UK Coach Tubby Smith & Player Quotes
Pre-LSU Press Conference
Feb. 20, 2001
Coach Smith
Opening Statement
“We are very fortunate to be leading the league by two games right now. There are still a lot of games left on the schedule though. The most important thing for us is the next game. We had a good win against a very tough Vanderbilt team. They are very talented but also very young, like us. Again, we struggled to keep the lead and got into some foul trouble down the stretch, but I like the way we handled things.”
“We certainly want to congratulate Tayshaun (Prince) on being named SEC Player of the Week again. He’s probably the hottest player in the country right now if you ask me.”
“We have a tough game ahead with LSU. They have been struggling lately and have lost players like Lamont Roland due to injury. Due to some probationary measures, they don’t have the full compliment of 13 scholarship players. This is a chance for us to solidify our hold as leaders in the SEC East.”
“We’re playing more confidently, but we’re looking to improve our zone offense. I feel like we’ve really got a good balance going on right now. Jason Parker has picked up his play. I like where we are in the polls and appreciate the recognition that we’re getting.”
“We expect to win every game. That’s the type of mentality we want to have. Our players will be hearing a lot about the LSU-Florida game, and we hope that’s enough incentive to get them ready. We are trying to continue our march to win the SEC regular-season title. I’m not really worried about a letdown for this game.”
On whether zone defense has caused UK to lose leads this season
“We’ve shot the ball well all year. If you take the Alabama lead, they didn’t play zone defense, we just made mistakes by fouling. We’ve taken ourselves out of games by putting people on the foul line. We have to learn to play without fouling. That’s our biggest concern.”
“LSU is tough and aggressive. They can throw multiple defenses at you that will keep you off balance and make you think quickly. We have to extend our defense and try to get them in an up-tempo game. They have the type of personnel where they can hurt you if you give them open shots. Obviously they don’t have a lot of depth, so they want to cut the game in half. Our job is to use our bench to our advantage.”
On the condition of Saul Smith
“Saul’s knees looked good in practice yesterday. He sat out of some contact drills in the afternoon. The pain will be there as long as he’s pounding on his knees. It’s something that will need two or three weeks’ rest to heal. Unfortunately, he won’t get that opportunity until after the season is over.”
On the play of Gerald Fitch
“Gerald had a big basket for us against Vanderbilt, and I think his confidence has been a major factor. People will set their defenses against Tayshaun, Keith (Bogans) and Jason (Parker). That’s where he and Saul come into play. Especially Gerald because he can really put the ball on the floor. He’s been the steal of the year as far as I’m concerned with recruiting. He’s definitely a candidate for SEC Freshman of the Year if we finish strong. I don’t know of many freshmen who have meant as much to their team as he has to ours.”
On Tayshaun’s slow start offensively this season
“It was mostly a matter of learning the offense and learning about each other. When Tayshaun was playing at the power forward position, he was learning where his shots were coming from. When we inserted Gerald into the lineup, we were much smaller, which helped Tayshaun create match-up problems for opponents because he moves inside and can shoot his jump-hook over someone. He’s also athletic enough to get his shots from outside. It was merely a matter of being comfortable with one another. He had played with Saul for three years, J.P. (Blevins) for two years and Marvin (Stone) for one. Everyone else was new which presented a whole new learning curve. I appreciate his patience.”
#21 Tayshaun Prince
On being named SEC Player of the Week for the second time in three weeks
”It is just something that comes along when not only me, but when the entire team is playing the way that we are.”
On facing LSU
“We have to approach each game one at a time. LSU hasn’t played the way they are capable of this year. We know that whenever a team plays Kentucky they are going to respond. We’re going to try to avoid a letdown. Were going to come out and play tomorrow’s game like we have played the last few weeks.”
On the ups and downs this season
“People expect the best out of us. I think that is the reason people got down on us really early. We are starting to pick it up and everyone is starting to notice that the team we were earlier in the season has made a big change and has started to play Kentucky basketball.”
On being the team’s leader
“I became comfortable with it after we had a long, tough road trip at the beginning of the SEC season. It was just a matter of the people who had played on the road before to make some adjustments, and I think that was the case for us. We started to play better basketball once we came back home and got a couple of wins and it really helped us when we went on the road again.”
#11 Saul Smith
On 6 a.m. practices
“With practices being so early, we really get back to doing the fundamentals of basketball. We get a lot of individual time to work on jump shots. There is a lot of time when you get to work on yourself. It’s not really a team thing, it’s a matter of you getting better as an individual and then coming back in the afternoon and putting it all together as a team.”
On a possible letdown against LSU
“We can’t have a letdown. Their record does not give them any justice. I think they’re a very good ball club with some good coaching. They have just fallen on some hard times this year, with lack of depth and lack of players. I know Coach Brady personally and he is going to do whatever he can to get his team playing well. They are going to come into Rupp and give us a good game. I really believe that and I hope our team understands that.”
On what to expect from LSU
“They are going to lay it all on the line. They don’t have anything to lose. What better to make their season than to be us, the leading team in the SEC on our home court. We also feel like we have a little payback owed to them because they handed us one last year.”
#4 Gerald Fitch
On remaining poised late in games
“I don’t really let the crowd bother me. I try to remain calm. I think Tayshaun is a big influence on that. He doesn’t panic in close game situations and I try to follow his lead by keeping my composure. I try not to think about the negative parts. I try to focus in on the positive parts like offensive execution and playing good pressure defense.”
#14 Erik Daniels
On UK’s ranking in the polls
“Coach told at our 6 a.m. practice the morning after the rankings came out and I think it got everyone fired up.”
