Jan. 14, 2002
Coach Tubby Smith
On win over South Carolina…
“We were very fortunate to get that win, Cliff (Hawkins) gave us some great heroics there at the end to be able to pull that game out. We played better defense in that game than we did against Georgia and defended the three better by limiting their touches and making them work hard for their shots.”
On Ole Miss…
“We have to play harder defensively and smarter defensively. We’ll have to do that against a very good Ole Miss team who’s coming off some good wins at home over Mississippi State and Auburn. They’re probably feeling pretty good about themselves with the way they are playing right now.”
On play of UK…
“In our system, we’re trying to get guys to have a lot more pride in our defense and in our ability to hold people down because that’s how we’re going to win games. People are doing a good job of taking things away from us like doubling Tayshaun (Prince) and forcing us to go to our second and third options offensively. We need to create more offense with our defense and we’ve been working on being more aggressive with our traps, whether it’s in the full court or the half court.”
On losing tight games down the stretch…
“We’ve run in to some teams where we had to have big stops and we didn’t and that’s what I mean by having pride in making those stops defensively. When people make runs at you like the way Mississippi State and Georgia did, we just didn’t control the tempo – you can control the tempo better with your defense than with your offense.”
On Ole Miss…
“Watching them play the past couple games, they’ve really turned up the heat and become more physical, more of what Rod Barnes and Ole Miss are noted for. They have excellent balance in their lineup. When you add the balance of their offense to their good defense, it puts a lot of pressure on the opposition to really do a better job defensively. They really don’t have a weakness because anybody could score and that’s been a big help to why they’ve been able to play better over the past few games.”
On teams doubling Tayshaun Prince…
“We’ve got to make some adjustments in the type of plays we run to keep him out of those double team situations the best that we can. We have to burn our opponent when they do double him, his teammates have to get open, move the ball and get the open shots. We haven’t done a good job of reversing the ball, finding the open man and making the extra pass.”
On UK players making plays…
“Gerald (Fitch) is starting to pick it up better and Cliff (Hawkins) is starting to take the ball to the basket. What we have to do is attack the basket better and get fouls. There are going to be some opportunities to penetrate and take the ball all the way to the basket and that’s something we haven’t done a good job of either. When you’re not shooting well and not getting balanced scoring, you better be getting to the free throw line.”
On Ole Miss senior point guard Jason Harrison…
“He is a senior veteran point guard who can control the tempo. He can shoot with range, he can distribute the ball and he’s in the tops in free throw and three-point shooting in the conference. He’s doing all the things you want a veteran point guard to be able to do. He has a great heart. When a guy that size can compete and have the type of success he’s had, you have to respect him and be pulling for him.”
Tayshaun Prince
On teams double-teaming him…
“I’m expecting it a lot more. In practice we’ve been working on situations where teams double me and I’m trying to get the ball to open guys.”
“It’s not frustrating. It will only be frustrating if the other guys aren’t making baskets. But if I can get it to the guys and they’re making good things happen, I’m not going to get frustrated.”
On the final play against South Carolina…
“We tried to run a back-door play. They were playing us real hard so we were going to try to get something that way. I was open for a split second but Cliff didn’t want to risk throwing it away. He just wanted to make the best play possible.”
Keith Bogans
On Ole Miss…
“They’re a physical and aggressive team. They’ll be in our face and will play for 40 minutes.”
On double-teaming Tayshaun…
“We have to move the ball around and get him looks where he’s by himself and can get a good look at the basket before the double team gets there.”
On his shooting…
“The shots are going to go in sooner or later. I’m not going to change anything that I’m doing. I’m just going to continue to keep on playing the way I know I’m capable of playing.”
On shooting only 4 free throws as a team against USC…
“That just shows that we’re not being aggressive. We’re settling for outside shots as opposed to getting in the lane and getting fouled.”
Marquis Estill
On playing time…
“I could play more. It’s just a matter of coach wanting to get the right people in there. But my chances are going to come so I just have to be patient and wait for them.”
On his style of play…
“I feel like I have a strong presence inside and that I can score against pretty much anybody. I just need to get a few more touches. Then I can be more effective.”
On basketball as a distraction…
“It’s been keeping my mind off things a lot. Obviously it’s still hard – losing a parent. But basketball’s been helping me keep my mind right.”
On the South Carolina win…
“It makes us feel good to win a close game. It builds our confidence back up – getting a win after two losses. Hopefully we can start playing like we were before we lost those two games.”
Gerald Fitch
On the team’s defense…
“We haven’t been playing with pride offensively or defensively, and Coach Smith has seen that. We have to step up and play better which we have been doing in practice. Coach has always found a way to motivate.”
On the team’s offense…
“When Tayshaun (Prince) is getting double-teamed, other guys have to step up. We have to get open and hit shots.”
On Ole Miss…
“It will be a hard-fought game. It will be a scrappy game, and the team that plays the hardest will win.”
On the team’s better defensive rebounding in the second half against South Carolina…
“We wanted to pick up our defensive intensity and crash the boards. We were able to do that better in the second half. We weren’t able to get on them (defensive boards) as much as we would have liked, but in the second half it was better.”
Cliff Hawkins
On what they wanted to do with the final play against South Carolina…
“I wanted to give everyone what they wanted, and that was to get the ball to Tayshaun (Prince). I tried to get it to him, but he wasn’t open. It was the plan to get Tayshaun the ball on a back-door cut. I just couldn’t get it to him.”
On playing against Ole Miss’ Jason Harrison…
“I’ll have my hands full. I hate playing guys who are smaller than me. It’s just more difficult to defend them. I don’t worry too much about them defending me. I will do what I always do offensively.”
On the team’s defense…
“We are losing sight of our man a lot. We aren’t playing with the intensity we need. We have to be more aggressive defensively.”
On trying to get the team to attack the basket offensively…
“I can’t make anyone else do it. We, as a team, need more offensive movement. Each player needs to do what he can to be more aggressive.”
Erik Daniels
On having the passing ability of a guard…
“I played some point guard in high school. I played guard a lot when I was younger. Then I grew a lot in high school, from 5-10 to 6-7, and had to change position. It helps me because I am able to make the passes.”
On who he looked up to as a player…
“I always watched Magic Johnson. I wanted to play like that.”
On the areas of his game he would improve…
“I would like to improve my shooting and my defense. I worked on my quickness over the summer and got a lot stronger. Now I am able to contribute at any position.”
On whether the South Carolina win was something to build on…
“It was a big win for us. We were in a little bit of a slump. It got us back on our feet, and hopefully we will keep winning.”
