UK Coach Tubby Smith
On Arkansas:
“You’ve got to compliment Arkansas. They played extremely hard and I thought they had a great game plan that they executed extremely well. We had trouble guarding the guy off the dribble and they hurt us when they penetrated and pitched it out. Overall though I thought we settled down over the game and did better stopping the three. They made six in the first half, but only three in the second. We kept them off the free throw line, but they also did a good job defensively and that’s obvious because we didn’t knock down our shots with any consistency.”
“They are a skilled team. They are quick and athletic so they could do some damage to a lot of teams, but they are just young. We have experience in guys like Jamaal so I think that was a big key to the game.”
“Jamaal (Magloire) played extremely well and made those key free throws down the stretch when we were struggling. To dominate the boards like we did was a real key, but the biggest thing was that we got good balance from Jamaal, Tayshaun (Prince) and Keith (Bogans).”
“We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well and it took a lot of energy out of our starters to play in the half court. We did a good job of containing their shooters, we just didn’t shoot the ball particularly well ourselves. We had good shots though, I thought Jules (Camara) had great looks in the first half and Saul (Smith) had some wide-open looks. Thankfully for us J.P. (Blevins) hit some big shots for us.”
On Arkansas’ Joe Johnson:
“Johnson is a talented player. He is athletic so we tried to keep him off balance and that was a big help because one-on-one he is pretty good.”
On UK’s poor free throw shooting:
“Our goal for every game is 80-percent and we obviously shot much more poorly than that and didn’t make a lot of free throws. If we had made more free throws we would have had a much wider, much more comfortable lead. We have been shooting well, but we’ll look at the tape to see if it is something mechanical that we can work on.”
“Teams are going to play zone and they did a good job of running the zone. We’re not going to get many transition baskets when they are running the zone so we are going to see that a lot.”
“Our shooting has been up-and-down all year long so until we start shooting consistently well, we are going to have to answer those questions. We play good defense and play unselfishly, all the things that it takes to be a championship team, but we just need to get the shots to fall. We had good looks, they are just falling short.”
Arkansas Coach Nolan Richardson:
“We have to congratulate Kentucky. It was a great, great basketball game. (Jamaal) Magloire hitting those four free throws, that is what a senior has to do. Next year you will be seeing him on television everyday. Magloire is an NBA prospect. I think one of the key plays was when they had eight seconds left on the clock, and Smith hit the (jumper). That was a big play and may have been the difference in the game. I am real proud of our kids. We executed well and played good defense. The place where we were very weak was in the board department. Other than that, our kids played a solid game.”
“We are very young. We have had some problems. And Tubby has had problems at Kentucky. But I am enjoying coaching more so than I ever have because I am coaching a bunch of puppies. And I can see these puppies grow up. When they grow up they will begin to look around. My puppies are beginning to look around.”
On whether Kentucky is a tournament team:
“I think so. You have to make shots. The kid makes a big shot. It’s all about making a shot, a big play. I think Kentucky has that capability.”
On Keith Bogans:
“Bogans came up big. He is a very strong player. I didn’t realize he was that strong. He must have been their leading scorer because it seemed like every time they needed something he came away with the basket. He really stepped up big in this game.”
On the free-throw discrepancy:
“When a team shoots 32 free throws and hit 18, and we shoot seven and two of those are technicals, there is the game right there. We can’t beat anybody on the road when that happens. We still were able to keep it close.”
On his players being in Rupp for the first time:
“Rupp Arena and Kentucky basketball, that is basketball. Kentucky fans are very smart. Basketball has always been big, big time here. I felt we quieted the crowd. We only have two kids who have ever played here. This is college basketball at its best. Basketball is important to these two schools.”
UK Player Quotes
#11 Saul Smith
“Every shot I took today looked good and felt good to me. A few even went in and just popped right back out. It’s just a matter of getting ready to shoot and knocking them down.”
“Going down to Mississippi State, we have to play better than we did today. We haven’t played well in six or seven games. We don’t have much fun when we’re not playing well. The crowd was good today, but we won’t have that luxury next time.”
#42 Jamaal Magloire
“I think our team is headed on the right track. It’s going to take a lot to step it up, but if we come with a total team effort and capitalize, we can continue to win games.”
(On the play of Bogans)
“Keith played extremely well today. He shot the ball well, had a lot of steals and did a lot of small things for us.”
(On playing at home)
“I think being at home makes us a little more comfortable. The fan support is great. The mindset of our organization is that we want to win games. It’s definitely a goal of ours to go undefeated at home this season.”
#10 Keith Bogans
“I hit a couple of shots early in the game and got my confidence up. I was just feeling good out there today. In my free time, I’ve been going to the gym to work on my shots. My mental approach is to just try to keep my confidence up. Every shot I take, I think it’s going in.”
“We’ve been shooting well in practice. In games, it’s just not been there for us as a team. Coach says we’re not concentrating on our shooting enough in games. We need to focus more on the goal and hitting our shots.”
(On Magloire’s play at the end of the game)
“That’s just Jamaal’s game. Every time we’re in close games, he wants the ball. He’d probably be mad at you if you didn’t give him the ball. He’s a big-time player.”
Arkansas Player Quotes
#21 Blake Eddins
“I have taken the game winning shot many times in my backyard, but today it just did not fall. It is mind boggling and really hurts that I missed the winning shot.”
“This loss was tough to swallow. We came in and played as hard as we could. It was nice to give Kentucky a good game on their court, but the loss is still hard to take. We must now focus and get ready for Tennessee.”
“Kentucky is a real good team. They are strong at every position, and I expect them to go far in the tournament.”
#24 Joe Johnson
“I don’t think I played very well today. I had six rebounds, but the turnover situation hurt us. It is just part of the game, but I didn’t keep my head up.”
“I think we caught Kentucky on a bad day and we had a bad day as well. Kentucky is a real good ball club, and I want to give them a lot of credit. I think they will go far in the tournament.”
“You can’t ask for a better player than Jamaal Magloire. He had 12 rebounds and that is all he had to do. He has a big body and takes up a lot of space. He scored almost every time he got the ball in his hands.”
