Dec. 29, 1999
UK Player Quotes
#10 Keith Bogans
On Kareem Rush:
“I think I played against Kareem’s older brother in a high school all-star game. Kareem is an all-around athlete. He can shoot the ball well and has excellent penetration skills.”
“I think we’re getting better as each day goes on. It was kind of hard to get motivated against Alaska. We’re really excited for this game. We hope Missouri will get out and run so that we can, too. We like to play in that style of game. Missouri has a lot of good shooters, so we need to play tough defense and stay in their faces.”
#42 Jamaal Magloire
“I think people are going to see a much better team than the one that played Alaska on Monday. Missouri is a great team and they can’t be taken lightly. We have improved greatly since the beginning of the season and will continue to get better.”
“We’re looking forward to tomorrow’s game. We’re going to play the best game we can with the given match-ups and we know they will, too. It’s going to be a fast-paced game. They are a new team since the last time we met, and so are we. We just need to play hard and be more consistent.”
On traveling during the New Year holiday:
“I’d rather be on the court. It’s probably the safest place for me.”
Coach Tubby Smith
“Alaska-Anchorage is one of those games you want to put behind you. We have to move on and focus on Missouri. Missouri is a team that has been playing very well under first-year head coach Quin Snyder. They’ve beat some solid teams, like Illinois and Iowa. We are hoping to contain their perimeter people Dooling and Grawer. We must contain their three-point shot attempts. Right now they’re shooting about 25 per game and making nine of those.”
“Missouri is a solid ball club. They want to get in transition, where they are most effective. It then becomes our job to prevent them from doing that.”
“I see a lot of Duke in Snyder’s style – aggressive, overplaying, challenging you all over the court. Snyder runs some of the same plays. They put the ball in Dooling’s hands, letting him make a lot of plays, similar to William Avery at Duke. When you’ve been under Mike Krzyzewski, you learn a lot of things, because he does a lot of things well.”
“We’ll probably go with the lineup that we’ve started of late. We’re bigger than Missouri, but it is still tough to match-up because of their quickness. They are small, but quick and good shooters. We want to challenge and contest every shot that they make. Our wing people have a tendency to not rotate back in, and that is something we have to work on in this game.”
On whether he is happy going into conference play next week
“You’re never really happy. You may be pleased with some areas and players, but you are never really happy. We’re always looking for areas to improve. When you go up against Utah, Arizona, Louisville, Michigan State over and over again, your players don’t really get a chance to slow down and catch their breath. Because of our hectic schedule, it’s hard to try new things.”
