January 8, 1999

Opening Statement:

“We’ve been busy working on the things we didn’t do well against South Carolina. I felt like South Carolina really raised their level in the second half. When you have a great player like B.J. McKie, he can get you back into a game all by himself. I just thought they were really energized. On the other hand, I felt like we really lacked intensity in the second half. You have to give credit to South Carolina, though, for they way they played. I am disappointed with our finish – taking care of the ball, missing free throws. Those are thing you have to do to win on the road.”

On the Vandy game:

“Vandy is always a tough place to play. We were fortunate to win a game there last year on a last second shot by Nazr Mohammed, but unfortunately, he’s not available this year. Vandy has a strong perimeter game, they shoot they ball very well, and their match-up zone can create problems. We’ll have to be patient and play one of our better games to win.”

On UK’s new lineup:

“I think our new lineup gives us balance. Vandy is a very quick team, so we’ll have to see how we match up. But our guys have been playing well together, so we’ll probably stick with the bigger lineup. That’s our best group right now.”

On Jamaal Magloire:

“Jamaal has been much more patient as a starter. He’s not rushing anything and he’s getting more minutes as a starter. Starting helps the big guys because they’re able to get loose during warm-ups and not have to go sit on the bench. Having another post, like Michael Bradley, helps, too. Defenses can’t double both of them. That enables him to have more consistency. He’s also getting older, which makes him more experienced. He’s rebounding well, blocking shots and playing good defense.”

On UK’s attack:

“We are trying to be more balanced. If you’re strong in only one area, teams can shut you down. That’s why we need to be strong in both areas.”