March 5, 2000

Question 1 Rick Armstrong
Florida used the whole court to defense KY most of the game. This is thedefense that KY successfully used during the 3 year final four run. Thelast 3 years KY strayed away from this strategy (except with Tennessee thehalf court traps were fun to watch). The half court game seems to be KY’sstrategy these days. Will you ever go back to a full court press strategy?

Coach Smith –
We’ve pressed full court every year since I’ve been here. We just don’ttrap as much out of it as other teams do. And this year, with a shorterbench and poor shooting, we haven’t had the opportunity to do it as much.

Question 2 Todd Walters
Its obvious that we missed Camara against Florida.. What is the main concerngoing into the second half into the conference schedule and into March? Inother words what areas do we need to improve on?

Coach Smith –
My main concern is our shooting. And probably our defensive intensity. Ifwe can improve in both of those areas heading into March, we’ll be OK.

Question 3 Andre G. Spencer
Do you find that you vary your approach to a game depending on the intervalbetween scheduled games, the stage of the season the game takes place in, orwhether the game is a conference contest or not?

Coach Smith –
Oh sure. Not so much for the time of the season or if its a conferencegame, but when we’re playing in tournaments, we do a lot more film work andless practice since there’s not much time to prepare.

Question 4 D. Cochran
Firstly, I would like to say that you are doing a great job at UK.

With all these other SEC teams trying to make a run at us this year (andtheir fans), what do you tell the team to helpthem to take the fans out of the game, when we play at rowdy arenas such asTenn,Florida, and Auburn where fans can be downright nasty?

Coach Smith –
Thanks for the compliment. When we’re on the road, I try to be more vocalso my team is listening to me, not the crowd. They can always recognize myvoice, no matter how loud it may get.

Question 5 Eileen Robles
How do you feel (overall) about how your team has played this season out, sofar?

Coach Smith –
I think we’ve played great. With the losses we’ve suffered in theoffseason — John Stewart, the transfers — and with a lot of fans wantingto give up on us after a 4-4 start, I think we’ve played great.

Question 6 Andy Baldridge C.
What do you look for in a high school player?

Coach Smith –
Coachability. We can handle everything else if the player is coachable.Because if we’re recruiting him, he has the skills to play at Kentucky.

Question 7 Timothy Steele D.
I have two questions for you, first of all I saw on ESPN news that there’s arumor the Atlanta Hawks are interested in having you replace Lenny Wilkins,do you have any interest in going to the NBA? My second question has to dowith one of my favorite players Jules Camara, I felt Jules was playing hisbest basketball of the year before he got hurt do you think he will be ableto get back to 100% this year? I think your the best coach in basketball,thanks for all you do for Kentucky basketball both on and of the court.

Coach Smith –
For your first question, no. I’m the UK coach… its’ the best programin the nation. I couldn’t be happier here. Jules is fine and it’s good tosee him playing his best basketball.

Question 8 Benjamin Burkley M.
Running an isolation for a scorer like Bogans, for instance, creating a1-on-1 matchup, seems to be a simple and effective way to score points. Whydoes this seldom occur in the college game?

Coach Smith –
We don’t have NBA rules. We play against zones and sagging man defenses.In the pros, you can’t cheat off your men and the isolation plays areeffective. They just don’t work in the college game.

Question 10 Marcus Kincaid
Will Marvin Stone play more power forward in the future if we are fortunateenough to land a quality center for the upcoming year? He seems to be moresuited to play the four position as opposed to the five position.

Coach Smith –
He probably will play more at the four because he can play so well atthe high post. He’s developed an outside shot and he’s an excellent passer.And with Marquis Estill and Michael Southall coming on board next season,he’ll have the opportunity to play that position. But he’ll still play somefive as well.