Dec. 22, 1999
Coach Tubby Smith
?I know that C.M. Newton (UK Athletics Director) has just announced hisresignation effective this summer. Certainly he?s a man who has meant a lotto many people, not just those in college basketball or at UK, but aroundthe world. I appreciate all he?s done, especially giving me a chance tocoach at the University of Kentucky. I know he?ll be missed.?
?After reviewing tape from our game against Louisville, I thought we didsome good things. I thought that our players were focused, but Louisvillereally had a tough day shooting the ball. They?re a much better team thanthey showed in that game. We needed a good win, though, heading into ourgame versus Michigan State. It helps build confidence. I think we?regetting better every game in every aspect of our game. But we still need tocontinue to get better. We?ll have to play even better against MichiganState if we hope to win.?
?Michigan State is a veteran team that?s played in some tough games andtough places this year and we expect them to come in very focused. We knowa lot about Coach Izzo and the Spartan team, having lost to them last year.They?re a very physical team and we?ll have to be ready for that. They do alot of things and a lot of things well. They don?t have any weaknesses thatyou can exploit. They have a good inside game and outside game. They?reexperienced and when the game?s on the line, they know what to do.?
On UK?s starting lineup
?Having Keith Bogans in the lineup gives us a different look. He gives usanother ball-handler who can break people down defensively. That?s not tosay that against a physical team like Michigan State that we won?t needmore play from Marvin Stone, Jules Camara or Nate Knight. But I was pleasedwith the way our lineup worked Saturday.?
On UK?s shooting
?I wasn?t surprised that we shot better in Rupp on Saturday. We?ve donebetter there all year, we just haven?t played there much this year. We?veonly played there four times this season.?
On MSU?s defense
?They?re strong and athletic. They have the ability to hold you at bay withtheir strength and force you to go a different direction. They also rotatewell and don?t give up any easy baskets. They gang-rebound and box out well.?
On UK?s strategy against the Spartans
?We?ll need to rebound well and get the ball out in transition. We need toset the tempo and make them work at both ends of the floor. I think it?sgood that we played them last year. You can watch a team on tape andanalyze their play, but Tayshaun (Prince), Jules (Camara), Saul (Smith) andDesmond (Allison) all experienced it first-hand last year. They know thatwe?re telling the truth when we say Michigan State is a physical team.?
UK Player Quotes
#32 Desmond Allison
On last year?s match-up
?They were a tough, hard-nosed team. They like to run up and down the court, but we like that, too. They have a lot of talent, but hopefully we can come out and get some revenge. We?ll have to play a tough game tomorrow night to win.?
On the lineup change
?I liked it. I had a bigger guy on me which gave me the chance to take him off the dribble more.?
?On the team?s confidence
?I think we?re more confident as a team. But beating Louisville by 30 won?t help us tomorrow. We?ll have to come out ready to play a tough game.?
#21 Tayshaun Prince
On last year?s game
?It hurt losing to them last year. We had worked so hard to get to that point and they took it all away. Hopefully we can come out tomorrow with the same intensity that we had to start the game last year and keep it up for the whole game. Last year?s game is over and we can?t change what happened. But we know what we did wrong and what we should have done, and we?ll try to correct those mistakes tomorrow.?
On the team?s new lineup
?It gives us more quickness on the floor and gives us different looks. We?re going to get better each game.?
On C.M. Newton
?He?s meant a lot to this University and this program. He?s gone a great job in a very difficult position. We hope we can give him an early retirement present tomorrow with a win.?
#42 Jamaal Magloire
?With every team you have one or two really physical players. I have the utmost confidence that every member of this team is going to contribute to our effort tomorrow night. We play to win every game. Michigan St. is a great team and a much different team than last year.?
?I think this game is important because we want to win. It will be a good game that could put us back into the polls. I?m excited and motivated for this game. I think that is the mentality of each and every member of this team.?
#3 J.P. Blevins
?I think the revenge factor could play a part in tomorrow?s game. This is going to be a big game and both teams know that. With the two straight years of playing each other, this may turn into a little bit of a rivalry.?
?Offensively, we need to be strong with the ball. They are a tough team on defense and we need to rip through with the ball in order to overcome that. It will also be important for us to avoid screens.?
?I think this game is important because we want to get a little win streak going. Right now we only have one win and we want to build on that. We need to show people that we are capable of putting two games together.?
