooter, but the ball just wasn’t going in for him. He’s a great shooter and a great player.”
On if they tried to stop Jodie Meeks from getting good shots …
“We knew he was a great offensive player. We wanted to make sure that we knew where was at all the time in our zone.”
On Kentucky’s 10-0 and 12-2 runs in the second half …
“It was a great surge. Like I said previously, basketball is a game of runs. In the first half we had our runs, and in the second half they had their runs. I think it’s (the team) who upholds those runs that comes up with the victory. We came out with a victory and stayed together. We can learn from this game.”
On how important it was for him to come back with a good game after being ejected vs. OSU …
“I apologize for my actions and that wasn’t me. I wanted to come out and start from where I left off in the last game. We came out with a victory and it feels great.”
