Feb. 22, 2002
LEXINGTON, Ky. –
Tubby Smith Quotes
Pre-Arkansas Press Conference
Feb. 22, 2002
“The first thing we need to address is the incident that happened last night with Gerald Fitch and Erik Daniels, two of our players who were cited for having fake ID’s at a club here. Because of this forgery and because of this act, they will be suspended from the game tomorrow and indefinitely. They will be evaluated. We’ve had quite a few distractions, and it’s one that I hate to see. I know with young people, this might be something that others can get away with, but it will not be tolerated in our program. There have been a few things that have come up and some of the things have been very disturbing, especially after Gerald had been suspended from the game on Tuesday.”
“I’ve talked to each player, and I’ve talked to their parents. They understand the consequences and there may be further punishment involved. I’m not sure if it involved alcohol, and that’s something that we’re going to find out. In talking with them, they said it didn’t. I have to get the report and see if that’s the case or not.”
“They’ll be in counseling and there will probably be some other things that they’ll have to do to be reinstated to the team.”
“It means that other players will have to step up. It’s an opportunity for other players to get playing time and contribute against a team like Arkansas, who likes to get the ball up and down the court. It puts us at a disadvantage without Gerald and Erik. We’ll have to have our bench personnel really raise their level of play. Arkansas is coming off a very good win against Alabama, a team that they destroyed defensively.”
“I said I wouldn’t tolerate any more distractions. That’s why I said indefinitely. It’s time I make some decisions about their long-term future with the program.”
“Erik has played six and four minutes in the last two games and Gerald didn’t play in the last game and we won. It means somebody else will get those minutes and it creates an opportunity for somebody like Chuck (Hayes), obviously Josh (Carrier) and Jules (Camara), who played extremely well last night. We have 14 players on the team, and those are just two.”
On his control of the program and whether the players aren’t listening anymore…
“That’s what I’m questioning. That’s why they are suspended indefinitely. I’ve said all along that we’ll be evaluating everyone who is involved with the program and why these incidents continue to occur. We will address those and will have to look within first. We have curfew and all those things implemented and when you do things like this beyond the curfew then it’s a problem.”
On the court…
“We may have problems with consistency but the effort has been there. If we weren’t giving an effort we would have been blown out in most of those games we lost. So, I never felt like we didn’t give an effort. I said all along, I think we have a very immature group. The ’98 team had two fifth-year players, and the next year we had two fifth-year players and the next group was old, one of the oldest groups I’ve coached. We can’t seem to get old with this group. I know I’m getting older, but I don’t know if they are. “
On the players attempting to use fake ID’s in Lexington…
“It shows you how smart they are. That’s our problem. Maybe we need to check their GPAs better…SAT scores.”
On his “one more distraction and we’re done” comment…
“I hope I didn’t paint myself into the corner. Every incident is different and I think you weigh the magnitude of each incident. Now that you ask me, I was talking about fighting and that type of disruption.”
“You know that they have issues. And you have young people who you know are going to have distractions and make mistakes. It’s like mistakes on the basketball court. You can’t take them out for every mistake they make on the basketball court, but you come back and evaluate the tape and figure out how to fix things.”
“I’ve talked about the leadership from the beginning of the year – about how we’ve needed strong leadership from within the team. I think for the most part in J.P. and Tayshaun we have good leaders, but on J.P.’s behalf, he was gone for six weeks. Anything that could occur, did occur, from lost time on the court to incidents that happened over the Christmas holiday. I think all those things are things that will affect our student-athletes in another way. I know where their heart is, they want to play basketball. But they can’t have their cake and eat it too. They can’t be regular students. Well, they can be if they do what they are supposed to do. Nobody should be able to have a fake ID.”
“That’s our biggest concern. How are you going to figure out a way to win the game, keep them motivated and focused when their teammates, who are like family are being punished again and hurting the team because they aren’t there? That shows a real lack of respect for their teammates and for me and the program when they do that. That’s what is disappointing, because they are very good kids. It’s not like they are bad people, they just did a bad, bad thing.”
On the Tennessee game…
“I thought Chuck and Jules really just carried us the entire game. J.P. gave us a big lift. That’s what we need from those guys who weren’t playing as much earlier in the year. J.P. is really coming on, he’s feeling more confident about his wrists. If we can get Keith to be Keith, to be the type of player we know he’s capable of being, then we’ll be fine.”
On Keith Bogans…
“When he’s not making shots, he has a tough time converting. It’s hard for him to forget it and move to the defensive end, to convert from offense to defense. I can read it, his body language will tell me, ‘Coach, I’m not making shots. I’m not focused.’ And usually I’m doing him a favor by taking him out.”
On which Arkansas lineup he feels they should prepare for…
“I’m not sure. They play a little bit differently when they’re on the road. At home, they are more aggressive, pushing the ball and pressing more. But I guess that (Coach Richardson) has seen that we’re without two players and may be thinking ‘Let’s go after them.’ Against Alabama they slowed it up, made them play half court and go 4-for-33 in the first half and 25.0% for the game. They are capable of beating us and making us play poorly if we don’t execute and take care of the basketball. That’s their whole thing is to force turnovers and wear you down. With a limited bench, that can be a real concern.”
“Arkansas has very good ball-handlers throughout their bench, and he’ll play 14 guys. Everybody plays and all of them seem to be skilled at handling the ball, penetrating, shooting the jumper, attacking the basket and just running all out. I know they are playing with a purpose because they’ve struggled this year. Two of their league wins are against Florida and Alabama, so we know they are capable.”
#21 Tayshaun Prince
On the Fitch/Daniels situation…
“I am not sure what exactly happened last night. I don’t know any of the details. It certainly hurts that they are not going to be able to play on Saturday. We need to rally as a team.”
On the players thoughts about Coach Smith…
“This team still has great respect for Coach Smith. Coach Smith still has control of this team. Erik and Gerald just made their decisions without putting the team first.”
#3 J.P. Blevins
On the Fitch/Daniels situation…
“Of course it is a little disappointing because as a team we were just starting to get things together and then something like this happens. It is nothing you can hold against the coaches or the other players, it was a decision that Erik and Gerald made as individuals.”
On the state of the team…
“We need to rally together as a team. We will get back on track and concentrate on the Arkansas game. Everyone will need to step up and fill the void left by Gerald and Erik. If we stay focused, we can continue in the direction we were moving after the Tennessee game.”
On the fans…
“Growing up in Kentucky, I know how disappointing this could be for the fans. I realize how much Kentucky basketball means to them. You just have to make the best out of every situation and learn from it.”
