Dec. 6, 1999
Head Coach Tubby Smith
“Anytime we come back off a loss to play against the caliber teams we have,I always look to see how our team will respond and react the next time out.Certainly, a team like UNC Asheville is a dangerous team because they are agood team even though they are 0-7. They still have a very talented team.With three straight losses, we are anxious to see if we can rectify some ofthe concerns that we have. I don’t think they are necessarily big problems.We went up against a very good Indiana team that really took us apart. Theycapitalized on all the defensive mistakes that we made, and we made quite afew. I thought we were playing well defensively up until the last game whenwe had some defensive breakdowns. A lot of that comes from reinforcing thatthis is a team game and a team defense. We are getting beat off the dribbleand not getting much help at the basket. We shot the ball better than wehave in a while. Against UNC Asheville, those are the areas we need to do amuch better job. We rectified our rebounding problem against Indiana.
“Risinger is a very active and athletic player. He is leading them in a lotof categories. He’s their best all-around player. A guy like Tayshaun willhave to guard him. (Brett) Carey, their two-guard, is shooting the ballvery well from the outside. My concern is just getting us back to playingKentucky-type defense. Opponents are shooting 41% against us now and thatis the highest is has been since we’ve been here, probably the highest ithas been since I’ve been coaching.”
On the mental state of the team:
“I think they are a little bit shaken. Young players are like kids. Theycan come in and recover injuries a lot quicker than most adults. A losssticks longer with me than it does with them. They still understand theurgency of getting better. We also realize that it is a long process. Thekey is getting them to understand that we are getting better.”
On balancing the idea of pushing improvement while also encouraging them:
“I think we need to do a little more talking among the staff. We need tospend more time watching film with them. I think we are okay physically. Weare as athletic as any team. It is just getting them to do all the teamthings. They start to ‘internalize’ things as their fault. That’s where youhave to be careful, which is my biggest challenge.”
On who is the team leader on the floor:
“Saul fits the bill. It’s hard for Jamaal to be a leader because he is sobusy trying to fight inside and do so many things in there. It is hard fora postman to be a floor leader. It pretty much has to be a guard that hasthe ball in their hand a lot and is out front defensively.”
On the team’s problems being fixed in a week or two:
“Growing up is not a quick process. We try to rush everything, but youcan’t rush kids. I have to find the patience and the willpower to help themget there. The staff and I have talked about it. A team like Indiana, isprobably the worst team for us to have played coming off a couple of lossesbecause they are veterans. (Coach Knight) will take advantage of everymistake you make and any weaknesses you have. They obviously recognizedthat they could take us off the dribble because every player they had,tried to take all our players off the dribble. I thought we had a bigbreakdown in our fundamentals, and that goes back to the emotional drainand the sense of panic.”
On offensive problems becoming a distraction to the defense:
“I think guys started playing with the idea that they need to be moreoffensive minded. That goes back to a team that isn’t mature yet. If youplay a little harder on defense, it will create more offense. That issomething we have to keep teaching them.”
On Jamaal playing with a lack of emotion:
“That comes from a lack of enthusiasm and things not going well. Everybodyplays better when things are going well for them. When adversity strikes,it’s hard to stay up and focused. He missed some easy shots against Indianaand that has got him a little frustrated. He had some good looks at thebasket. Overall, he was 9-13 from the free throw line so he did some goodthings. I think his balance has been off as well as his rhythm and timing.He hasn’t been himself as far as being the vocal, talkative-type guy on thefloor. He’s the anchor of our defense and he has to be more vocal.”
On a possible starting lineup change:
“We may look at changing a few things. Desmond has not played up to hispotential. He had some bad fouls and has gotten himself in some foultrouble. He doesn’t seem to be in sync with things. There might be a changethere, but with a day of practice, we’ll see how things go. Keith or Marvinwould be one of the most likely guys to start.”
On the defensive breakdown:
“We may have been thinking that we could rely on Jules, Jamaal, andTayshaun to be there and block shots, but I think it is more than that. Ifone guy is wrong, then the whole team defense is wrong. In football, if oneguy breaks down in the secondary, then there’s a touchdown. That is what ishappening, and good teams that we are playing against are capitalizing on it.”
Player Quotes
#42 Jamaal Magloire
?I?m excited about tomorrow?s game. The team is excited about the game. Wetake our games one at a time. The only game we are worried about is the onebeing played tomorrow night.?
?It?s odd to lose three games in a row. I think we were all upset at thetime (after the Indiana loss). Once we realized the things we need to do toimprove, that feeling was forgotten. We know we have to keep our heads up.We?re excited because we?ve worked hard as a team and we know tomorrow isanother game to learn and grow as a team.?
?I think the fact that we?re all the same age brings us closer together. Weall spent a lot of time together this summer, and that bonding time wasinvaluable to us as a team. We?re a young team and people have tounderstand that. One reason I came back for my senior season was to be apart of this team and the talent that we have. ?
#10 Keith Bogans
On his possible start tomorrow:
?I want to do anything that will help this team, whether it?s coming offthe bench, scoring or starting. Whenever Coach puts me in the game, I?mready to go.?
?I?ve never lost three games in a row on any team that I?ve been a part of.We learn a lot from a loss though, and we now plan to maintain ourintensity in order to improve the other parts of our game.?
?We probably focused too much attention on offense against Indiana, andthat made our defense suffer. It?s a matter of putting two-and-twotogether. When we can do that, we will bring a more solid game. We alsotried to run, which Coach stresses, but we haven?t been doing that in thelast few games.?
#21 Tayshaun Prince
On playing UNC Asheville tomorrow:
?It is going to be an interesting game. We are on a losing streak and wereally need a win. We just have to practice hard today to get ready toplay. We are looking forward to getting back on the court. Hopefullysomething good will happen.?
On the three-game losing streak:
?It is surprising to me that we have lost three in a row. It is somethingthat has never happened to me or a lot of guys on the team before. We?reyoung though so we just have to keep working hard and it will work itself out.?
On UK?s offensive struggles:
?We are not playing well on the offensive end. We need to start gettingsome easy baskets that will lead into some other things. We are taking toomany difficult shots. We not moving around well on offense and that isleading to bad shots. We just have to take what we work on in practice, doit in our games and we will overcome this.?
?If we could consistently get some transition buckets, that will lead toother success. We have talked a lot about that, but we just have to get itthrough our heads that we need to do it every time down the court.?
#32 Desmond Allison
On his role on the team:
?I am prepared to play any role to help this team win. Whoever is in thestarting lineup needs to pick up the slack for us.?
On UK?s three-game losing streak:
?Losing one is difficult, but losing three is unheard of here. We just needto put the last three games behind us and start playing up to our potential.?
On playing UNC Asheville:
?It is not going to be an easy game. We will need to play our game to get a W.?
