Jan. 21, 2000
Kentucky Men?s Basketball Press Conference
Pre-Vanderbilt
Jan. 21, 2000
Player and Coach Quotes
UK Head Coach Tubby Smith
“Right now we are in the process of making sure our players stay healthy.J.P. Blevins turned his ankle in practice Thursday, but I think he is goingto be okay in practice today. We are trying to make sure we keep guys freshand keep their legs fresh, so we have cut back on the actual practice time.”
On the Ole Miss game:
“I thought we did some good things. At the end, they made some threes thatmade it closer than it really was, but we knew Ole Miss wasn’t going toquit. Sometimes our players have a tendency to think the game is over andall they have to do is mop-up and that was not the case.”
On UK’s upcoming game against Vanderbilt:
“You certainly have to shoot better against a very good Vanderbilt team.Not only is Vandy scoring points and shooting for a higher percentage, butthey are defending very well. In their wins over LSU and Tennessee, theyplayed great defense. We’ll have to try to limit Dan Langhi’s touches likewe did in the first game. They are really getting some balanced scoring outof James Strong along with Atiba Prater. You have to keep them off the freethrow line because they lead the league in free throw shooting. They aredoing a lot of things well.”
On it being a challenge playing Vanderbilt for the second time:
“I don’t think it will be a challenge to motivate our guys because theywitnessed Vandy’s wins over Tennessee and LSU, two teams ranked in the top25 at the time. Anytime you go to Nashville, you have to be ready to play.We have had some success there of late and in the past. For our guys, weknow we didn’t have a very good outing against Ole Miss on Wednesday, so itis a chance for us to prove that we can play better. That is how I amtrying to motivate our guys.”
On the team benches at Memorial Gym being on the endlines:
“Most of the players have played there before. I can see guys like Marvinand Keith maybe having some difficulty, but they probably don’t want tohear me anyway. I don’t see it being a real problem. It is always achallenge as a coach to communicate to your team when they are so far away.When I was at Georgia, I didn’t like it at all. Some coaches that don’tyell loud may have a problem. The raised court probably has more affect onthe players than anything else.”
On the key to UK’s success defending Dan Langhi in the first game this season:
“We used a lot of different people on Langhi and I think that helps. Notjust one guy stopping him, but the team being aware of where he is all ofthe time. You have to force him to play defense as well.”
On both teams making adjustments from the first matchup:
“They made a lot of adjustments in their wins over LSU and Tennessee. We’llhave to make some adjustments from the first time we played them. They aregetting a lot more production out of their bench. Guys like Sam Lekwauwaand Darius Coulibaly, I think they are both playing very well. Sam Howardand Rick Jones are giving them solid play off the bench. I think that iswhat happens as the year goes on the bench of a team improves and guysunderstand their roles. In the LSU game, there were a lot of other peoplestepping up besides Langhi.”
On playing another road game in a hostile environment like Memorial Gym:
“We really haven’t proven we can win on the road except the win at SouthCarolina, so we really need to find a away to execute in crunch time, whichwe really haven’t done yet. The pressure to execute and perform in a closegame wasn’t there at South Carolina. Hopefully, this is a game we can be inand make those plays to give ourselves a chance to win.”
UK Players
#42 Jamaal Magloire
?This game is going to be more of a challenge for us. We?re very excited toface a much different Vanderbilt team tomorrow. We?re facing them on their homecourt where it?s going to be a tough game for us. Vanderbilt is a team that isgoing to come out and play a lot harder than last time. They have been able toexecute a lot better, and they are a team that played very well againstTennessee and Florida. This game will definitely be more of a challenge.?
On the unique setup of Memorial Gym:
?I can always hear Coach, no matter where he is on the floor. I love to hearwhat he?s saying and what plays he?s calling. Vandy has a loud gym, with a muchdifferent setup. It?s an odd way to arrange things, but it works for them. Idon?t really think the setup provides any technical advantage for them.?
?We played so well in the last game because of our execution and the collectiveeffort from all the players on the team. We look to do the same type of thingstomorrow.?
#10 Keith Bogans
?The team is all saying that Vandy is a wild place to play. They always have agood crowd and this will be a big game for us. We just want to go out, playhard and have fun.?
?Last time (we played Vandy) we really stuck to our defensive game plan. Welimited (Dan) Langhi?s touches and kept him from getting good looks at thebasket. Tayshaun really did a good job on him.?
?I?ve just been shooting the ball and trying to not get too down. I know we?llbe shooting better tomorrow. The other night (against Ole Miss) was just one ofthose night?s where the shots didn?t fall.?
#40 Jules Camara
?We know that it will be tough to play at Vandy. We will have to be ready toplay hard for a full game. It will be a great experience. All SEC games aretough, but we must take this game more seriously because Vandy has a good teamthis year.?
?We have to rebound well and play good defense against them again. They alsoshoot well, so the game will be determined by how good our defense is and howwe rebound.?
