July 18, 2002
On the 2002-03 team…
“Jules Camara finished the season very strong and is working really hard this summer to improve his strength, his body and his shooting. We expect Keith Bogans, although he had a tough season last year, to bounce back and have an excellent year. We lost a starter in Cliff Hawkins, who is ineligible for the first semester. Who we replace him with at this time is still up in the air. We have some quality recruits that we think can step in. Plus guys like Erik Daniels, Gerald Fitch, who started some last year, along with Marquis Estill can give us some added depth.”
On replacing starting point guard Cliff Hawkins…
“We have Brandon Stockton out of Glasgow, a 5-9 freshman point guard who can really play. He’s a natural point guard. Antwain Barber, a junior college transfer from Wabash, played point guard for his junior college team. Plus Gerald Fitch has played some point. So we’ll look at those three guys and see who will evolve into running the team.”
On an NBA head coaching position…
“No one has ever contacted me about any jobs. My interest is in Kentucky basketball right now.”
On Jason Parker…
“He’s getting better. There was a point in the second semester that we were a bit concerned. There were some psychological issues because when he reinjured his knee last October, the expectations were that he’d be back in December or early January. And when he wasn’t, I think it was a letdown on his part psychologically. But now he’s mentally focused on rehabbing his knee. He’s working extremely hard. He starts running next week so we think he’s on schedule to be ready to play next season.”
On Keith Bogans…
“Last summer he went up to the NBA pre-Draft camp and worked out, and I think he had a lot of things on his mind. He came back and there was a lot of pressure on him. By that I mean he was trying to prove something. Keith is a very competitive player and I think when you try too hard, your shots aren’t going to go in. Now the pressure’s off him this year. He just has to work on his mechanics and he’ll shoot better than the 33% he shot last year.”
On this year’s signing class…
“I mentioned Brandon Stockton and Antwain Barber earlier. Antwain’s about 6-6 and can play the point, two or the three. Brandon is probably strictly a point guard at 5-9. Kelenna Azubuike, who’s one of the top players in the country coming out of high school, is very talented and very strong. He can play the two or three. We have Bernard Cote, who’s a 6-8 player out of Montreal. He’s a real blue-collar worker. We’re very pleased with all these young men. Plus we have a couple walk-ons who I believe will help us as well.”
