Dec. 7, 2001
Kentucky Coach Orlando “Tubby” Smith
On Saturday’s game…
“It’s what college basketball is all about. The two winningest programs in the history of the game will be playing tomorrow. Both teams have tremendous opportunities. There is a lot of storylines to this game, but my biggest concern is that if our guys are improving. I feel like we have improved over the last week in our work ethic and the way we have been competing in practice.”
On comparison of UK to UNC…
“We are starting to see guys step up and accept their roles and play to their potential. We need to continue to grow in that area. They are similar to the way we were last year, starting two freshmen. They are going through the growing pains that we were going through last year.???
On Tar Heels…
“They bring in a veteran team even though they start a couple freshmen. Guys like Jason Capel, Kris Lang and Will Johnson, they’ve been through the wars and have played competitively against some great teams in the ACC.”
On UK vs. UNC…
“It will be a great game. It will be one where we will have a good feel of where we are and how much we’ve improved. They are coming off a good win against Georgia Tech and we’re coming off a good win over VMI. That should help in making it a very good game Saturday.”
On Jules Camara…
“I’m very happy the way he played on Wednesday. Those are the type of things he has to do in order to help us and help himself. That’s something he’s capable of doing, we talked about how he can contribute to the success of this team and he responded. He was active around the basket and altered a lot of shots to the basket because of his athleticism. He challenged and played more aggressive.”
On Rashaad Curruth…
“He comes in with a real toughness and real aggressive attitude, both in practice and the game. He can shoot the ball and he can make shots. I have a lot of confidence, the team has confidence and he has a lot of confidence in his ability to make shots. His mentality and toughness brings a lot to our team. He plays both ends of the court very hard.”
On motivation of playing the Tar Heels…
“Our guys know that we are playing against a very good team. We talked about it in scouting report, but the motivation we have to have is that we want to continue to improve and we haven’t even come close to our potential, individually or collectively. Until you get to a point where you are doing it because you want to improve and you want to see how much better you can be, all the motivation of talking about exterior things is not going to help you.”
On shooting…
“We haven’t shot the ball well from the three point arc, we haven’t shot the ball well from the free throw line. We shot well against VMI but they were a team that allowed us to get up and down the court and get some easy, open looks in transition and that helps your shooting percentage.”
On pressuring UNC freshman guards Melvin Scott and Jackie Manuel…
“We want to pressure anybody who comes in here. We know that they are not a veteran backcourt, but they have some veteran players that do come in the game. Brian Morrison had an outstanding game against Georgia Tech. As freshmen go, they have to go through the growing pains, but we hope to take advantage of anything that we can and if that is one of them, than obviously we have to take it.”
On play of Keith Bogans and Tayshaun Prince…
“They’re playing good, they can do better, but they’re doing good. I’m sure they would say the same. I think they’d tell you they aren’t at their best, but I think they are getting there, it just takes time with all the players we play in multiple positions. I have been pleased with their play the past couple games and their leadership is starting to really show on and off the court.”
On tough December schedule…
“It starts tomorrow. If we can take it just one game at a time, obviously that’s the way it has to be done. It is going to be a schedule that will really toughen us in a lot of ways. I think it will help us grow as far as realizing what our potential is, because we will be playing great rivalries, in big games and on TV. But it’s hard for me to talk about anyone except North Carolina right now.”
On UK players reacting to UNC losses to Hampton and Davidson…
“We can’t think about the past. They know that North Carolina is North Carolina and that they are a very good team. They have improved a lot since those early season losses, much like we did last year. They are at that point now where they are a very dangerous team and the way we have played, I doubt they’ll be thinking about those losses.”
On concerns of UNC play…
“They shot the ball well against Georgia Tech, especially their three-point shooting and we’ve had problems defending the three. I think they are physical inside with their size. Kris Lang presents a problem and so does Jason Capel. They have some pretty talented guys coming off the bench as well. They don’t have much of a drop-off, their bench strength is a big key for them. They execute and get to the free throw line. They are a very solid team — you have to beat them because they won’t beat themselves.”
Gerald Fitch
On how they will approach playing the UNC freshmen…
“We’re going to pound them with great ball pressure. We’re just going to keep playing like we have been. We’ll see if they can handle it. The tables could turn, and this could be their breakout game like it was for us last year. So we have to keep working hard.”
On how they are approaching this game…
“We try not to do anything different. We try to take every game seriously and do what Coach wants us to do. If we keep doing that, there won’t be too many teams who can beat us.”
On the fans’ belief that this is a really big game…
“We feed off the fans. We play some big name teams, and the fans get up for them. That’s what the fans want, and we just feed off that.”
On who the team leaders are…
“We have several different types of leaders. Tayshaun (Prince) is the overall leader of this team. Keith is another one on the court. We really look up to them and feed off their play.”
On playing North Carolina…
“It’s a big game. It’s a game to get the team’s confidence up. It’s not going to be an easy game like some of the others this season.”
On how he expects to play…
“I hope to come out and do what I did last year. I plan to play hard and help the team, and hopefully we will get the same result as before.”
On North Carolina’s Kris Lang…
“He has a nice game with a really good jump hook. He’s a great player.”
Marvin Stone
On tomorrow night’s game…
“I think it will be a physical game. They want to come in here and beat us, especially after last year when we went down there and beat them.”
On the keys to winning…
“We have to step our game up. The atmosphere is going to be great and our intensity will be high.”
On the team’s confidence…
“I think all of our confidence levels are high. We are all focused on this game and are ready to play. They will test us and we will see how good we really are.”
On tomorrow night’s game…
“We are always looking forward to games like this. They (North Carolina) are in the same position that we were in when we went down there last year.”
On the upcoming stretch of games…
“This stretch of the schedule that is coming up is what I have been looking forward to since I said I was coming back to Kentucky.”
On the keys to winning…
“It’s not them, it’s us. We need to execute offensively and play a physical game defensively. We need to work on what we do well and everything else will fall into place.”
Tayshaun Prince
On playing North Carolina…
“It’s not only the fans that are going to get up for this game, but the players also. It’s going to be a great atmosphere and both teams will be ready to play.”
“In practice yesterday and today, the emphasis was on how much Carolina was going to be up for this game and how much we have to come out and be aggressive.”
“Kris Lang and Jason Capel are real good veteran players so we have to make sure their freshmen don’t step up their games. We’re going to have to shut everyone down.”
“Their victory over Georgia Tech got them back on track and they’ll want to continue their winning streak. We know they’ll come in ready to play and we have to be ready for it.”
On last year’s game…
“We were going in with the mindframe that we were going to have to play hard for 40 minutes to get a ‘W’. We tried to take the crowd out of the game early which they’ll probably try to do tomorrow.”
J.P. Blevins
On his ankle…
“It’s doing pretty good. It’s getting better every day. It’s just one of those deals where it takes a little time. But I feel pretty good with it right now.”
On playing North Carolina…
“It shouldn’t be a problem getting up for this game. You have two of the most storied basketball programs in the country. Nothing has to be said, nothing has to be printed for us to get up for this one.”
“They’re going to come in here scratching and clawing just like we were last year when we went down there. It’s a turning-point game for them and it’s a big game for us too.”
