Kentucky Coach Tubby Smith
“This was a good win for us. We need to protect our home court and that iswhat we did.”
“Our kids were really focused tonight and came ready to play. They playedwith a lot of poise and were patient early when the game was going back andforth. I thought it really gave us some momentum when Keith (Bogans)knocked down those threes.”
“I thought our defensive intensity was excellent all night. They shot thethrees well, but we also hit a number of them too so I think we pretty muchneutralized what they did from the outside. Our full-court, man-to-manpressure allowed us to stay with them. They beat us a couple times, but Iwas pleased with our overall team defense.”
“I thought our rebounding was a real key tonight. We crashed the boardswell all night and that showed in our advantage on the glass. Tayshaun(Prince) stepped up for us again in the clutch and hit some big shots forus. Desmond (Allison) had five assists and no turnovers and played a realsolid game. Saul (Smith) did real well in penetration and helping otherguys get open.”
“Desmond didn’t shoot the ball well tonight (2-of-10 from the field), buthe played a great floor game. He moves well without the ball and along withSaul, are our best players at setting screens. Their penetrating andscreens allowed Keith to get the open looks. He did well to knock them downtonight.”
“We coach this team to be balanced and not a one man team. That showedtonight. They did a fair job on Jamaal (Magloire) tonight, but he tookhimself out of the game with the fouls. We have a number of guys who canscore, but who know their roles.
Tennessee Coach Jerry Green
On giving UK the three-point shot:
“We were not giving up the three point shot purposely. We were playing whatwe call ‘halfway-all the way’ to get back in it. They just shot the ballreally well from the outside.”
On the play of UK’s Keith Bogans:
“He is very good. I thought he was driving it to the hole and shooting itfrom the outside well. He had good looks and they were patient on offense.They did a great job of getting the ball to him. I thought he played asgood as on any film we watched of them.”
On UK’s offensive success:
“They were shooting the ball from the outside so good. The other thing theydid well was put it on the floor. They did a great job of drawing fouls andgetting to the free-throw line.”
On the matchup between C.J. Black and Jamaal Magloire:
“There was so much publicity in the paper, and it was all over the place. Iknew how the game was going to go as soon as it started. C.J. got a coupleof fouls, and we played a lot of the basketball game without him.”
On the technical foul called on him:
“I thought we were getting bumped outside a little too much and the refereethought I was being a little too aggressive on the sideline.”
Kentucky Players
#11 Saul Smith
On the play of Tayshaun Prince?
“Tayshaun was big-time tonight. He stepped up and made big plays. He is agood player and he gets shots up when he needs to. Tayshaun Prince is justa great player.”
On Jamaal’s low scoring game?
“There were three guys trying to stop Jamaal. Even though he didn’t scoreas many points as usual, he showed up in other ways. He rebounded andplayed defense well. Jamaal always plays big in some way.”
#32 Desmond Allison
On the confidence this win gives the team?
“This game gave us a great boost of confidence. We played a great Tennesseeteam tonight. This is a big win for us. We played well tonight and playinglike this, it will be tough for any team to beat us.”
On the play of Keith Bogans?
“Keith amazes me everyday. He got out of a slump and played well tonight. Ihave only seen him make shots after practice like the ones he made tonight.He was on fire. Now everyone will be aware that he is a big-time player anda great shooter.”
#21 Tayshaun Prince
On the game tonight?
“This was a good win for us. It really helped us out to get off to a goodstart. The Tennessee team is a very good team. However, we were thebetter team tonight. The sign of a great team is to hold onto a lead andto make good baskets. We were a great team tonight.”
#10 Keith Bogans
“We were off to a slow start this season, but we have won 13 games. We arehaving a lot of fun.”
“I hit my first shot. Then I hit my next two and I was still confident.It seemed like everything was falling.”
“I wanted to come in and have a big game against Tennessee. We lost twotimes to them last year. It went well for me early.”
On Kentucky’s defense?
“In these games, we need to keep the intensity for 40 minutes and that’swhat we did.”
On his role?
“The main thing was to come out and do what the coaches expect of me. Ihad a learning role on the team, learn the offensive and defensivestrategies. At first, it was tough. I was anxious and not patient.Playing at DeMatha was like a step below Kentucky. There is toughcompetition and you are expected to win day-in and day-out.”
“I am going to do everything to help this team win. I have always had atake charge attitude. If you put the ball in my hand, I will always takethe winning shot.”
#42 Jamaal Magloire
On the team’s character?
“I have been saying all year that each person steps up each game and doeswell.”
“I think Keith (Bogans) did a spectacular job. Every time we went to him,he had a big shot.”
Tennessee Player
#22 Vincent Yarbrough, F
On when they knew they were out of the game?
“We have a never-say-die spirit, so we thought up until the last secondthat we would win. We came in here expecting to win.”
On playing in Rupp Arena?
“It’s one of the toughest arenas to play in the country. It is always toughto play here.”
On the fans chanting “overrated”?
“Kentucky was the best team tonight. We’re No. 9 and they are No. 14, butthey won. So I guess they were right tonight.”
On emotions in the game?
“I feel they had a little more emotion tonight. We beat this team twicelast year. That is incentive, so they were ready.”
