Feb. 8, 2002
Tubby Smith
On Saturday’s game…
“We are going to Baton Rouge to try and find a way to win one after coming off a tough loss to Tennessee. We used yesterday’s practice to work on late-game situations and defending a lot of LSU’s offense.”
On Rashaad Carruth…
“Rashaad is being disciplined for a violation of a team rule. We have a curfew set at a certain time and he didn’t make it, so that is basically what happened there. Then yesterday he was not at practice. I think he needed some time, I needed some time, but he will be back in practice today. He will be on the trip with us and available for us for the LSU game.”
On what UK needed to do to win at Tennessee…
“We need people to step up and make plays. We had a number of opportunities to make plays. I was really disappointed in the call on Tayshaun. After looking at the film it wasn’t a walk. I thought it was a walk myself during the game. That’s not to say that cost us the game. We had a number of opportunities to win the game and didn’t. They made the plays.”
On the team’s attitude…
“One of the things we are trying to establish is the killer instinct. Once we get the lead on someone, we need to pull away and play with the same aggressiveness. For that game (Tennessee), I thought we lost some of our aggressiveness coming out of the locker room.”
On the make-up of LSU…
“Even though LSU’s record is not that impressive in the league, they have some talented players on that team.”
On LSU forward Ronald Dupree…
“In Ronald Dupree, they have one of the premier players in the conference. He is a great athlete. He can do a lot of different things. He can shoot the three and put it on the floor. He is about fifth in scoring and third in rebounding in the SEC. It will be another challenge for us to try and contain one of the top players in the SEC.”
On LSU guard Torris Bright…
“In Torris Bright, I think they have an outstanding point guard. He is very physical and strong and that will be a tough match-up for Cliff (Hawkins).”
On Rashaad Carruth’s suspension for the UT game…
“We could have used him a lot (against Tennessee). That was disappointing because he was playing great. He was finally getting his mobility back. We have standards and rules and he has to abide by them.”
Tayshaun Prince
On finding a killer instinct…
“Of course it takes a while to develop. I thought in the Tennessee game, the play we ran at the end of regulation to get Gerald (Fitch) the three-pointer was a great play. What we’ve been doing in practice is to work on finding other options when it’s time to make certain plays because we know that teams are going to be expecting me to get the basketball. So we’ve been looking at second and third options in practice so we can be prepared.”
On putting teams away…
“When we come out after halftime, we need to come out like it’s the beginning of the game. We need to stay consistent and play the same way each game. And that’s what we haven’t been doing.”
On Rashaad Carruth…
“We know he could be helping us. We know what he’s capable of when he gets in the games. But at the same time, you have to take care of business off the court as well as on. I’m pretty sure that if he works things out, in three more years he’ll be able to accomplish whatever he wants. It’s just about being patient.”
J.P. Blevins
On the LSU game…
“This is a big game. We need to go down there and give a good effort to come out with a win. They are going to be up for this game and we have to rise to the occasion. In the Southeastern Conference, teams get psyched up because they want to beat the University of Kentucky. We can’t let that happen.”
Keith Bogans
On the LSU game…
“We are going to have to go down to LSU and play a great game. We have to fight our way back to the top of the conference with our backs against the wall. Things aren’t how we expected them to be, but we have to deal with it.”
On his recent play…
“It doesn’t bother me to not score. I just want to play my game and do the little things right. I don’t need to score, I just need to do the things that help this team win.”
On keeping an early lead…
“We need to learn to keep our concentration and bury teams when we are ahead. We know that teams are going to make their runs, we have to counter with our own runs and put them away.”
Gerald Fitch
On their losses…
“The most frustrating part about it is the way we lose. We just give a game away. It isn’t really what they do, it’s what we don’t do or what we let them do.”
On confidence…
“Even though we have a couple of losses, we know what kind of team we’re capable of being. We know that if we stay focused and keep our intensity high, we can come out on top.”
