Feb. 12, 2002
Head Coach Tubby Smith
“As we prepare for Vanderbilt, we have been trying to get our guys to do a better job of communicating and working together. Vanderbilt does a good job of running a lot of back doors, they do a good job of spreading you and they have excellent outside shooting ability. Brandon Plavich, Jason Holwerda and Chuck Moore are all very talented players and are shooting the three’s very well. “
“Vanderbilt runs a lot of back door plays, which can be very good and effective. We need to stay fundamentally sound against them. No one else we play is using that style. It is hard to get used to.”
“One of the things we need to do is take care of the ball better. I thought in the game against LSU we only had two turnovers in the first half, then we ended up turning it over 11 times in the second half. We have been getting our guys to cut back on turnovers, as well as getting the ball out and getting some easy looks in transition. That is something we have been stressing to our players.”
On Fitch…
“We need him to be more aggressive and look for his shots more, which he is starting to do. He is playing the best of anyone on our team in conference play. He has scored in double figures the last eight of 10 games and he has been the most consistent guy we have had in conference play.”
On Prince…
“Tayshaun is still the guy who is going to be consistent. What he gives you is going to be consistent on both ends of the court defensively and offensively. I have been more impressed with how he has played defensively more so than offensively. I have been concerned with his free-throw shooting. He led the league in free throw shooting last season and now he is only about 61% in the league. We have tried to get him rest, but you go into overtime and have to play him. I think he has had a fair season, but not the season he had last year.”
“If we can get our guys to take care of the ball a little better so we can get more shots, we will be better off. Looking at turnovers, we only have two more assists than we do turnovers. We have taken some tough shots, we have had some people take some bad shots, and that is like a turnover also.”
On Fitch and Hawkins…
“I think they both see a need to step up and be more aggressive. They are well respected by all the players. They give just a consistent an effort as anybody does day in and day out. Cliff has stepped up because he is a point guard and felt the need to be a leader and Gerald has because he has played some point too. I think they just felt like they needed to be more vocal. I think they have been playing pretty well and have built a lot more confidence. You can step up and be a leader when you are playing with confidence.”
Tayshaun Prince
On the year so far…
“I am having a ridiculous amount of fun. Our predicament is not fun, but this is what college basketball is all about. Everybody expects a better team than what we have been so far, but for the most part it is still fun.”
On the team’s expectations…
“We expect the same as everyone else expects. We know the fans have a lot of expectations. However, there is still a lot of season left for us.”
On the team’s consistency…
“We haven’t been as consistent so far in doing what we were supposed to do. We all have to be on the same page to get to where we want to go – winning a national championship.”
Keith Bogans
On the LSU game…
“I tend to let things roll off my back. I didn’t play in the second half and I have put it behind me. It was the coach’s decision and I can deal with it. Right now, I am just looking forward to the Vanderbilt game.”
Chuck Hayes
On the state of the team…
“We are all beat up with aches and pains, but we feel prepared to finish out the season strong. We feel lucky that some of the other SEC teams were dealt losses last week and that we are back in the thick of things. Someone up there is smiling on us because we have had our chances and missed them. Now we’ve got another opportunity.”
On what it takes for this team to win…”We have to get excited and we have to start clicking again. When we start playing like we know we can, we are going to be tough to handle. We have to have the attitude that we don’t want to give any team we are facing any breathing room.”
On the media’s speculation…”This team is doing fine. Everyone else is on the outside looking in and it is all merely speculation.”
Gerald Fitch
On the team’s attitude…
“We want to win games. Basketball is fun when you are winning. When you are winning everyone is happy. Earlier in the season we were playing great and it was fun. We want to get back to that.”
On the team’s recent play…
“We played well at LSU, but we are still upset about recent losses and the fashion in which the games were lost. The win eases us a little, but we want to play to our level every game.”
On the Vanderbilt game…
“Vanderbilt is no doubt going to come in here and bring their ‘A’ game. We have to be prepared because they are a great shooting team and they play hard.”
