Jan. 24, 2003
Kentucky vs. Alabama
Pre-Game Press Conference Quotes
Memorial Coliseum
Head Coach Tubby Smith
On preparing for Alabama…
“We have a lot of things we need to get ready for. We’re coming off a good win against a good Auburn team, in which I thought we played very well and played the type of defense that we need to in order to be successful. Alabama has been very successful against us of late, beating us three out of the last four times. They’re very good at home where they’ve won 28 games in a row. We’ll have to play extremely well in order to get the win down there.”
On why Alabama plays better at home…
“Everybody is better at home than they are on the road. They get the crowd involved and they’re very aggressive defensively at home. Shots just go in easier when you play at home. I don’t know that they’re doing anything differently, they’ve just run into some good, hot teams on the road.”
On if his team knows what to expect, despite Alabama’s recent struggles…
“I hope so. We’ve played in a lot of packed houses so far both on the road and at neutral sites. We’ve responded fairly well. We didn’t respond that way in the second half against Louisville, but I’m interested to see how we respond in this game. Hopefully we’ll respond the same way against Alabama as we did against a good Vanderbilt team on the road.”
On how Alabama can be more dangerous being backed against the wall…
“I imagine they went back home and knew that they are better than they’ve shown the last few games. Their pride is probably hurt, having been the No. 1 team in the country. They get back home and they know they have time to regroup with another ranked team coming in their and a chance to recover and get well. They’ve played us very well over the past few years, so I’m sure they’re confident they can play a very good game and win against us.”
On trends of the past few games against Alabama…
“They made some clutch plays when they had to. Maurice Williams made a nice play going to the basket against us last year. The year before that Rod Grizzard made some deep threes against us and put the game away for them. So that’s been the trend – they’ve made big plays in the second half and we haven’t.”
On the difference he’s noticed on the stat sheet in the past eight games…
“Deflections are way up. That tells us that the energy and the effort are the reason that we’re playing better defensively. We’re contesting shots and haven’t given people as many open looks and good shots. Our shooting percentage and our deflections have gone up the last several games.”
On who provides the best matchup against Alabama’s Erwin Dudley…
“Ooooh…I don’t know that we have anyone. Jamaal Magloire might be a good matchup if he were here. Certainly Marquis (Estill) has some problems with foul trouble, but at this point I’d guess he’d be our best matchup.”
On how Keith Bogans’ all-around game has improved…
“He’s doing a great job defensively. He’s made a conscious effort to work harder defensively and to pass the ball. His assist-to-turnover ratio is good this year. He played pretty well defensively last year and he holds the freshman record for steals here at UK, so he’s always had that in him. I think he’s accepted the role of being one of our better defenders because he’s usually matched up against a pretty good offensive player.”
On how he feels about his team currently exceeding expectations…
“I don’t pay much attention to that kind of stuff. I don’t think we’ve been picked to win the league since I’ve been here, but you can’t live on other people’s expectations anyway. You have to worry about your own expectations, and I’m sure that’s what Mark Gottfried is preaching to his team.”
On if he’s bothered that his team hasn’t been picked to win the league more often…
“No. It’s quite the contrary. I like it that way sometimes. We get enough exposure. We’re on TV every game, everyone has all the tape of us and we don’t have that luxury against other people. So the less the better, for us.”
On how his team is hard to prepare for because of its versatility…
“That’s one of the things I thought this team had to its advantage – being very versatile. We can play up-tempo and we can score, we’ve proven that, but now that we know we have the athleticism and physical ability to shut people down our guys are appreciating and understanding that. Our best strength is the matchup difficulty we can cause for people, especially with the guys we can bring off the bench. We have experienced guys coming off the bench, which is a big plus for us.”
On the importance of taking Erwin Dudley out of the game…
“He’s their go-to-guy, but they have a lot of weapons. You always want to try to limit the opposing team’s best player and make it tough for him to score. We want to make him play both ends of the court. He’s a guy that can hurt you so many ways with his rebounding and high shooting percentage, there aren’t many ways to take him out of the game.”
Kentucky Players
Cliff Hawkins, Guard
On going into Alabama…
“It’s going to be a battle. They haven’t been playing very well, I’m sure they’re looking forward to us coming down there and having a chance to beat us at home.”
On Alabama’s 28-game home-winning streak…
“It’s a tough place to play. They have great crowd down there and everybody’s going to be against us. We have to pull together and use a team effort to pull us through it.”
On Alabama guard Maurice Williams…
“I don’t know if we’ll face anybody better than him in the league. He’s a tough guy to play against. I know I’ll have my hands full.”
On what makes Williams so tough…
“He’s a great player. He can shoot from the outside as well as drive to the basket. You have to play him honestly; get close to him, but not too close because he can go by you.”
Keith Bogans, Guard
On facing Alabama at home…
“They’re tough at home. They came up here and beat us last year but they’re even tougher at home. They’ve lost two games in a row so they will come at us and try to put us away early so we have to be ready.”
On how a team reacts after losing two straight games and then facing a top-ranked opponent…
“Losing two straight and then facing a top-ranked team, you want this win bad. You basically do whatever it takes to make sure you get that win. So I know they’ll be coming for us.”
On what Kentucky needs to do to get a win…
“We need to get off to a good start and take their crowd out of the game. If the crowd gets behind them and they get going it could be a long night.”
Chuck Hayes, Forward
On Alabama’s 28-game home winning streak…
“That’s a tough place to play. But it’s nothing we haven’t seen before and we know what we have to do.”
On Alabama’s struggles…
“They have their backs to the wall so they’re going to be ready. Their season has taken a little bit of a turn. I’m pretty sure they didn’t expect it. But that’s what happens when you come into conference play. They’re going to be hungry and they’re going to try to extend their (home) winning streak.”
On living up to expectations and dealing with doubt…
“It’s all up to team. You can’t really worry about what everyone else says or what you’re going through at that moment. If the team is strong and you’ve built that bond, everything is going to be ok.”
“We’re much stronger this year. We all get along, we all have a great time and we all enjoy each others’ company.”
