Head Coach Tubby Smith

Head coach Tubby Smith

“Everyone has made it back and we had one practice last night. The guys have come back in good spirits and it always seems to help when they can go home and visit with family. We are very excited about the challenge ahead with the next phase of our season.”

“Watching the Indiana tape, I thought we did a better job defensively. Obviously when you make shots, it makes up for a lot of mistakes, but we didn’t have a lot of mistakes in that game. We had a few defensive breakdowns, but not many. I liked our toughness.”

“Gerald Fitch brings something to the lineup. Some energy, some effort, some deflections-he is all over the court. I think he is playing inspired basketball. And he inspires the other players to play harder. As far as the lineup at this time, I will probably go with him, but that is probable at this time. But if he continues to play the way he did against Indiana and Michigan State, I think he is very deserving. He isn’t putting up a lot of numbers as far as shooting the ball, but he is doing a lot of things well away from the ball, like at the defensive end, he is rebounding the ball.”

“I was glad to see Tayshaun [Prince] and Keith [Bogans] hit shots, I think that was the key to us winning and playing better. When they make shots, we seem to be much more effective. I thought it was a good team effort.”

“We really need to cut down on our turnovers because 22 turnovers is too many and a lot of them were unforced turnovers. Those are things that we have been working on, that we will work on today and we worked on yesterday.”

“It is a little nostalgic to play against High Point, being able to coach against my alma mater and my college coach, Jerry Steele. What a remarkable career and man he is. He has done an outstanding job everywhere he has been. I am looking forward to seeing Coach Steele and spending some time with him. We have had a great relationship over the years.”

“High Point has won just as many games as we have. So it is not like we can overlook them because they are not that good. With the same amount of wins, we have to go into this game expecting to play very well. They do a good job of pressuring the ball, at executing their offense, and they are tough because they have played on the road a lot. I expect they are going to be well-hardened and well-prepared.”

On Marvin Stone:

“He did a good job against Michigan State and Indiana and is very instrumental to us, just like any other player. When you are young and your front line is as thin as ours is, he is very instrumental. He is being a little more aggressive, taking balls to the basket. We have been trying to get him to be more aggressive and dominating, which is not really his personality. He is a very gentle, caring person but he also needs to add a warrior mentality.”

On Gerald Fitch:

“What has surprised me about him is that he doesn’t care about not shooting better. He is more concerned about doing the little things to help us win. Obviously, he has been hearing the things we have been preaching and is saying, hey, this is the way I can play, and understanding that is the way he can play more.”

“Erik Daniels, though he didn’t play much, is very capable. He has the best numbers on the team as far as shooting percentage. Lately, he hasn’t been in a position to score or been called on to score.”

“Two guys that play hard all the time are Saul [Smith] and Gerald [Fitch]. Those two throughout practices, throughout the season, that is the way they play. We need to get everybody playing that fearless.”

“We need to get Jason [Parker] rebounding better because he had zero rebounds the other night. He needs to get on the boards because he played 20 minutes the other night. Of course, he was sick and I thought he was really laboring in the game.”

On his reaction to games:

“I try to lead by example after games. I try not to get too depressed after a loss or too excited after a win. So hopefully they are an extension of the way we are. We always try to stress that you are not as bad as you think you were in a loss and you are not as good as you think you are in a win.”

“It is hard for guys to understand in practice that they are helping their teammate, that I am helping myself and helping my teammate get better if I continue and challenge him every day in practice. I think that is what we are seeing now as the freshmen are maturing.”

UK Player Quotes

Guard Keith Bogans

Keith Bogans, Guard

On the game against Indiana…

“That game gave us a lot of confidence. We shot the ball well and played great defense. That type of night really helps our outlook. I had a great Christmas coming off of a win like that over a good team like Indiana. We know that we are capable of playing that way. We have had and will have slips, but if we can play that way all the time, we can beat anyone.”

“We knew that we had to go in there and get a win against Indiana. We just have to remain focused in those situations. We can’t worry about winning, but more about the little things we have to do to win.”

On the play of Gerald Fitch…

“Gerald plays with a lot of energy. We can all feed off of that. He plays with more energy than me and does a great job offensively and defensively. He’s physical and not afraid. He makes me work hard in practice everyday. I’m a little better and a little smarter though.”

Guard Gerald Fitch

Gerald Fitch, Guard

“I’m not really surprised at how well I’ve been doing. I’m a very competitive person. Coach gave me the opportunity to contribute, so I had to take advantage. I needed to make some adjustments. Coach knew that and started me slow.”

On his rebounding…

“In high school I had to play a lot at the three and four positions. That helped my rebounding abilities a lot. It wasn’t really hard for me to show those skills here. I just had to stick to my game and play like I always have. I try to stay comfortable on the court.”

On earning his first career start against Indiana…

“It felt really good. You can’t really describe the feeling. I had never really thought about starting this early. I just wanted to play the game. I was surprised when Coach told me at our pre-game meal Friday. I had to prepare myself and grow up. I think I bring a lot of energy to the starting lineup. Sometimes the starters can get a slow start. I can bring my energy and hopefully help out that way.”

Forward Erik Daniels

Erik Daniels, Forward

“With having the knee surgery, I didn’t think I would start out here as well as I did. I have to keep rehabbing my knee and keep it strong. I was expecting to come back close to now, but rehab went really well.”

“I work hard and hustle a lot on the court. That is what it takes to be successful out there.”

“I expected to get little playing time. Coming in, I knew I was going to have to be around two really good people like Bogans and Prince. I really didn’t expect to get a lot of playing time, but if I keep working hard, I should be able to get out there more.”

“I’ve been really surprised. I think I can do better and be more consistent. I’m in a little slump right now. I think I can get back up to where I was. The coaches tell me to keep my head up and stay positive so that I can be successful on the court. “