KENTUCKY (7-3, 0-0 SEC)
vs. Santa Clara (8-3, 0-0 West Coast)
Tuesday, December 19 – 7:00 p.m. ET
Rupp Arena (23,000) ? Lexington, Ky.
TV: FSN South [delayed on BBSN]
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Kentucky is 4-0 in Rupp Arena this season with its last win coming against rival Indiana (59-54) on December 9.
Kentucky comes into the game on a three-game winning streak, tying their longest streak this season, while the Broncos are also on their second three-game winning streak of the season as well. Santa Clara defeated Pac-10 member Stanford, 62-46, on the road Saturday night.
The Broncos mark the Wildcats? third first-time foe this season as UK faced Mississippi Valley State and Memphis for the first time earlier this year. The MVSU game resulted in a 79-56 Wildcat victory while UK dropped an 80-63 contest to Memphis. Kentucky is 26-2 under current head coach Tubby Smith against teams making their first appearance on UK?s schedule.
PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES – DEC. 18
Head Coach Tubby Smith
Opening statement?
?Good afternoon. We wanted to be accommodating and found out that football is having a press conference this afternoon. We certainly are happy with Coach Brooks and his staff and what they?ve been able to accomplish. Hopefully I can go to the bowl; we have a game that Saturday so I?ve got to figure out a way to get out there. I know everybody is excited about that as well as the win over the weekend (against Louisville). We had been struggling and they?ve been struggling a little bit too to find themselves. We don?t have a lot of time to dwell on that. We had our guys in on Sunday, yesterday, to watch some tape and try to correct some things. We had a day just to correct it. Then we get on with the business to try and prepare for a good Santa Clara team. I?ve known Dick Davey for a number of years. He?s one of the all-time great coaches. He?s a real credit to our profession, a man of character. He?s a guy most people know better on the west coast. He?s developed some outstanding players over the years, post players and guards. He has some very talented players he?ll bring in here tomorrow night. We?re going to have to be at the top of our game. It?s an important game for us with some momentum going. They?ll give us some different looks with the size that they have, inside especially with Sean Denison and John Bryant. He (Davey) will bring some other big people off of the bench Mitch Henke and down the line like Angley. He?s got some real talented players. They?ve been really impressive on film. We?ve got to get on with our win from Saturday and now just focus on the Broncos. We have to congratulate someone today. I was just told that Jodie Meeks was named (SEC) Freshman of the Week. He really stepped up big and had a good all-around game. He did a good job of rebounding the ball, which is something we?ve tried to get him to do. He played good defensively, so he?s getting better. We have a couple of people with a couple of minor injuries. Hopefully everybody will be healthy by tomorrow night.?
On Jodie Meeks? game?
?Well, I don?t think he reminds me at all of Ramel Bradley. When Ramel was a freshman he thought he could come in right away and make something happen. Players who come off of the bench want to come in the game and do something positive and the easiest way of doing that is to score points. Certainly we needed every point Jodie made. In practice we?ve talked about what he could do that would be good for him and what would be most beneficial to the team. He needed to do a better job defensively and get on the boards. Getting three rebounds in that game was probably an all-time high for him. He?s a real talented player and should be one of the best or at least one of the best freshmen in the league. He showed that. I have confidence in him and I showed that when I put him in the game late in the Indiana game, making those two free throws. I hope it sent a message to him that I believed in him and that I trust him and vice versa. That?s what we expect from a guy when we put him in the game, we expect him to produce. Obviously, he went over and beyond the call of duty. All of the accolades and comments he gets are well deserving. As long as he understands there are other phases of the game and his basketball IQ is getting better, what he needs to do, being in the right spot on defense, making good decisions with the ball, and just to continue to grow and get better.?
On the win over Louisville?
?For that day it is (good to get the win over a rival). I don?t have that luxury. I don?t have the luxury of fans, media. I don?t have that luxury. We as a coaching staff don?t have that luxury. Until somebody mentions it, it?s the last thing on my mind to be honest with you. You?re only as good as your next win. It?s as simple as that. I?ve been in this business 30-some years and I know that. I know that the sooner you can get over a win or a loss the better you?re going to be. Certainly, it would have been very ugly if we hadn?t won.?
On his team?s defensive efforts against Louisville holding them to 49 points?
?We?ve been playing well defensively since we got back from Maui. I think our guys were very embarrassed by their defensive effort (in Maui). I know I was embarrassed. I think we?ve made a conscious effort as a coaching staff and as a team to improve defensively in those areas especially in transition. People were getting the ball in the paint and scoring in transition whenever they wanted to. We?ve been limiting team?s points in the paint scoring, dunks ? you?re not seeing things like that like you did against Memphis, UCLA and anybody else we played. We?ve made a vast improvement in that area. We?ll be tested tomorrow night against Santa Clara. We?re going to have to defend the post extremely well. They?ve got outside shooting in him (Danny Pariseau). There are two guys who are really gangly and can really shoot the ball. They take care of the basketball; again they are very well coached. So what we did on Saturday has got to carry over into tomorrow night?s game, or we?re going to have a real long night.?
On focusing on offense now that the defense has picked up?
?We don?t ever not focus on offense. The two teams that we played (Indiana and Louisville) are both very good defensive teams. These teams are not just going to let you get the ball up and down the court, not pressing you or just let you jack up shots. We didn?t shoot the best percentage on Saturday, from the field the three?s or from the free throw line. Those are the areas we?re going to have to concentrate on. I think a lot of it has to do with being a little more patient. It?s something we want to get better at. Obviously, we had our leading scorer not in the game (Randolph Morris). We might have scored more if Randolph had played more. I think our practices are probably 50-50 on offense and defense. If we can stand up and find the guy who has a hot hand like Jodie Meeks on Saturday that?s going to be very beneficial to us.?
On what he liked in his team on Saturday?
?I think I was most impressed with our freshmen. As I?ve said all along they?ve shown maturity. They?ve shown it on the court, in the classroom and out in the community. They all have excellent leadership. They?re attitudes have been great. It shows in the way they compete and the way they perform in clutch situations. When they play under control it means other parts of their lives are under control, in my opinion. When players are erratic it probably means there are other parts of their life that they aren?t in control of. Like I?ve said, if a guy has a bad game it doesn?t mean he?s out of control, but these guys have shown that type of maturity. Michael Porter all the way down the line, Jodie (Meeks), Perry (Stevenson), even guys who don?t play like Mark Coury, who is getting better everyday and showing unbelievable maturity as a player. That?s why they are going to continue to get playing time and improve. That?s what I learned. I learned individuals can step up and do the job. Ramel (Bradley) showed a lot of leadership out there. I was impressed with how he kept everybody together. Again I learned guys like Lukasz (Obrzut) and Sheray (Thomas) are committed. They believe in this program and believe in what we are doing. That?s why they are able to come off of the bench and play the way that they do in a very important, hostile environment.?
On Lukasz Obrzut?s game?
?Woo has been one of my favorite players over the years. He?s learning. He?s graduated. He?s a kid that came all the way over from Poland. He left his family. I think he?s only been home twice in the last four years. Those are the types of sacrifices you can?t help but embrace and appreciate. He?s a guy who knows he?s not the most talented, but the things he does best are the things that we need like the little things, like setting screens. Getting out and defending screens he?s the best that we have, and it?s not even close. That?s why we needed him. That?s why we have to keep getting those guys to believe in themselves in what they are capable of doing.?
Kentucky Players
#3 Ramel Bradley, G
On the team?s confidence after two back-to-back wins against tough programs…
?Anytime you beat two good teams, of course you see a change in your confidence. As a team we recognize we can play with anybody. We still know that we are not where we want to be and we have a lot of work to do.?
On the team?s focus?
?Right now, we are focused on tomorrow?s game. We have to bring the same effort that we?ve brought to the other games. We definitely need to win some games before heading into the SEC and we are focused on that.?
On Santa Clara?
?They are a tough team. They just beat Stanford and gave Nevada a run for their money. They are a physical team. They execute the screen well and they can shoot the ball.?
On Ramon Harris?
?I haven?t seen enough of him and his style of play, but he is a strong guy. He can definitely fill the two, three or four position. I think he may even see some playing time tomorrow.?
On Jodie Meeks?
?He helps us out a lot. With Jodie coming off the bench behind you, it?s a good feeling. You know that he is going to bring in the same intensity and get things started.?
#13 Bobby Perry, F
On the win against Louisville?
?Beating Louisville was one of our goals this season. Now that we have that under our belt, it is time to start working on our other goals that we set at the beginning of the year. We have to treat this win like every other win and move on. We still have a lot of work to do as a team.?
On the team?s rebounding?
?As a team we need to start concentrating better on getting in and finding the ball. It is important that people are keeping their positions and going in for the rebounds.?
On his confidence and the areas of his game that need improvement?
?Right now I am feeling pretty confident, but I still have some things I need to work on. I need to concentrate on finishing closer to the basket. On film, I?m able to see what I am doing wrong. I need to work on getting to the basket and I need to quit falling away on my jump shot.?
On the players coming off the bench?
?With Jodie (Meeks) coming off the bench it helps out a lot. Michael Porter is able to come off the bench and shoot threes. Sheray (Thomas) and Lukasz (Obrzut) have also been doing a great job coming off the bench and contributing. Everyone on the team has a job and a role to fulfill.?
#23 Sheray Thomas, F
On the confidence of the team?
?Every game we win builds our confidence. It shows that we are getting better every day, but we still have things to work on.?
On Santa Clara?
?This team is really good in their principles. Offensively they spread the court well. They are also really strong and physical, so our defense will be key. This team does a lot of things well so we?ll have a good, hard game on our hands tomorrow.?
On the team?s rebounding?
?As a team we need to focus on our rebounding. We need to get rebounds and block out better. We need to work on the basic fundamentals and just put a body on someone. As a team we are physical some days and other days our presence isn?t felt. We have to start stepping up and grabbing some rebounds.?
On the players coming off the bench?
?Having those players coming off the bench makes the team feel great. Jodie (Meeks) hit two big free throws in the Indiana game when he came off the bench and he had a great game Saturday. Having consistent play from the bench makes everyone?s job a little easier. One of my jobs is coming off the bench and getting rebounds and that?s what I try to do.?
