Kentucky 56, Utah 48.
UK Coach Tubby Smith Quotes
“Tonight’s game had March-like intensity. Our players showed a lot of poise andcharacter against a good, well-coached team. Utah’s three-pointer just beforethe half was big and seemed to give them some momentum at the half. But we madesome plays down the stretch. I thought Jamaal (Magloire) controlled the middleand I can’t say enough about the maturity Marvin Stone is displaying as afreshman. We just played great team basketball. Everyone stepped up tonight.”
On the tough, early season match-up
“Experience is the best teacher. We learned a lot from an experienced Utah teamtonight. They screen well and make good cuts. We’ll grow up a lot >from thisgame.”
On UK’s halftime adjustments on defense
“We tried to make them switch to other options. Alex Jensen was doing a goodjob of driving to the basket and we wanted to make him play more laterally andnot just moving toward the basket. We pressed more and were able to force 18turnovers, even if we didn’t always capitalize on all of them. We just didn’twant to give up any easy baskets. We still need to be more aggressive ondefense. We switched more in the second half which helped us limit theirlooks.”
On UK’s poise“I thought Jamaal and Saul’s leadership was key. We were able to be patient ondefense and contest shots without fouling.”
On UK’s execution near the end“I’ve never believed in a go-to guy. At this level, it’s a team game. You haveto have guys that can make plays and tonight we really showed that.”
On Utah defensive effort“They’re a very physical team. You can’t make clean cuts off screens and thatreally disrupts your rhythm. They trapped well and limited our pick-and-rollopportunities.”
UK Player Quotes
#24 Marvin Stone
On the pressure of this game
“I knew I just had to play hard and keep my mind in the game. It was a normalgame.”
“Utah is a tough, physical team. I think we came out strong, though.”
“Coach Smith warned us about Utah’s defense. We worked on it in practice andgot ready for it.”
“I am looking forward to traveling. It will be my first time in New York. I amexcited about the semifinals. It’s really a dream come true.”
“It was tough game, but I think we came together as a team. We have to get usedto this kind of game.”
#42 Jamaal Magloire
“I was impressed with the defense and the team as a whole. I was shocked theway we picked it up in order to get the win.”
On the New York trip
“It is going to be hard work on the whole team. We need to get ready for NewYork even though right now we’re not sure whom we play.”
“Coach never told me to stop (the outside) shooting. I think I just need tohave better shot selection. I work hard on shooting along with everyone else.”
“It was a tough game. I compliment Utah. They did a great job boxing out andrebounding. We’ll work on that in practice tomorrow. It just shows that weneed work.”
#21 Tayshaun Prince
On his shot selection
“I didn’t take a lot of jump shots tonight. They really played good perimeterdefense, but I think I showed that I can take it to the hole though, too.”
“They had a strong backcourt. Our key was not to let them have wide-open shotsand to make them drive. We knew they could shoot.”
On the play of Saul Smith
“Saul really takes it upon himself to run this team. He is a leader. He keepsus in the game and keeps our heads up. Saul plays hard all the time, on theoffensive and defensive ends.”
“This was a good test for us. It was tough to play them in the second game ofthe season. Our defensive composure was great though.”
#40 Jules Camara
“They did a great job of setting screens tonight. We really fought throughthem and played good defense.”
#11 Saul Smith
On Utah’s play
“They are a great team and are very well coached. They are fundamentally soundand will be a tough team this year. Playing Utah tells us where we are. Thereis definitely room for improvement.”
“We knocked down free throws and made big defensive stops down the stretch. Ithink it shows the character of this team.”
On his own play
“I’m really working on the turnover situation. I let down the whole team whenI turn the ball over. Tonight, I corrected those mistakes. Coach (Smith) mademe watch film and go over every turnover from the Penn game. It was rough, butit really helped me.”
Utah Coach Rick Majerus
“Kentucky is a heck of a team. They played really hard and deserved to win thegame. I thought we competed well but, we were beaten by a good team. We hadsome good looks but we were a little unnerved by Kentucky’s pressure andathleticism.”
On Utah’s turnovers:
“We had some turnovers where we tried to make some plays, and those wereinexperienced turnovers. We met the enemy and the enemy was us on five of theturnovers. We had spacing difficulties, alignment difficulties, and we hadKentucky difficulties.”
On losing to Kentucky for the fifth straight time:
“I don’t keep track of losses. A loss is a loss. We could lose to Transylvaniaand I’d feel terrible. I don’t ever feel good losing.”
“I thought our defense, for the most part, was excellent. We win with defense.Championships are won with defense. Our offense is way behind right now for amyriad of reasons early in the season. The smartest thing Kentucky did in 1998was call off their press because it was a non-entity.”
On the 1999-00 Wildcats:
“If they can consistently hit the outside shot, they’ll be tough, especially ifMagloire and Camara can hit the outside shot. The whole world wanted Prince.He’s really talented and athletic. Desmond Allison, I think, is a tremendoustalent and an unbelievable athlete. Kentucky is athletic and deep. They’re talland long.”
Utah Players
#32 Jeremy Killion
On the difference of his three-point shot in the first and second halves”I don’t think anything happened. I think my shots came to me in the firsthalf and they just weren’t falling in the second half. I don’t believe I had asmany open looks in the second half as I did in the first half. I was not goingto take bad shots.”
Did you find the game to be more physical than you anticipated?
“No, I expected Kentucky to be physical. They are a tough team and they havestrong guys. We had to be strong with them and we didn’t do that at times.”
#50 Alex Jensen
On going to the basket more in the second half
“In the first half we were tentative. There were times when (Jamaal) Magloireor (Jules) Camara were on me and I settled for the jump shot. In the secondhalf, we tried to take it strong, but obviously it wasn’t enough. We justweren’t aggressive in the first half. In the second half, we got more freethrows from the increased aggressiveness.”
On not getting shots off a few times at the end of the game
“Obviously it was a lack of execution. The seniors were not taking the lead. Inthose situations, you have to get the shot off, and we just didn’t.”
