Feb. 6, 1998
On recent practices:“We’ve been working on a lot of things since we got back from LSU. We were able to get in a couple of decent workouts. This morning we had individual workouts, and the guys were able to put up a lot of shots. We needed to do a lot more shooting. The guys had their legs and were excited and worked hard in their individual workouts. We’re getting ready for a good Villanova team. Whenever we step outside of the conference, it’s a time to measure ourselves against other teams around the country. It will be a way to test ourselves in that type of environment, going to Philadelphia and playing in unfamiliar surroundings.”
On the way UK has been playing:“We haven’t played up to our potential. Then again, there are probably a lot of teams that haven’t played up to their potential. This is the time of year we want to play to the best of our ability. We’re close to it. But this time of year, you have game slippage, and you have to go back to the fundamentals to win. Sometimes you get out of shape because you don’t play a lot of guys. Also, people are taking things away from us, individually and as a team. We have to recognize that people are double-teaming us and playing us for the jump shot. It’s not so much what we’re not doing, it’s what other teams are doing.”
On the LSU game:“We pressed against LSU, because we wanted to try to wear them down. It became effective at the start of the second half, when we got some turnovers. It was our best game as far as deflections are concerned since Tulsa or before that. We had 44 or 45 deflections. Even with that, we still barely won. This time of year, everyone else is getting better, too.
“LSU has gotten better, Villanova is better than they were at the beginning of the year, and I like to think we’re better. And we are. But we’re never going to be a team that blows people out.”
On what UK has improved on:“I think our guys understand our plays better. We’re not making as many mistakes, offensively and defensively. We are handling game situations pretty well. Against Florida, we tried to make it close at the end. If we could have kept within a three- to five-point game, we could have made a difference. We missed some easy buckets in that late stage that would have put more pressure on Florida and given us a chance to win. But we didn’t finish like we wanted against LSU. I don’t think we scored a point in the last two or three minutes. We have gotten better but we still have to improve.”
On the LSU game:“I don’t think we were out-hustled. After looking at the tape, they [LSU] do a good job of making you extend your defense. They were quicker than we were at about four positions. They made us look like we weren’t hustling. But it was more that they were able to spread the court and penetrate, much like Florida did.”
On substituting more against LSU:“If the starters are not producing, we need to let the guys on the bench know that they are not forgotten and that we need them. They need that type of inspiration. Cameron Mills came off the bench and played well against Florida. Myron Anthony has played well in practice and has improved. So we get those guys playing time. They are starting to understand our plays and they are doing the things we ask them to do. Myron has had to learn two positions, and Michael Bradley has been consistent all year long. I’ve been very impressed and pleased with the freshmen and the people coming off the bench. To get more playing time for those guys, we need to press more. It’s also a point to the starters that we need better effort from them.”
On what UK needs to do differently:“We need to get back to playing team ball. Now, all of a sudden, guys want to go one-on-one. We need to play more unselfishly. Because people are doubling, our postmen are not getting all the shots they were getting earlier in the year. Now they think they’ve got to create shots for themselves. So now everybody stands around and watches them dribble the ball and force a shot. We need to get back to playing basic fundamental basketball. We’re going against a Villanova team that has two or three big postmen who play us one-one-one in the post.”
On his concerns with UK’s play:“We need to get back to being more aggressive in the post, being more physical, setting more screens
