Dec. 10, 1999
Tubby Smith Press Conference
12/10/99
Pre-Maryland game
General Comments:
“We’re looking forward to going to Maryland to play a very good team, ateam that is ranked. They had a tough loss to George Washington, andWinthrop took them to overtime, but they are a team that we have to be veryconscious of defensively because they average about 75 to 77 points a game.They are shooting the ball extremely well from the floor. We did a good jobon Juan Dixon before who is a very talented player, as well as TerenceMorris, an All-American candidate. We were very fortunate to get the winover them in New York in the Preseason NIT. They have a 68-game winningstreak at Cole Field House and it is one of the tougher places to play inAmerica. It will be a real challenge for our young team to keep their focusand to compete against an excellent Terrapin team.”
On looking for a go-to-guy:
“People are starting to step up. Tayshaun Prince has been our leadingscorer and is probably our most versatile player, so we have to ask him tocarry the load when it comes down to crunch time. I was happy to seeDesmond (Allison) step up and play better. I would say at this point intime, Tayshaun is our go-to-guy. We also have to have Saul (Smith) creatingopportunities.”
On the UK-Maryland game losing hype due to both team’s recent struggles:
“No. We are both still in the Top 25. There are so many top, big-time,non-league matchups that are made for TV like the Maryland-UK game is. Youcan only hype things so much. I think it is going to be a great collegebasketball atmosphere. I don’t think it’s lost any luster to our players.We want to continue to improve and grow. I know Maryland struggled withGeorge Washington, who is a very good team, and Winthrop is picked to wintheir league, so there is a lot of parody in college basketball.”
On having already faced Maryland once this season being an advantage:
“It gives us an advantage having seen them physically as well as havingmore information, which should help us get our players better prepared.It’s always a challenge to make sure we do the best things we can. We arenot so much worried about them, but rather what we are doing ourselves.”
On being able to evaluate the team’s improvement against Maryland:
“Mistakes are mistakes whether it is against UNC Asheville, Indiana, orDayton. Mistakes are the same no matter what. Certainly, Maryland presentsa bigger challenge and a more formidable opponent than UNC Asheville. Ithink the handling of the atmosphere on the road in a hostile arena isgoing to be a way to measure and evaluate how our team responds in thattype of environment. We haven’t been in that environment yet, so it isgoing to be helpful to us.”
On how UK shut down guard Juan Dixon in the first matchup:
“I think it was team-oriented, and I thought he had a tough day shooting.It wasn’t so much what we did because both teams were ice-cold in thesecond half and really could not get anything to drop. I think it was morethat his shots weren’t falling rather than what we did to try and stop him.”
On UK’s defense against Maryland:
“We played better defensively, but we were still making a lot mistakes.Both teams made the same mental mistakes, so it kind of brought each otherdown. We just haven’t had much practice time and they are a young team aswell. We are still trying to identify what we do best as a team.”
On concerns about the team’s confidence:
“Most players that play the game, confidence is not a factor because mostof them believe they are better than they are anyway.”
On using the possibility of falling out of the top-25 as motivation:
“I’m not going to add any more pressure to them. It is going to be enoughpressure to go in and play a team that hasn’t lost at home to anon-conference opponent since 1989. I have always said that it doesn’tmatter where you start but rather where you finish. The thing that concernsme is our schedule. It really doesn’t matter who you play early. Our leagueis strong enough that our power ranking will always be strong. When youhave to play six or seven top-25 teams in your non-conference schedule,that’s a lot to ask of anybody. We knew what we had coming in as a staffand I knew what the challenge was going to be. I knew that it was going totake a lot of teaching and coaching to be able to compete against the typeof teams were are playing.”
On going back home to Maryland:
“When you go back home with relatives watching, you really want to do well.You want to do well because you are from that area and you don’t want tolose again either because you are sitting at 4-3. It does add a lot ofnostalgia because Cole Field House is a special place kind of like RuppArena for people who grew up in Kentucky. Cole Field House is where theyplayed the state high school championships, so it is a special place. Iwould say 50-75 family and friends will be there.”
On Keith Bogans going home to play:
“He spent time playing against guys like (former Maryland standout) KeithBooth, and DeMatha is right there close to the campus. He’ll be ready toplay and I’m not worried about him.”
