Feb. 7, 2000
Tubby Smith
“I thought Jamaal was outstanding against South Carolina. He is getting alot of attention, which opens up opportunities on the perimeter for us. Ithink that is why Keith got some good looks. We forced some turnovers withour press and got some easy buckets. We responded well without Jules Camaraavailable to us. We showed we can make the adjustment, and our playershandled that extremely well.”
“Florida is playing pretty well right now. They have had a couple of toughlosses, an overtime loss to Tennessee and then to DePaul. They played wellin their last outing against Georgia and really shot the ball well. Theyare a team that we have to do a much better job on defensively. Contestingthe outside shot, especially a three-point shooting team like SouthCarolina and Florida, is a real concern for us. We have to make a consciouseffort to know where the shooters are, and they have quite a few.”
“They have a lot of depth and that is what creates a real problem for us,because they have guys come off the bench that have led them in scoring.That is a sign of a team that has a lot of depth. Kenyan Weaks is anoutstanding three-point shooter. As a team, they are shooting 35% fromthree and 50% from the floor. They are really playing well, and we’ll haveto do the best job we’ve done this year guarding the perimeter.”
On not having Jules Camara due to injury:
“They will look to press us more to try and wear us down and that is wherenot having Jules available will hurt us. He is a big target that we canthrow over people with, and he can make the outside shot on the perimeter.Once you break their press, you have to be able to attack, finish, andscore. If we go with Marvin and Jamaal in the game at the same time, wedon’t get the real outside firepower we would if we had Jules in there onthe frontline.”
On Keith Bogans‘ recent success:
“Keith has been working hard on his outside shooting. He has been comingearly and staying late. He is getting better looks because of Jamaal’soutstanding play inside. Guys are looking for him when he is open and whenyou are hot, you really want to get him the ball. His ball handling hasimproved. I think his defense is creating better opportunities for himoffensively. He can score a lot of different ways, with his outside shot,or off his defense by forcing turnovers.”
On how UK will counter its lack of depth with Florida’s press:
“We’ll probably play some zone and probably won’t press as much withfull-court pressure. I expect what we’ll do is try and rotate Marvin,Tayshaun, and Jamaal and rest in them certain situations.”
On Florida having two scoring point guards in Teddy Dupay and Brett Nelson:
“It creates a challenge for us since they do score a lot of points. We haveto play them as scorers and not necessarily as penetrators. They do a goodjob of penetrating and dishing the ball out. I think Saul will make theadjustment, and so will J.P. as far as how to guard them and take awaytheir looks and limit their touches. However, they are a type of team whereall their players can handle the ball. That is probably why they are betterscorers, because they have guys that can set them up. They will make thepass and then get the ball back in scoring areas where they can score.Teddy Dupay has outstanding range, so he can really pull the trigger from along way out.”
On the atmosphere from the crowd he expects at the Stephen F. O’ConnellCenter:
“I expect the same type of atmosphere that we had at Auburn, Maryland andanywhere else we go. They are pretty rowdy down there, but that is whytheir program has grown under Billy Donovan. He has gone out and marketedhis style of play. It is pretty loud in that building, as loud as any otherbuilding in the country.”
#42 Jamaal Magloire
“I’m just glad to be playing well right now. All I want to do is win thatSEC Championship though. If we do that, all the individual honors andaccolades will come. But just to win a championship after all the adversitythat we have gone through all year would be great.”
“Florida is a real tough place to play. It will be a different experiencefor Keith and Marvin, but I’ll be able to teach them about it through myexperiences. They really get on me a lot down there, but I enjoy that.That’s just the way I am though. I am really excited about this game thoughbecause of the way the fans are.”
“We like to play against the best and they are a good team and their guyshave a lot of potential. We know that we are going to have to play ourtales off to get a win down there. They’re a team that you have to playagainst like it is your last game of the year.”
“We have really come a long way from the beginning of the season. Everybodyseems to know their role now and understands what they have to do to helpthe team win. It hurts that we are down to eight or nine guys, but we’renot making any excuses. It’s just another challenge for us and one that weare ready for.”
#10 Keith Bogans
“An up-and-down game is the kind we want to play. That is my type of gameand I am looking forward to playing more of that style. I want to play thatway and the rest of the team wants to play that way.”
“A win tomorrow would be a big accomplishment for us. We have been showingwhat type of team we are during this streak of ours. But this could be abig statement game for us. Last year we didn’t play real well down there sowe hope to play better this time around.”
“The way I am playing now is the way I expected to play out of high school.I started out slow, but now I’m playing my type of game again. I have beenworking on my shot more in practice and things are just coming together forme.”
#3 J.P. Blevins
“I think we are looking forward to this game. It’s going to be a war. Weknow that going in, especially minus Jules (Camara). Everyone is going tohave to step up.”
“This game is going to be a good test. It is getting late in the season,and it is just one more chance to see how good we are.Florida is going tocome in with a lot of pressure for 40 minutes. We have to be strong. Wecan’t be tentative with the ball. I think at this point they are deeperthan us. Everyone needs to be ready to play. Guys are going to have torotate in because people will get tired. We’ll see if we are up to it.”
#21 Tayshaun Prince
“It’s going to be real fun. They like to run. It’s going to be realimportant to protect the 3-point shot. They shoot them well. We just haveto work on it in practice today.”
“At the South Carolina game, we are just lucky that we came out with thewin. We didn’t play well, but we have to put that behind us and look to theFlorida game.”
“There will be good challenges both ways. We need to make the defensivestops. I think it will come to who wants it more.”
