November 22, 1998
On the game against Wright State
Sum
“Wright State is a team I’ve been impressed with on film. Theirrecord of 0-3 is not indicative of their talent. They’re a team that has solidpersonnel. We ‘ll have to go up there and be ready to play. I ‘m looking forward tocoaching up there and seeing the fans in the Northern Kentucky and Cincinnatiarea. We’ll have three players returning tomorrow night in Ryan Hogan, JamaalMagloire and Myron Anthony. They’ve had good practices, and everyone’s beenworking extremely hard. We have no injuries to speak of. Other than some bumpsand bruises from the last game, we’re pretty healthy.”
On the impact of the three returning players
Sum
“Jamaal Magloire is a guy who has started in the past. With hisinside strength, rebounding and defense, he’ll be a big help to us. We’ll be alot better with the three of them. Now we’ll have two players at each positionwho are very solid and very strong. With Ryan Hogan, we can use his outsideshooting. He is the best shooter on the team. Myron Anthony brings a lot ofversatility. At 6-7, he can do a lot of different things.”
On the impact Magloire’s return will have on Jules Camara
Sum
“He’s out of position at the five-spot, anyway. He’ll back up ScottPadgett, where his natural position is. He’s more of a power forward to a smallforward, but he could play some five. He’ll be playing quite a bit because he’sathletic and mature enough to play.”
On the Puerto Rico trip
Sum
“It’s a schedule I know will be tough, but our kids are excited aboutthis opportunity. Coming back and playing in the Great Eight right after thatwill be a tough challenge as well. The travel shouldn’t affect us physically. Theonly thing that will affect us is the amount of minutes people will have. But weshould be able to keep people fresh throughout this swing.”
On the line-up
Sum
“I’m confident in all our players. It depends on what the situationcalls for. It may call for better rebounding, pressing or better movement in ouroffense. Different players bring different things to the team.”
On Jamaal Magloire
Sum “He’s always played with a lot of enthusiasm and aggressiveness. He’s learnedto play without fouling as much. He’s also improved his ability to get the balldeep in the post, and not dribble the ball or put it on the floor. His ability toscore inside has been a pleasant surprise so far.”
On UK’s free throw shooting
Sum
“I feel better about it. We’re getting up about 100 to 150 freethrows a day. Throughout the course of practice, we stop and shoot free throws.We try to make 80 percent of them. Everybody shoots a one and one, so that puts alot of pressure on the individual players as well as the team. If they don’t get80 percent, they run. It’s different during the course of a game. You try tosimulate that in practice. But you’ve got to make 70 percent of free throws, orat least 65 percent. Our first two games were blow-outs and we still couldn’tmake them. When the game is tight, that’s where I get really concerned. If youcan’t make them when you’re ahead’ how can you make them when it’s close? We justcan’t tolerate that.”
On Jules Camara and Tayshaun Prince
Sum
“Jules Camara has really shown he is capable of contributing andplaying in this program. His ability to understand the game is unbelievable,considering he,s only been playing basketball in the States for two years. Hisquickness on the floor, his jumping ability and his soft hands are wonderful.Also, his demeanor and personality draw the other players to him. He’s a fun’outgoing type of kid. His biggest asset is his defense and his ability to guardpeople in the high post and all over the court. Tayshaun is our leadingthree-point shooter. Scott Padgett and Saul Smith are not shooting as well fromthree-point range. Tayshaun’s ability to recognize what needs to be done on thecourt shows maturity and versatility way beyond his years. That’s why you’ll seehim in the game quite a bit. He’ll be playing multiple positions. I’ve been moreimpressed with his ability to guard people on the perimeter than anything else hehas done.”
On the Puerto Rico trip
Sum
“It will tell me who has the endurance and stamina to handle threegames in a row. It will be critical to go back and see where we areconditioning-wise. I expect the seniors Heshimu Evans, Scott Padgett and WayneTurner to be the most effective, because they have been through it enough times.The sophomores Saul Smith, Ryan Hogan, Myron Anthony and Michael Bradley haveexperienced it also, having played in the Maui tournament last year and the SECTournament. Those are things that you can learn from and gauge where your playersare physically.”
