Feb. 10, 2003
Head Coach Tubby Smith
On preparing for Georgia…
“We need to focus on what we’ve been doing well, which is defending and playing unselfishly. When teams come in to Rupp Arena we need to make sure we raise our level of play and that we play the style of basketball that has gotten us to this point. I know it will be tough against a very good Georgia team that lost a tough one at Tennessee. They’re capable of beating anyone. They probably are the best offensive team in the league as far as executing. With guys like Jarvis Hayes, Ezra Williams and Rashad Wright, who is leading the league in assists, they have a very good offensive team.”
On why it will be harder to take Jarvis Hayes and Ezra Williams out of the game than other players UK has faced…
“They are outside shooters who have great range, and that stretches your defense. They’re very athletic. They can take you off the dribble and that makes them a tough matchup. That’s what they look for in their high-post offense. They know where their shots are going to come from and everyone looks for them to take those shots. If you try to double on the perimeter against those guys, they have a number of ways to beat you on the inside because they are very solid on the inside. They’re both good passers as well as good scorers.”
On if he’s surprised that Georgia has struggled some of late…
“I don’t know that they’re struggling, they lost some games on the road. We were very fortunate to get out of Tennessee with a win. You have to make shots against Georgia and I think it took a great game from Ron Slay for Tennessee to beat them. In most games that they’ve lost it’s taken a great game from a great player to beat them.”
On the mental toughness of this Kentucky team…
“I think we’re a mentally tough team and I think we’ve been that way for a long time. All our teams have been mentally tough. Now we’ve got that ability to sustain our intensity and not lose anything when (reserves) come into the game. That’s been a big help – we haven’t had a real drop off when we’ve had to go to the bench. Our intensity has picked up when guys like Cliff (Hawkins) and Jules (Camara) come into the game. They’ve been giving us real productive minutes. The key is getting people to understand and accept their roles, and when they get a chance to produce they produce.”
On the play of the second unit…
“I’m as much pleased with them as anyone. We’ve been getting good solid play (from everyone). Our post people have been the real plus for us all year long. In Marquis (Estill), Jules (Camara) and Chuck (Hayes), along with Erik Daniels – they’re all four shooting over 50 percent as well as playing good post defense.”
On how mental toughness can help this team deal with the prosperity of a rise in the rankings…
“I think we’re mature enough and experienced enough by this point in the season (that we can deal with those things). The guys that weren’t on the team last year have fed off the leadership that Keith (Bogans), Gerald (Fitch) and Jules (Camara) have shown in their demeanor and the way they’ve been expressing themselves both on and off the court.”
On the play of Georgia’s Rashad Wright…
“He’s a heady player. In their offense he knows where each player likes the ball delivered and he puts the ball right on Jarvis (Hayes) and Ezra (Williams) and when they catch it they are shooting in a rhythm because he knows how to pass the ball. He directs their team, he’s an excellent defender both on the ball and off the ball. He’s just an all-around good point guard. He doesn’t try to do too much and he’s a big key to how their team flows and how their offense and defense goes.”
On the status of Erik Daniels’ cyst…
“Last night he had some minor drainage, so I’m not sure about his status. He probably won’t practice today. (The cyst) had grown larger since Saturday, so the doctors thought it was necessary to do something with it yesterday evening. They had to put him under to do it and I haven’t seen him today, so I’ll see what his status is this afternoon.”
On the play of the defense in the second half against Ole Miss…
“We didn’t guard them off-the-dribble in either half, but we were able to put points on the board. Ole Miss does a good job of reversing the ball and making you close out on them quickly. They have some athletic guys on the wings where when they catch the ball they can take the baseline and their post guys can put it on the floor and go by you. I think it was a lack of concentration by us when we got the lead in the second half. When they fell behind they tried to attack the basket more.”
On if he feels this UK defense intimidates opponents…
“I don’t think we’re superior physically. I just think our guys are playing well together right now and believing that we’re a good defensive team. Guys like Gerald (Fitch) and Keith (Bogans) especially have bought into it. Jules (Camara) I felt like along has been an excellent defender and Chuck (Hayes) has always been an excellent defender. Guys that are primarily our best defenders are getting some recognition and identity, and I think that’s a big key – that we have something we can hang out hat on.”
On Marquis Estill’s recent shot blocking…
“I like his attitude that it’s his lane. That’s something that Jamaal Magloire did, he believed (the paint) belonged to him and if anyone tried to bring it in there he was going to intimidate them to the point that they didn’t want to come back. I think Marquis is developing that type of mentality.”
UK PLAYERS
Chuck Hayes, Forward
On playing relaxed…
“I try to play in my comfort zone. I don’t want to get too psyched up or be too nervous. I know what kind of level I need to be at mentally before a game.”
On Georgia’s Jarvis Hayes…
“We’re a new team this year, especially defensively. Last year, he was the surprise of the league. Now we know about him. We’re going to go at him a little harder. You don’t forget 30 points at Rupp. He killed us. But now we know what to expect and we’ll try to take away the things he likes to do.”
On this week’s rankings…
“It doesn’t even matter. The higher you go up, the bigger the target on your back. If we’re ranked No. 1, we’ll be greatful that people feel we deserve it. But if we’re not, its just another goal we have to reach.”
Cliff Hawkins, Guard
On defensive intensity…
“Coach challenged us and we took it upon ourselves to accept the challenge to get out there and defend people. Now that it’s working for us and we’re winning games, everybody is content with it.”
On Georgia…
“They beat us twice last year, so we owe them. We have to come out and play Kentucky basketball because they’re a great team. We’ll have to play our ‘A’ game.”
On UGA point guard Rashad Wright…
“He’s just a really under-control point guard. He doesn’t try to do things he can’t do. He doesn’t really get out of control. Gerald and I will have to try to get him to speed up, put pressure on him and make him start the offense further up the court.”
Jules Camara, Center
On the team’s progress in SEC play…
“We’re playing well. We’re playing good defense. Yesterday, we watched some of the breakdowns we had against Ole Miss. We just need to make some adjustments. We’ve been playing pretty solid defensively.”
On Kentucky’s ranking…
“I don’t think it really matters to me. It only matters at the end of the season.”
Gerald Fitch, Guard
On playing against his home-state school…
“It brings more excitement to the game. There’s some bragging rights at stake when you go home in the summer.”
On preparing for Georgia…
“We’re going to use our normal routine and hopefully we’ll come out on the good end like we have been lately. We’re not going to change anything. We’ll continue to pressure them and try to get them out of sync.”
On how the players are approaching this game after two consecutive losses to UGA…
“I spoke with Keith about it last night. I’m pretty sure everyone knows we’ve lost the last two to them by now. We need to pay them back. We talked about the players that did so much for them to beat us last season. Hopefully, we’ll have a different ending this time.”
On Kentucky’s ranking…
“I don’t care. I guess that’s for the fans. The rankings can only distract you and right now we have a strong focus so we’ll try to keep from being distracted. It doesn’t matter whether we’re No. 3 or No. 23, it’s all the same. Just because you have a higher ranking doesn’t mean you’ll be able to win the game any easier. If anything, when you have a higher ranking, you know you need to bring your best game. The opposing team will be throwing a lot at us. It’s just going to get tougher for us and we just need to continue to focus on each game.”
