Dec. 14, 2002
Recap?|?Box Score?|?Notes?|?Photo Gallery
Head Coach Tubby Smith
On Michigan State…
“Michigan State showed a lot of confidence right out of the gate, they were ready to play. They played with a lot of toughness today.”
On his team’s performance…
“I thought we played a little soft. We did some good things, but one thing we need to work on is our free throw shooting. We didn’t get consistent play out of three of our starters. When Jules, Chuck and Gerald are struggling, that can create problems for our team. We had a breakdown in an assignment in the end, allowing a break in the zone, giving Michigan State an open three-point shot. We had our chances in the end, but we just didn’t execute.”
On Kentucky’s strength versus Michigan State…
“I thought we had a good rebounding effort today. I know toward the end Marquis had some great tip-ins and Jules had a great tap-in, as well. I thought we matched their intensity at a high level, given that this has turned into a bit of a rivalry.”
On Gerald Fitch…
“Gerald is not really a penetrator. He’s good at stepping out and nailing shots. Tonight, he couldn’t really turn the corner, and when he tried to penetrate a couple of times, he got his shot blocked. We just need to get him back to doing what he does best.”
On Jules Camara…
“Jules picked it up in the second half, but we would like him to shoot a much higher percentage. Jules gets a lot of opportunities around the basket, and we’d like to see him convert on more of those. Early on in the game, he was kind of fidgety, and didn’t really attack the basket. He had opportunities to draw fouls, but he avoided contact.”
KENTUCKY PLAYER
Keith Bogans, Guard
On the three-pointer by Tim Bograkos…
“I was out of position. I kind of stepped in and let him get open, it was my fault.”
On Kentucky’s last possession…
“We were trying to get a good shot. I got behind the screen and thought I had a good look, it just didn’t fall.”
On losing at home…
“It hurts a lot. It’s our home court and we let them come in and steal (the game) away. We still have a whole lot more games to play. It hurts right now but we just have to get over it and keep moving forward.”
Chuck Hayes, Forward
On losing a tough game at home…
“It was a big game. We were honoring the 100th UK Basketball season and it was exciting but we just let it slip away from us.”
On his play…
“I just couldn’t get in the flow of the game. That comes from confidence and being active. It’s something that I’ll have to go through myself and it’s on me to get better.”
On how this affects the team…
“It doesn’t set us back, it just puts a little dent in our season. It upsets our rhythm that we have going but we have to move on.”
Erik Daniels, Forward
On what Coach Reggie Hanson asked them to do in this game…
“He just wanted us to go at them like they were going at us. He wanted us to hit them before they hit us.”
On his ability to move without the ball…
“I just like to keep moving. It’s hard to play if you don’t, and that’s how I would end up open on the baseline.”
On Michigan State’s inside game…
“They are really strong on the inside. They have a lot of 6-9, 6-10 guys who weigh 250 pounds. That helps them a lot.”
On not getting Marquis Estill into the game more…
“It hurt us a lot. When we can get the ball inside to him, it opens up the outside. We just weren’t doing it, and it hurt us.”
Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo
On the victory….
“It was a big win for us. I thought both teams had some opportunities. They missed some free throws and we missed some assignments. Both teams played extremely hard and I have to give our guys a lot of credit. We had a lot of different guys that came through.”
On Tim Bograkos’ game-winning shot….
“I could lie to you and tell I set that up, but in all honesty he was the sixth option. It was just a great shot.We still struggle to run things and read things on the court, but thank God we kept moving the ball. I don’t know if anyone saw Tim’s (Bograkos) three-point stats, but they probably guarded the people they felt like they needed to guard and he just broke open and hit a big shot.”
On thoughts when Bograkos shot the ball…
“You have to give Tim credit – I was going to say are you kidding me but I saw the shot clock was down and when he hit it I just thought, ‘hey, it was our day’.”
On the way the team played….
“We played hard and I’m pleased with that. We went after the loose balls and it was just a great basketball game in an incredible place. If you can’t get ready to play here then there’s something wrong with you.”
On players stepping up….
“Anderson had to play three different positions when (Kelvin) Torbert went out and that was a load. I’m proud of what we did. We had some strange line-ups with two sophomores and three freshmen a lot in the second half because of the injury to Torbert and the foul trouble we had.”
On team’s performance…
“We’re still a work in progress but I like the fact that I thought we competed harder. In critical times we ran some stuff to get the ball to the right people. You’ve got to like Alan Anderson for what he had to do defensively and offensively and all the positions he had to play. It was a big win today.”
MICHIGAN STATE PLAYER
30 Tim Bograkos, Guard
On hitting the big shot to put Michigan State ahead 69-67…
“That’s the biggest shot I’ve ever hit. They were in a zone and the man on my side left to double the ball on the wing, so I was left wide-open in the corner. I don’t look to shoot a lot, but I was open and fortunately the ball went in.”
On getting a win in Rupp Arena…
“This is the biggest win of the season for us. We had this game marked on our calendars because we knew it was going to be difficult to win in front of the crowd at Rupp Arena against a very good Kentucky team. We came together as a team and finished the game strong. Luckily, we were able to withstand their run and hang on for a great win.”
Chris Hill, Guard
On how he was able to get open looks at the basket…
“We wanted to take advantage of our inside game. Our guys in the post did a good job of kicking the ball out and I was able to get some good looks at the basket. Give Kentucky credit, though, because I think I had more open shots in previous games. They did a great job of keeping a hand in my face, but a couple of times we set some good screens and I was able to get open.”
On the atmosphere of the game…
“This was a great college basketball game. There was a tournament-type atmosphere and it was back-and-forth the whole game. We were fortunate to come out with the win against a good team in front of a great home crowd.”
