Dec. 27, 2001
Head Coach Tubby Smith
On J.P. Blevins’ injured wrist…
“One of the things we are trying to do this week is limit our distractions but unfortunately we’ve had a couple. First, J.P Blevins was injured on a fall and broke his wrist against Indiana. He just had surgery this morning and it went well – we expect him back in four to six weeks. We’ll miss J.P because he brings a lot to this team as a co-captain and a player. His leadership is important to this team and he’s a real example of what a student-athlete is all about.”
On Marvin Stone…
“Marvin Stone has been dismissed from the team. He will no longer be a part of the Kentucky Wildcats. It’s unfortunate that it had to happen at this point in time, but Marvin has been dealing with some issues outside of basketball and we just want to wish him the best in whatever he decides to do. We’re going to be releasing him and he’ll be moving on. With that comes opportunities for other players. We’ll have to step it up on our front line to make up for his departure.”
On preparation for Saturday…
“We’ve been trying to improve our ball handling. It’s important that we take care of the basketball and handle the trapping defenses as best as we can. Our kids are looking forward to the game with Louisville. They’re excited about this matchup, that’s why they came to Kentucky, to play the type of schedule we play.”
On UK-U of L rivalry…
“It’s hard to find a better rivalry in the country than the Louisville-Kentucky rivalry. With Rick (Pitino) coming back to the Commonwealth and coming back to Rupp Arena, it just adds a little more drama to this episode.”
On how fans will welcome Coach Pitino…
“We have great fans here, the best in America. I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know how they’ll react. There’s probably a mix bag of emotions because of what he’s accomplished at Kentucky – winning the national championship, winning SEC Tournaments and championships. I’m sure the reception will be mixed.”
On Coach Pitino coming back a distraction…
“No. We were going to play Louisville whether Rick was here or not. It’s another story line, it fills the paper, but it’s part of sports. It’s part of basketball and our sports culture and Rick Pitino is a part of it.”
On playing against former boss…
“That’s probably tougher than anything. Especially with Georgia for me, you want to do well against your mentors and your rivalries, like competing against your dad in the backyard. That probably brings more to it than anything else, more than him coming back to Louisville. We worked together and want each other to be successful.”
On Louisville guard Reece Gaines…
“Reece can play, he can do so many things. He has pro potential and I look at him as a possible first round pick some day. He has the ability to lead his team in many areas, whether it’s setting the tone defensively, because he has a lot of freedom defensively to trap and do things solo, and he’s that talented. Offensively, he has the ability to shoot with range. He always seems to be the guy who comes through in the clutch situations. We have to pay a lot of attention to him.”
On what area will be hurt most with the dismissal of Marvin Stone…
“The depth in the front court. His defense and presence in the post was very good and he was probably our best post defender. I just felt like not returning sent a signal to me that he didn’t want to be here.”
On Stone’s possible transfer…
“We haven’t got to that point and I’m not going to address it until I cross that bridge. This was just decided this morning, so I haven’t had a chance to get to that at this point.”
On loss of Stone…
“I feel he was our best post defender and we’ll have a challenge for other people to step up into that role. Guys like Chuck Hayes, even though he’s undersized, Erik Daniels is another one. There are guys on this team willing to do that, and we just need to do a better job of looking to take charges without Marvin being there.”
On Cliff Hawkins…
“He’s making the jump shot and having a breakout year. I think his conditioning has made all the difference in the world. His ability to stay in the game longer and his endurance has made him stronger and now he can shoot the ball better. He can break you down, get by you and find people in the lane.”
Forward Tayshaun Prince
On the Louisville game…
“We know by experience what this game means and the expectations of this game. It will be an interesting game just in the fact that Rick Pitino’s style of play will now be used against Kentucky.”
“We’ll approach this game the same as any other. We’ll have to bring all our energy and effort into this game especially with J.P. and Marvin not playing. A lot of guys on the bench will have to be ready to come in and make contributions.”
On practices this week…
“It was like the week before the Duke game. Coach was trying to keep everyone focused and getting us to maintain the same intensity the whole practice.”
Guard Keith Bogans
On the Louisville game…
“This is really a huge game. With it being Louisville, that just adds more fuel to the flames. It’s a must win. If we lose this game, we might as well go home.”
On Louisville…
“They’re a scrappy team. They trap. It will be tough, but I’m looking forward to playing their style.”
Forward/Center Jules Camara
On the loss of Marvin Stone…
“We’ll miss him a lot because it’s another big body in the paint. Everyone will have to step up, especially me, Chuck, Marquis and Erik, and do some more work.”
On Rick Pitino…
“I don’t know much about him. Just that he was a very successful coach here. I understand why all the fans are upset at him. He left here and ended up at UK’s rival.”
On Louisville…
“You know coming in to Kentucky that Louisville is the big rival, so everyone’s going to have to step up and be ready to play.”
Guard Gerald Fitch
On the Louisville game…
“There’s not really extra pressure on us. It just adds more excitement to the game. We know it’s an important game and we’ll approach it like any other game. It adds a little pressure on Coach Smith. He’ll probably be a little more fired up than usual.”
“It should be a scrappy kind of game and the team that scraps the most is going to win. We know that they’re going to come in ready to play and we have to be ready for them.”
“I think this game is just as big as the Duke game. It’s carrying a lot of hype with it.”
Forward Chuck Hayes
On the loss of Marvin Stone…
“I’ll probably have to do a little more rebounding than usual. I’m usually in there with Marvin and Marquis. But now, I’ll probably have to go in there and rough up their big man and mess up his game a little.”
On playing against older players…
“It’s not a big deal. I’m just as big as some of these guys. It’s just the age difference that’s between us. I kind of enjoy it.”
On his father watching the Louisville game…
“It reminds me of high school when he came to all my games. Knowing that he’s on my side and he’s watching me. But if I do something wrong on the court, I’ll have to hear about it from Coach Smith and my father.”
Guard Cliff Hawkins
On the fans’ expectations…
“The fans are really into this game. Our main focus is to do what we need to do to win. I just look at it as another game and a chance to improve our record.”
On what UK needs to do to win…
“We really need to take care of the ball against their press. That’s going to be the key, to handle their pressure. We have to find the open man. That’s a must.”
Guard Rashaad Carruth
On his decision to come to Kentucky…
“Coach (Tubby) Smith has done a good job bringing in players, and Rick Pitino definitely brought in some great ones. That is definitely one of the reasons I came here, because of the tradition of talented players.”
On what the fans have said about the Louisville game…
“If we don’t win another game this year, we better win this one.”
Guard Adam Chiles
On his role on the team…
“I look for open shots and to get us into our offense.”
On the Louisville game…
“I look forward to gaining the bragging rights. They’ve been playing real well. Everybody on the floor plays hard. It should be a war. We just have to handle the pressure. It’s going to be a tough task. I have to look to my teammates to beat the pressure and try not to do too much myself.”
On how the teams match up…
“We have more bodies than they do. We can try and run the floor and wear them down.”
On his play in the Duke and Indiana games…
“Those games showed me that despite being a freshman I can come in and keep my head up and contribute.”
