Feb. 18, 2003
Coach Tubby Smith
On preparing for Arkansas…
“We’re working on getting ready to play an Arkansas team that we know will be fired up and motivated to play. With us coming in to their place ranked where we are, we know that they’ll be ready to play and we’re going to have to play well in order to come out of there with a win.”
On the possibility of walking out of Bud Walton Arena with a win for the first time…
“That’d be nice. It’s been quite a dry spell for us down there. But a lot of people have walked out of there without winning.”
On any themes to the losses the last few years at Arkansas…
“They’ve had great players. Guys like Derek Hood, Corliss Williamson and Larry Satchell have beaten us down there. With that kind of talent and the great crowd they have at home it’s hard to beat them there.”
On the importance of Chuck Hayes…
“I’d say Chuck is the one guy that we couldn’t afford to do without – looking back over the year to this point. His athleticism and work ethic make him a great player and a leader. The thing I like about Chuck is that he does things fundamentally correct. He’s goes up for rebounds with both hands every time and he boxes out every time. He just does things the right way and works hard, and that’s what makes him such a good player.”
On if he’s surprised that Hayes blocks as many shots as he does…
“No, not really because he has great timing and he’s athletic. His hand-eye coordination is good enough that he can take his hand to the ball. He’s made some great blocks lately. He got one good one at the rim against Ole Miss where he timed it perfectly and made a great block.”
On the difference between practices now and the first month of the season…
“Practices now are shorter, less strenuous and more competitive. We don’t have to work on some of the things that we had to early – like diving on the floor for loose balls and things of that nature. At this point we can work on game plans and not have to focus as much on other things that we’ve already drilled into the players’ heads.”
UK Players
Keith Bogans, Guard
On Arkansas’ freshmen guards…
“The main thing is to try not to let them get going and get their confidence up. We have to try and take them out of the game early. We have to start with our defensive intensity and just go from there. But it’s going to with defense.”
On defensive intensity…
“I think we can give a team 40 minutes of hell as long as everybody is playing defense and we’re not getting in foul trouble. We’ve had a few games where we’ve gotten in a little foul trouble. The key is just playing hard and keeping our big men out of foul trouble.”
On playing in Arkansas…
“I told the guys that it’s going to be a tough place to play. You’re going to hear everything down there, from people talking about your mother — they say anything down there. The main thing is just to focus. But we’ve been doing a good job on the road, so I don’t think it’s going to be a problem. We know how to play on the road.”
Marquis Estill, Center
On playing in Arkansas…
“We just have to keep our composure and stay focused. We know Arkansas is a tough place to play. We just have to maintain our defensive intensity and play great offense.”
On winning on the road…
“It makes us feel good to shut the other team’s crowd up. It takes [the opponent] out of the game, too, when the crowd is being quiet. And that gives us a little bit of momentum.”
On learning from the LSU game…
“We did some great things in the game. We just needed to stay focused there in the end where we let them cut the lead down. Overall, I think we did a pretty good job. Coach always tells us that we’re not as good as we think we are. We always have to come back and work hard every day in practice on the little things.”
Chuck Hayes, Forward
On Coach Smith’s comment that he’s the one player the team can’t do without…
“I just have to take that as a compliment. Coming from a guy like Coach Smith, he’s seen some of the best. For him to say that about me, it’s a real compliment. As far as my game, I just do what I have to do.”
On the weather…
“Canceling classes – that’s been fine. I have no complaints. Coming from California, I’ve never seen huge tree branches just fall down and cause so much damage. I didn’t know it could lead to that. It’s something to remember but I’m not too fond of it right now.”
On Coach Smith never winning at Bud Walton Arena…
“That seriously is surprising with all the good teams he’s had. But that just shows you that it’s a tough place to play. I’m pretty sure he has (winning) on his agenda.”
Gerald Fitch, Guard
On Coach Smith never winning at Bud Smith Arena…
“We’re just trying to win the game. We’re not going to think of how Coach hasn’t won down there. We’re just going to play our game and stay focused on what we’re trying to do”
On the weather…
“I have never been in weather like this. The only thing you can do is stay inside.”
On the Arkansas game being “dangerous”…
“Every game is a dangerous game. We know that playing down there is going to be tough. But we can’t get distracted. We need to just focus on what we know we can do to win games and that’s play defense. I think if we focus on what we can do, everything will take care of itself.”
On Arkansas’ young guards…
“We’re going to try to attack them from the beginning of the game and try to rattle them. Some young guards get rattled and some don’t but hopefully we can get them rattled a lot and cause some turnovers.”
On avoiding getting over-confident from the success…
“This team doesn’t have those types of players. I think if we did have a problem like that, Coach would take care of it. He has always put little notes in our locker about staying humble and things like that so it’s not going to be a problem.”
