Jan. 4, 2000
Tubby Smith
“It has been a good holiday for us as far as our players coming together asa team. We are starting to play much better than we played so far thisyear. I think Jamaal Magloire has been a big key in the way he has played,and I want to congratulate him on being named the Southeastern ConferencePlayer of the Week. He has played outstanding basketball.”
“Nate Knight has decided to leave the team, and we want to wish him thebest. He is a player we recruited late last year. I think that a lot ofthings have been going on in his mind, and I hope he can get his lifetogether. I know he’ll be successful in whatever he decides to do. As ateam, we have to move on. It narrows us down to only 10 eligible players.It puts us in a tough situation with only three post players. But this tooshall pass and we will overcome this as we have any adversity that we face.”
On UK’s 70-53 win over Missouri:
“I thought we played well enough to win. I thought our size was a majoradvantage for us. We were able to get the ball inside and do a lot ofdamage. Jamaal had an outstanding game. They are a very talented team. Ithought our perimeter people, especially J.P. Blevins, had an outstandinggame. It was a good team effort and we got good balance scoring.”
On upcoming opponent Georgia Tech:
“They are a very talented team. They have a veteran team returning. TonyAkins is an outstanding point guard and can really break you down off thedribble. He can pull up and shoot the three at any time. Jason Floyd, aplayer I recruited while I was at Georgia, is 6-foot-7 and has excellentrange. They can all shoot the three well, especially their perimeter guys.Jason Collier can shoot outside and is their leading scorer and rebounder.They are shooting 44 % from the floor and have lost four games like us. Itwill be a good matchup for us. Defending their frontline will be a real keybecause Alvin Jones and Jason are very tough inside and are always lookingto score. They do a good job of posting up and everybody looks to get theball inside to them.”
On Jamaal trying to impress NBA scouts:
“I think sometimes players have a tendency to do more when a team isn’tplaying well. They get out of their element of what they do best. He wentback to screening and posting closer to the basket. He is making his freethrows consistently and is going after every rebound and shot with desire.He has to be an anchor for us inside defensively, so it is more of thatthan an eye on the future. He is being more aggressive, because he is doinga better job of posting up. We had a lot of young players, and he is stilllearning how they will get the ball to him and when they’ll get the ball tohim.”
On UK’s post players being challenged by Georgia Tech’s tall frontline:
“They are much taller than Missouri and have two seven-footers in Collierand Jones, Jones being one of the best shot-blockers in the country. Ithink Jamaal is going to have to utilize his jump hook and utilize hissize, as well as Tayshaun, Jules, and Marvin when they are in the game.”
On UK current football players Dennis Johnson and Derek Smith joining theteam due to a lack of depth:
“I think Dennis is going to concentrate on football. I haven’t reallytalked to Coach Mumme about Derek at all. They just finished a bowl game,so they are still in the process of reviewing the team and each player tosee what they have to do to get better. I’m sure once Derek has had thatopportunity, I’d be happy to talk with him.”
On a new player coming and joining the team during the middle of the season:
“It’s tough for any player to come in late. Again, we brought up our lackof depth, which is only 10 guys. Marquis Estill is healthy and practicing,so he gives us that 11th man that we need. We need one of our managers,Kevin Murphy, because we use him frequently when someone is injured or out.He is probably going to have to do it even more now.”
On Jules Camara’s role:
“He is a little bit dissappointed. I think he understands and is a veryunselfish kid. He understands the team concept and what his roles are. Heis contributing everyday and we have a great need for him. You always haveto play your best and to your ability because you never know when anopportunity will present itself.”
On trying to persuade Derek Smith or Dennis Johnson to join the basketballteam:
“I let them make up their own minds. They are here on football scholarshipsand until Derek goes over to talk to Coach Mumme, that’s the way we’llapproach it.”
On Marquis’ effectiveness in practice:
“He is very good. He would be contributing and playing a lot if he washealthy and eligible.”
Player Quotes
#42 Jamaal Magloire
“Georgia Tech is going to be a tough game. Collier and Jones are both very good big men. I?ve had some of my better games against Tech. I?m really looking forward to tomorrow?s game.”
On the departure of UK forward Nate Knight:
“I knew Nate had a lot going on. He thought it would be better to leave and take care of some obligations that he had. We wish him the best of luck in the future.”
“I?m excited to come out real hard and strong. Georgia Tech is a good team with a good coach. Our goal is not to match intensity, but to overcome it.”
#11 Saul Smith
“I suppose we all feel a little bit better to be back in the top 25. I?m not really big on rankings. Rankings don?t really mean anything until the end of the season. That?s when you want to be on top. We just want to be the best team that we can be.”
“Rebounding is going to be really critical for us tomorrow. Playing against a bigger lineup doesn?t differentiate my strategies. It will be to my advantage that they have fewer ballhandlers on the court.”
“We wish Nate the best. I think Nate made the best decision for himself. It?s tough to see one of my teammates leave, but I wish him well.”
#3 J.P. Blevins
On Georgia Tech:
“They have lots of size. They are the biggest team that we have faced so far this year. They have two seven-footers (Alvin Jones, 6-11, and Jason Collier, 7-0) so they will be a big threat inside and they have a good point guard (Tony Akins). They are a good ball club and well-coached, so this game will be a big test for us.
On his recent success:
“I feel good shooting the ball right now. Whenever a shooter is in a good rhythm they feel like they are all going in and that is how I feel right now. I just hope it keeps going that way.”
On Nate Knight leaving the team:
“I feel awful about Nate (Knight) leaving. He was my roommate and a great friend and we will miss him. He just thought it was in his best interest to leave and I wish him well.”
#21 Tayshaun Prince
On Nate Knight leaving the team:
“I was really surprised to hear that he is leaving. I hadn?t heard anything about it. We are kind of shorthanded now, but we just have to look forward and play harder.”
“We are playing good basketball lately. We have beaten some good teams and this is another big game for us. We beat them last year, and heading into the SEC season, we need to do it again.”
