Feb. 7, 2003
Head Coach Tubby Smith
On preparing for Ole Miss…
“One thing we’ve talked to the team about is – coming off a big win like we had against a very good Florida team – there’s always a concern about how you’re going to respond the next game, but we’ve had very good practices, so I’m pleased with that. We had the day off on Wednesday, which is our normal day off after a Tuesday game, and then we worked on some of what Ole Miss does on Thursday and we’ll do some of that again today.”
On any injuries to the team…
“Erik Daniels has a cyst under his arm. He practiced a little bit yesterday, but I’m not sure if he’s going to be able to practice today or not. I’m not sure what his status is.”
On why this team has been so successful on the road…
“We’ve always performed well on that road. We play the same on the road as we do at home. We practice the same way and keep the same routine. We have experienced players that have been on the road and had success before.”
On how he addressed the possibility of a letdown with his team…
“We talked about how it’s still early (in the season) and it was only one game. It means a lot because it helps you reach your goal, but you have to go to work the next day and you have to perform over and over again. We need to improve every time we step on the basketball court. We had a spirited and focused practice yesterday.”
On how much he is expecting a defensive struggle at Ole Miss…
“That’s what Rod Barnes’ teams do. They are well-coached and very fundamentally sound. His teams are a model of consistency. They’re going to go hard every possession and you have to be ready to match their intensity. Their trademark is in-your-face defense and pressuring the ball. They try to force you out of your offensive sets. They aren’t a team that’s going to press you full-court, but they’re going to press you in the half-court extremely hard. They have a kid like Aaron Harper that’s 6-7 and shoots the three like he does, and they’re getting excellent play out of Trey Pearson, their point guard, and everyone knows how good Justin Reed is -he’s really a talented post player. That creates some issues for us because (Reed) is very mobile and very aggressive around the basket, and our post players seem to have trouble with guys like that.”
On how the Ole Miss style forces you to respond…
“You’re either going to get beat badly or you’re going to respond in a positive way because they’re going to force you to have to pick up your intensity, or you’re going to be severely beaten.”
On what he’ll do if Erik Daniels can’t play tomorrow…
“We have a number of options. We can go bigger with Jules (Camara), we can go quicker with Cliff (Hawkins) or go in between with Antwain (Barbour). There’s a lot of different things we can do.”
On how his team has been able to go on runs late in the first half of the last two games…
“When we insert Cliff (Hawkins) he gives us a big lift with his pressure on the ball. We seem to be energized and pick up the intensity because we’re smaller and quicker at that particular time. Usually the opponent has probably taken out their post men if they aren’t getting production with them, so we have to matchup with a smaller lineup. It’s nothing really planned, but it usually happens and we have the luxury of having the personnel to do that.”
On how the Florida game looked on tape…
“It looked like we played a good defensive game at that point and time. We were making good decisions defensively, being in the right spots and playing hard. We were playing together. We were pretty good, but we still weren’t as good as some people think we were. We probably weren’t as good as some of our players thought we were.”
On if the play of Cliff Hawkins has made it hard to resist starting him…
“No, because we’re playing pretty good with him coming off the bench. There are certain things you have to have. You have to have inside and outside. One reason Marquis (Estill) has been so good is because we’ve stretched the defense with Gerald (Fitch) and Keith (Bogans) shooting it from the outside. When he comes off the bench it makes the opponent make an adjustment.”
On the second-half performance in the last two games…
“We’ve been disappointed in how we’ve had a tendency to lose our focus. Some of it is fatigue – guys play with a lot of adrenaline to get that type of a lead against good teams.”
On the state of basketball in Kentucky, particularly with the two major universities (Kenucky and Louisville) playing so well…
“The two have always been national powers. No one has done it over the span of time at the level of success that Kentucky has. With Rick (Pitino) being back at Louisville it brings a lot of notoriety and recognition to the Louisville program, plus they have the longest winning streak in the country right now and they’re playing extremely well, and we’re playing pretty well. I could see that’s a good story. If I’m a writer I’m writing about it.”
UK PLAYERS
Chuck Hayes, Forward
On the team’s success…
“Life is good right now. We didn’t have a chance to experience it last year, but we’re enjoying it this year.”
On how the team keeps from getting too comfortable…
“We just have to maintain our focus. That comes from us holding each other accountable and the coaching staff making sure we don’t let up.”
On Coach Smith’s attitude…
“He’s doing a good job of maintaining his focus also. He’s really keeping his composure and it’s filtering down to us.”
On the state of the team overall…
“Our offense is really clicking right now. We’re starting to understand the concepts of what Coach Smith is teaching us. We expect to improve a lot between now and March. We’re happy with the way we’re playing, but there is always room for improvement.”
On the possibility forward Erik Daniels not playing…
“That hurts a lot. It always helps to have Erik out there. We’ve seen how much he’s improved and how well he’s playing this year. If we have to go out ther without him, somebody else is just going to have to step up.”
Keith Bogans, Guard
On preparing for Ole Miss after the win over Florida…
“It was a big win. We had a day off, so we had a chance to get it all outof our systems. Then we just began to focus on Ole Miss. We’re lookingforward to each game and each time we get a chance to practice we just wantto work hard and try to get better.”
On Coach Smith’s approach to coaching after Kentucky’s recent success…
“Coach (Smith) hasn’t been doing much talking in practice. We’re just doingit all on our own. He’s correcting some things, but as far as runningpractice, it’s pretty much just us right now. When someone does somethingwrong, he steps in. At this point, everyone knows what it takes to keepwinning games and we remember now what got us here.”
On the possibility of Erik Daniels missing the game…
“He’s such a big part of this team. He does so many little things for us.We’re going to miss him (if he can’t play), but I’m sure there will besomeone ready to step in and fill his shoes. Someone is always ready tostep up. That’s one of the good things about the team this year is ifsomeone is injured or can’t play, you have someone else just waiting for anopportunity.”
Jules Camara, Center
On preparing for Ole Miss after the win over Florida…
“It was a one-day celebration. Now we have to focus on Ole Miss. They’re agood team. They play good defense and teams that play good defense have achance. We have to go in there ready to play and try to get out of therewith a win.”
On the possibility of Erik Daniels missing the game…
“He brings a lot of energy to the team, offensively and defensively. I hopehe will feel a lot better tomorrow and be able to play.”
On maintaining focus after winning a big game…
“It can be tough sometimes. Coach (Smith) says it’s so hard to handleprosperity. Sometimes when you want things to go well you forget aboutlosing. We just can’t have a let-down, especially this time of the year.Every game is important in this league, so we need to be focused.”
