Coach Tubby Smith Quotes
“I spent this past month winning a gold medal down under, now I’m ready to win a ‘gold medal’ here. I think we have a good nucleus with which to do that.”
“We’ve had some changes in our staff. In addition to adding David Hobbs and Reggie Hanson in the summer, we have now lost George Felton to the Indiana Pacers. With that change, I’ve elevated Reggie to a full-time assistant. That means he’ll be able to go out on the road recruiting. We’re doing this on an interim basis and see how it goes. I think we have an excellent staff, and the work is heavy right now with the changes and so much to do.”
 Freshmen Cliff Hawkins and Cory Sears meet the media for the first time. |
On the current recruiting year:
“I think we’ve got a good beat on a few kids. With the return of Jules Camara next year and most of our front line returning, we’ll be in pretty good shape. Plus, we’ll only be losing one senior going into next season, so that helps.”
“I like what this team is doing right now. They are very enthusiastic and energetic. The coaching staff is doing a great job and has been during individual workouts while I was gone. I’m really impressed with Coach Hobbs and what he’s doing with the guys.”
“We’re looking to be a better shooting team with the addition of Gerald Fitch and Marquis Estill. Also, our other young players are going to help quite a bit. We should get Erik Daniels back in a few weeks from his knee surgery. Matt Heissenbuttel and Cory Sears add good depth on the perimeter. I like what we have going into the season. Cliff Hawkins, who isn’t really known for his outside shooting, is doing much better. With the loss of Camara, we’re lucky have Jason Parker. He’s really physical around the bucket and will provide defensive and offensive pressure inside.”
“Our goal with Marquis is to keep him healthy. With the weight loss he’s gone through this year, his body is still transforming into muscle. Strength coach Tom Boyd has done a great job with him in the weight room.”
“I like what J.P. Blevins is doing in practice right now. He’s our best three-point shooter. He needed to get tougher by taking charge on the floor, going after the loose balls and keeping pressure on the ball handlers. He’s looked impressive over the summer.”
“Keith Bogans lost about 20 pounds during the off-season, which has really helped his quickness. I really think the sky is the limit for him. His shot selection wasn’t too good last season, but with a year of maturity, that has improved. He’s looking excellent in practice and should step up and be a leader for this young team.”
“Todd Tackett is still nursing an injury to his knee. He’s had some problems and setbacks this summer since his surgery. I’ll probably redshirt him, but keep that option open to bring him back if we suffer injuries with our perimeter shooters during the season. He lost a lot of valuable time during the summer and it will probably be beneficial to him to redshirt.”
 Head Coach Tubby Smith |
“Tayshaun Prince was always pretty aggressive when the game was on the line last year. I’d like to have him step it up this season. He had an incredible experience with the USA Junior National Team this summer and that helped him a lot. Whenever you have the chance to play with the top players at your level, it’s going to have an effect on you and your game. It makes you examine where you are at with your play. He’s put on some weight. It may not look that way, but he has. He’s looking to have a great season.”
“Marvin Stone looks to play some quality minutes at the four and five spots, probably starting. You’ll see a much-improved player in Marvin this year. He comes from an excellent coaching background and program in high school and that really comes through in his work ethic.”
“Saul Smith banged his knee yesterday and won’t practice today. I can’t remember the last time he missed practice. It was pretty scary for us because we need his leadership and experience on the floor.”
“We’re playing just as tough a schedule this season, if not tougher. It’s tough to go out and score a lot of points against the caliber of teams we’re playing. When you face the Arizonas, Utahs, Michigan States and Penn States, you’re not going to be able to run the score up. Every night we go out, we have to earn every bucket we get. They just won’t let you run and score. I’d like to say we’ll go out and put the points on the board, but I don’t know.”
“This team is very capable of scoring points and defending people. I’m most concerned about rebounding. When you lose someone like Jamaal Magloire, the leading rebounder in the Southeastern Conference, it’s tough. We’re going to have to look to several people to make a team rebounding effort.”
“I like our team. We’re still young. We’ve lost Desmond Allison and Jules Camara also, and Jules had more experience than all of our post people combined. We’re going to be thrown into the fire quickly with the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. We were able to start quickly with the Preseason NIT last year and get some quality wins under our belt. Twenty-one of our 33 opponents last season went to the NCAA tournament. That says a lot. This year will be tough because of the experience factor. We’ve lost Magloire, Allison and Camara.”
“Our schedule has a lot to do with television. People want to see us play, and that comes with great fan support. We play in some “made-for-TV” games. We don’t mind playing a competitive schedule though. Most of these kids come here because of that.”
“It was tough not only to lose Jules and Desmond, but also Michael Southall. You plan your schedule and a lot around people you have returning. When you lose inside presence, it affects that. But aside from that, I see a lot of improvements in our club.”
On what will make this team a better shooting team:
“I think the goal is to keep people healthy. When you don’t have to put in as many minutes, fatigue doesn’t set in as quickly. When fatigue sets in, you lose your shot. So, if we can keep fresh bodies in the lineup, we’ll be on the right track. With the shooters we have in Saul, J.P., Tayshaun, Keith and the addition of Hawkins and Fitch, we have improved our outside shooting and our understanding of where the shots are coming from. That helps a great deal. “
On what Jason Parker brings to the team:
“Jason is very skilled. He has big hands and is the strongest guy on the team. He’s just as physical as Jamaal inside, just not as great with his shot-blocking ability. Don’t get me wrong; he’s a real threat. He has a really good feel for the game and comes from a great coaching background in high school and at Fork Union. That extra year in prep school has done a great deal for him.”
On the expected contribution of Cliff Hawkins:
“I think Cliff can contribute a lot to this team. He’s talented enough. He’s physical enough. He’s athletic enough. He’s fitting into our system and knowing when to push the ball. He was fortunate to play with so many great athletes at Oak Hill Academy. Many of those kids are playing at top Division I schools and many will go on to play at the next level. I think Cliff will help us immediately. I know he will and I expect him to.”
“Erik Daniels is eager and hungry to get back into practice after he’s recovered from his surgery. He’ll back up Tayshaun at the wing. Once we get his knee strong, he’ll help with strength and depth. He really makes a difference with his offensive presence. He’s 6-8 and still growing. He really needs another year to bulk up and put on some muscle before he can reach his full potential.”
“If I had to pick a starting five right now, I’d go with Tayshaun, Keith, Marvin, Saul and probably Jason Parker. That’s not to say that Marquis couldn’t be starting or J.P. But if I had to go with five right now, that would probably be it.”
On the promotion of Reggie Hanson to assistant coach:
“We didn’t want to bring someone on board and re-establish so many things this late into the year. I guess I’m a traditional guy, and I like people that I know. That’s just me. I like people who are loyal. Reggie is very talented and has already shown a tremendous work ethic. Once he knows the rules and the recruiting handbook, we’ll see what happens. That’s why I called this an interim basis. We’re far enough into the recruiting year now, that bringing in someone new who knew all of that wouldn’t make a difference.”
On his views of the UK Student-Athlete Alcohol Policy:
“I really feel like this has to be a case-by-case policy. When you have a carte blanche policy, there are going to be some problems. For example, Jules had never been in trouble before, though a DUI charge is a serious offense. We know why the policy was put into effect. After the death of two students, Coach Newton knew we had to do something. I’m concerned about the harshness of the policy on student-athletes alone. As a coach for more than 25 years, I feel like I have a pretty good record of disciplining kids. We’ve had a few incidents in the last few years tainting that, and that’s been a concern of mine. Most of us don’t have our own selves under control, which makes it hard to control others.”
On how to prepare freshmen to play at this level:
“None of our new players ever had to play in front of 24,000 people. We play in hostile arenas every night. There is not another college program that is more pulled against on the road than Kentucky. Even Bogans, who played at Dematha High School – one of the toughest and most competitive schools in the country — couldn’t have been prepared for this. Experience teaches these kids. We try to discipline them in practice so that they can execute under pressure.”
