February 3, 1999
Opening Statement:
“I feel like we’ve been playing a lot better lately. We’ve been practicingwell and Scott (Padgett) and Wayne (Turner) have really stepped up. I’vebeen really impressed with their leadership.
“It’s going to be tough at Florida and Alabama, especially with only oneday’s rest. But we’ve developed some depth, with the younger guys reallymaturing. They’ve gotten better and earned more playing time and havereally helped us in the last few games.”
On the development of Tayshaun Prince and Desmond Allison
“Tayshaun has really been pushing Heshimu (Evans) at the three spot.Desmond has played well for us at the two. Their skill levels are similar,and they are on cue with their development. Desmond is a more physicalplayer. With his football background, he really likes the contact.Tayshaun is becoming more aggressive and has gotten stronger. He’s justbetter suited for the three spot.”
On Florida
“Florida has gotten a lot better in the eight or so games since we playedthem last. We’ll have to make some adjustments to combat those changes.
“The O’Connell Center is always a tough place to play. They’re undefeatedthere this year.
“They have a very balanced attack and I like the way they can hurt youfrom the inside or the outside. We’ll have to adjust on both ends of thefloor.
“They lead the league in steals, three-point attempts, three-pointers madeand free throw percentage. They like to attack the basket and that willpose a real challenge.
“Their freshmen have really matured since we saw them. I think they leadthe league in almost every offensive category. They’ve improved theirskills tremendously.”
On Alabama
“Alabama is very young, but they almost beat Florida, so I know they’re animproved team. They’ve got some guys stepping up, and they’ll be tough athome.”
On UK’s attack
“It depends on what we’re given. If people concentrate on our insideguys, we’ll take the outside shot, and vice versa. We like to strive forbalance. We feel like we can create problems with our versatility. We canplay big or we can go small. All of our guys play a part in our attack. Ihave confidence in all my players. The guys know I could start anyone.It’s a team game. Sure, I like to use a consistent lineup, but it’s notsomething that we dwell on.
“Lately, we’ve been shooting better, getting better looks at the basket,pressing more effectively and our players have improved.”
On Jamaal Magloire
“Jamaal’s improvement has really helped us lately. He’s been taking, andhitting, good shots. He had some distractions earlier this year, but nowhe’s focused on the game. He knows he can make an impact in the game.”
On UK’s road play
“I think we play well on the road because of the lack of distractions.We’re able to focus on basketball. There are no extrinsic factors, likepeople patting you on the back and telling you how great you are, todistract us.”
PLAYER QUOTES
#11 Saul Smith
Sophomore/Guard
(On Florida’s running style offense…)
“It’s fun to play against Florida’s offense. They have guys that pull up>from 25 feet out and hit shots. Our defense has to stay alert, because theyhave a lot of good shooters. We go against the press so much in practice.We know we’ll be ready for it.”
(On the win against Florida earlier in the season…)
“I think we caught them when they were young and inexperienced. They’vebeen through half of a SEC season now. They’ll be hungry. We know it’sgoing to be a battle on their home court.”
“Florida’s only a game behind us now in the SEC east. That’s enoughmotivation for me. I know the crowd will be hyped. They’ve got a greatcoach in Billy Donovan. I don’t think it will be hard for us to getmotivated for this game.”
(On the heckling fans…)
“It’s something that’s expected. I don’t worry about it. It’s actually funsometimes to sit back and listen to them. They can’t dictate the outcome,so I just go out and play the game.”
#42 Jamaal Magloire
Junior/Center
“It’s going to be a tough game. We have to give them credit. They workhard and they are a very good team. We have to go in there and play hardand stay focused in order to win the game.”
“I think we are a much better team right now than we were the first time weplayed Florida. We have been playing better and better in practices and ingames. That is what we need to do in order to make a serious run atanother championship. I think our confidence level and maturity levelcontinues to rise and we are becoming more and more comfortable as a team.”
(On the Florida crowd)
“I like that type of atmosphere. I love to play in a physical and excitingenvironment. When the crowd is into the game, it gets me going. You hearthem before the game, but once the game starts, the only thing that mattersis what is going on out on the playing floor. Those type of games willonly help us get better before we enter the last stretch of our schedule.”
#34 Scott Padgett
Senior/Forward
“I think that through the course of the season we have proven that we canplay both the half-court game as well as the full-court game. We are morethan suited to play the running game. Offensively it is more fun to play arunning game but defensively, it is more tiring. I feel like we can playany type of game the other team throws at us.”
“I enjoy hecklers! I laugh at them during shoot-around. I’ll laugh if whatthey’re saying is funny, even if it is about me. I completely block themout during the game but in pre game, they help me loosen up and have a goodtime.”
(On closing out his senior season)
“When I started out at the beginning of the season, it seems like the endwould never come. Then you turn around and you have seven regular-seasongames left. I know I have to do the little things in order to make theseseven games the best of my career. When you only have a little time left,you had better play hard and enjoy it.”
