Jan. 28, 2002
Kentucky at FloridaPregame Press Conference
Coach Tubby Smith
On 64-61 loss to Alabama…
“We were disappointed in our shooting the ball and not really executing at the end in allowing Maurice Williams to get that layup. We also didn’t finish when we had some opportunities to finish close to the basket. We had opportunities that we didn’t take advantage of and it has been that way quite a bit this year.”
On practice…
“We had a good, spirited practice yesterday but we practiced good and were spirited in practice last week as well. I’m anxious to see how we respond against a very good Florida team.”
On Florida…
“They’re a team that is very aggressive. Florida will press, shoot the three and play you very tough on their home court. In Justin Hamilton and Brett Nelson, you have a very strong backcourt and in Matt Bonner and Udonis Haslem, you have two of the best forwards in the country, not just the Southeastern Conference.”
On goals for game…
“Our biggest goal is to just play our game. That means finishing strong when we get the opportunities to do so, beating the press and getting the ball up the court quickly before they get the chance to set their press. We have to get the ball up the court and try to get some easy baskets in transition – something we’ve had trouble doing all season.”
On Florida’s defense…
“They’re a team that likes to change their defenses. They’ve been playing mostly zone, so attacking their zone and handling their traps will be critical. The way you burn teams in those situations is making the shots at the end of the break to loosen their pressure.”
On play of Kentucky…
“We’re a pretty good defensive team. We’re still leading the league in defensive field goal percentage, but our offensive field goal percentage is down and our scoring is down this year. We were leading the league in scoring and we’re still second overall, but in the conference we’re really down and that’s disconcerting.”
On scoring against UF…
“It’s imperative that we get the ball to our guys who shoot in high percentages. We need to get the right people shooting the ball at the right time. Getting it inside is going to be critical as well as shooting for a better percentage.”
On J.P. Blevins playing against UF…
“I’m not sure. He worked out with us yesterday so we’ll have to see how he feels. J.P. has been through the wars, he brings valuable experience to our team and getting him back will help us tremendously.”
On Chuck Hayes and Erik Daniels possibly starting…
“They may start tomorrow. Both have shown the eagerness and given us the energy that we need and they’ve done everything we’ve asked them to do – as well as Marquis Estill. You might see some changes in our lineup.”
On improving scoring…
“We’re doing all we can to try and score. Maybe if we press more, we could get more opportunities. We wanted to press more the other night, but we were not really capitalizing on their turnovers. We were able to get some steals, but we haven’t handled transition passing well all year long. We have to pick up our scoring by improving our play in transition.”
On bringing Josh Carrier in before Rashaad Carruth…
“Rashaad needs to know that we’re going to play the game with or without him, and he has to do the things that are necessary to get him playing time – on and off the court.”
Chuck Hayes
On possibly starting…
“I’m excited in a way, but it helps to show that hard work does pay off sometimes. Coach (Smith) observes how you handle yourself both on and off the court and how you deal with your situations. If he does put me in there, I’ll be ready. If he doesn’t, I will bring energy to the court.”
On what he brings to the team…
“I bring a lot of hustle. I try my best to do the dirty work. I try get the guys pumped up and the crowd into it.”
On the need for UK to win this game…
“We blew a perfectly good opportunity to be tied for first. Now we’re going to a hostile environment, a hostile crowd with a very good team. It’s do or die, really.”
Gerald Fitch
On the overall reaction to playing with the second team in practice yesterday…
“I’m not sure how the rest of them reacted. I know that Keith (Bogans) reacted well. He had the best practice I have ever seen him have since I have been at this school.”
On why he was bumped down to the second team in practice yesterday…
“I was late for the 8 a.m. film session yesterday morning.”
J.P. Blevins
On his status…
“I won’t be playing against Florida. Yesterday was the first day I was able to practice with the guys. I was in a red shirt, kind of like they do with quarterbacks, so my teammates would be careful.”
“I did pretty good. My motion is pretty good but I have to get to a point where I’m comfortable snapping the passes and where it’s not awkward to shoot the ball. I think I’ll be able to do those things by the end of the week so I can play on Saturday.”
On playing in Gainesville…
“It’s the loudest place we play in and the hardest place we play all season. They have a great team on top of the noise, too.”
Rashaad Carruth
On UK’s offensive troubles…
“I don’t think anything’s wrong with it. We’re probably rushing our shots a little bit. We have plenty of people that can score and we play good defense. We just have to be able to make big plays at the end of the game.”
“We’ve been a little tentative at the end of the game. We get the lead at halftime and we kind of slack off a little bit. But I think we’re going to turn that around.”
On what a line-up change can do…
“It can refocus the players. It can make them see that no one’s guaranteed a job. Hopefully we can get it on the right track. We have our back against the wall but we have a lot of heart and we’ll recover from the loss to Alabama.”
Erik Daniels
On his style of game…
“I love to get up and down the court and play a fast-paced game and run up the score. That’s the kind of game I grew up playing and it suits me best.”
On Florida…
“It’s probably one of the loudest arenas we’ll play in. The student section gets into it and it’s real intense. The young guys, who are going down there for the first time, will have to learn to block it out.”
