Nov. 3, 2008
Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery 
Head Coach Billy Gillispie
On the game …
“We got good things out tonight just the same we did out of the blue/white scrimmage.They are both competitions, but I think we got a lot more of this game than thegame this past Saturday. I thought we did a lot of good stuff tonight even thoughwe still need to improve on a lot of things because of the mistakes we made tonight.I think the guys get a bit more revved up to play against someone else to playbecause they get a little tired of beating up on their own teammates.”
On the defense tonight …
“I still don’t think our defense is good enough. Missouri (St. Louis) didn’tthrow it into the post any, so tonight is a not a great judgment on how muchour post defense is improving. I think we will continue to get better at ourpost defense. Patrick (Patterson) has always been a great defender and I thinkthe new guys will be fine as well. In transition we had to many times where wejust didn’t know who we were guarding. It is not something that I am that concernedabout at the moment but it is an area where we will improve in. They were hardto guard tonight because they were so small and really spread the court out well.We really tried to pressure them tonight and help each other, but we still havea long way to go. Right now we are not alert enough off the ball as we need tobe. Ultimately, I think we did a good job playing against guys that we have neverseen and we took care of the ball well tonight.”
On Josh Harrellson’s and Perry Stevenson’s three-pointers …
“When those balls go in then they are great. I think both of those guys can shootreally well and I think Josh is a fantastic shooter. Perry is a very good shooteras well, although I don’t think he has as much confidence as I would like forhim to have. He is gaining confidence as he goes along. PatrickPatterson and JaredCarter can shoot from out there also. Everyone hit shots tonight for themost part.”
On Josh Harrellson …
“He is getting better. He has improved a lot since he has been here. Since hegot here this summer he has really changed his body, it is not where it needsto be yet but he is getting there. He has been really committed and beginningto understand how good he can be. I don’t know if he has ever mentally thoughtabout how good he can be but I think he can. He has long arms, great hands andan extremely good athlete. He has great foot work and as we are learning he canshoot the ball very well. As he continues to grow into a more confident playerthen he will just get better and better.”
#55 Josh Harrellson
On teammates Darius Miller, DeAndre Liggins and Patrick Patterson…
“Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins played extremely well tonight and they werethe reason I had a lot of open shots. Playing with Patrick Patterson every dayis a tremendous effort. It has made me a better player both physically and mentally.”
On improving…
“My game has progressed tremendously since I got here in June. I can run thefloor a lot better and I’ve lost 17 pounds. The weight loss has helped me jumphigher, run faster and given me a quicker step. That all helps me guard on theperimeter better. I think I can be really good and become an impact player here.To do that, I need to push myself to the limit every day.”
On unseen potential…
“Coach Gillispie and others see potential in me that I don’t. They want to bringit out of me. I used to think I was a big body and a mediocre player, and theythink I can be something special. That helps me want to be a better player anda better person.”
On his game…
“My rebounding and my shot is the most exciting part of my game right now. Ihave great confidence in taking a three point shot. We work on it every day inpractice and that helps me build confidence.”
#23 Jodie Meeks
On missing baskets early in the game…
“I was hyped up at the beginning of the game, but once I settled down I startedto make my shots. The shots I took were pretty good and open, but missing shotshappens.”
On Kentucky …
“As a team we’re playing really well and showing a lot of effort. Everyone isworking hard on the defensive end, which helped stop Missouri-St. Louis’ offense.We did make a lot of mistakes tonight, but it’s early November so we should.The new guys have a lot to learn but they’re doing their best. As long as everyoneworks as hard as they can, we’ll be fine.”
On returning from last season’s injuries…
“I’m happy to be on the court playing with no pain. That’s a big deal for meafter last year when I was playing but still hurt. Last year was frustratingso it was great to be out there with my teammates tonight.”
#1 Darius Miller
On biggest change out of high school …
“The speed of the game. That’s definitely the toughest change for me and allthe intensity. It’s a higher speed and you have to play 110-percent every time.”
On getting ready for the game …
“My teammates help me through a lot. They just talk to me and help me be mentallyprepared for the game. After I was out there for a couple plays I started tosettle in and just focused on playing.”
On how he sees himself helping the starters …
“We have a lot of great scorers, you’ve seen Jodie Meeks, Patrick Patterson andJosh Harrelson shooting the ball. I’m just trying to help them in different aspects.They work so hard every day and give 110-percent, they provide great leadership.I just see how hard they work and how successful they are and I just hope thatI can get there too. I feel myself getting better everyday. The coaches pushus so hard you don’t have a choice but to get better. We go out and we go hardevery single day and if you don’t go hard Coach Gillispie will let you know aboutit. He’s made me a much better player than when I first came out here.”
On his improvement …
“I think I’ve improved in every aspect of my game. Coach pushes me to do differentthings and to play harder every time I step on the court. He sees a lot in meand I think he’s gotten the best out of me and he still gets more out of me everyday.I’ve been trying really hard every time I come out.”
On how the team played tonight …
“I think we played real hard tonight. Like I said Coach has us going 110-percentevery time we step on the court. We definitely did that tonight.”
#54 Patrick Patterson
On Josh Harrelson …
“He’s a big man and he can bend down low with the big guys and he can also stepoutside to the perimeter and shoot three’s. He will be very valuable this year.It’s definitely helpful to me to have him, especially on the perimeters. Theguards on the perimeter, we have guys that can shoot at the three point lineand knock them down which will help us out at the post this year. When you haveJosh and Perry step out to the perimeter and knock down three’s, that’s goingto open up the inside a lot. He gives a lot of help. He’s a big man and he canrebound and that’s what he did tonight. Josh and Perry on the boards this yearis going to help out a lot.”
On playing this game vs. Blue/White …
“It was real nice. We’ve all been anticipating this game. It’s fun in practicegoing up against each other but when you want to try something new you look forwardto playing competition every day and when you finally step out on to the court,especially in Rupp Arena with all the fans cheering us on, it’s a great feeling.”
On setting the tone …
“Coach said he wanted to set the tone right away and for us to get every looseball, get down on the floor. I was just trying to help out my teammates in anyway possible, especially the new guys coming in new to the program. Coach wantedus to set an example and lead the team.”
Missouri-St. Louis Head Coach Chris Pilz
Opening Statement …
“We were very honored to be here and get to play the University of Kentucky tonight. Kentucky was an awful big challenge for us, although we were minus two starters I don’t think that we could have played this game closer. Kentucky is going to be an awfully good team this year and I think that we are going to be good too. It is unfortunate that we get a chance to play in a venue like this and not play so well, but Kentucky had a lot to do with that.”
On how this game will prepare his team for the upcoming season …
“We are not going to see anyone as fast, quick and big as Kentucky all year. For us, we only had 10 turnovers in the first half and eight in the second half so with only 18 turnovers you would have thought it would be a closer game. We like to drive and back cut in around the basket and then pitch for a three, but tonight as we got around the basket we couldn’t get anything through. If we did get the ball then we couldn’t finish. We have to do a better job of finishing around the basket. I told my guys that it is nothing to be ashamed of. When you go from Division II to Division I and play a team that is in Dick Vitale’s Top 25 and Kentucky will be in the top 25 at the end of the season these things will happen. This game will make us better. We will have to see how our guys handle this loss. We will be off tomorrow and then Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we need to work on getting a lot better. We play the number one Division III basketball team in the country on Saturday night so we will find out if we got any better. Our league is the best in Division II, unfortunately we didn’t represent it very well tonight and Kentucky had a lot to do with that.”
Missouri-St. Louis #5 Jason Black
On how the game will help them prepare for the regular season…
“Their ( Kentucky ) speed and athleticism will help us get ready for our conference.”
On MSLU’s defense…
“We tried to switch it up a lot. We tried man-to-man, zone and full-court pressure.We tried a lot defenses that we were working on just so we can get a good balance.”
On playing in Rupp Arena…
“It’s a great experience. I’m from Tennessee and I’ve heard about Rupp Arenaall of my life, so I was really excited to play there. I hope Kentucky makesit to March Madness so I can look back and say I played those guys.”
Missouri-St. Louis #22 Jeremy Brown
On playing in Rupp Arena…
“It was an opportunity of a lifetime. For them to have us to come here and letus play against them is a dream come true.”
On how playing UK will help MSLU prepare for the regular season games…
“They are really physical. We played and bumped around with some big guys. Wedefinitely had some mismatches. It put us out of our comfort zone, but it willhelp us in the regular season.”
On MSLU’s offensive game…
“We did alright. It definitely has to get better. We were out there playing against6’6″ guards and it’s a little bit different.”
On his offensive game…
“I did alright. I just have to rebuild for the next game and keep going. My fieldgoal percentages were poor, but I just came back from five years of playing forprofessional baseball so I was a little off.”
