Feb. 25, 2003
Head Coach Tubby Smith
On the difference between Tennessee last the time the two teams met and now…
“They’ve inserted Thadeus Holden in their lineup and he’s made a big difference with his ability to make shots from the outside. He’s been a big key in them getting things turned around. I think they’ve been able to redefine roles and their rotations haven’t been as often. They’ve settled into eight or nine guys that are playing, and that’s been a big key for them.”
On his previous quote that this is an average team doing extraordinary things, and how that can prevent a letdown…
“If you’re going to be competitive and play for a championship you better give the effort every time because anyone can beat you. I said before that we were average because I think there are a lot of average teams, there are no great teams out there. That’s not to indicate that we don’t have some talent because we have very talented players and I would put our teams talent up against anyone else in the country, both collectively and individually. Having said that, for us to put together the winning streak we have and the way we’ve been defending people is extraordinary. It takes energy and togetherness, and that’s what we’ve seen from this team is a team effort. If you don’t play together in team sports you’re not going to win consistently. That’s why we’ve been so consistent – we’ve gotten guys to raise their level of play and sustain it through the course of the game. We’ve done that in practice, too. I don’t think we’ve had a bad practice in a long time.”
On what it takes to be a great team…
“Where you finish the year – you can’t be great until it’s over with and then you measure it from there. That’s how we measure greatness in most things people do – by what they’ve done over a period of time. They’re all average until it’s over with.”
On the luxury of having a quality big man like Jules Camara playing behind Marquis Estill…
“It is a luxury when you have a fifth-year player in Jules Camara coming off the bench, who is probably your best defender, can score, and is as good an athlete as you’re going to put on the floor. It’s not so much that as it is his attitude. He’s prepared to come in the game and elevate the team’s play by his presence on the court. The players respect him because that earns more respect from his teammates and peers because he’s been able to stick it out, to grow and to become the type of player and person that we knew he could be. The luxury of not dropping off in most of our statistical categories is a luxury as well: shot blocking because he’s one of the top shot blockers in the league; deflection wise, he’s always altering shots or making the right decision of where to help out.”
On the luxury of three guards that can rotate in the backcourt…
“That’s tremendous. They’ve all developed their ballhandling skills. That’s what happened when we were forced to play Gerald (Fitch) at the point while Cliff (Hawkins) was ineligible and he really thrived at it and I think that’s been a big key to our success. People can’t just key in on Keith Bogans and leave our point guard alone because Gerald can hit the three and put the ball on the floor. People can’t harass Gerald and we can use Keith (Bogans) at the point because he’s really improved his ballhandling immensely. Guys like Antwain (Barbour) and Kelenna (Azubuike) are getting better, so that’s really helped. And then Cliff (Hawkins) allows us to move Gerald to the two or the three and we can go quicker.”
On the changes necessary when playing a team for the second time…
“We’ll change up some, but we’re not going to change what we do best. We’ll make necessary adjustments so we don’t become discombobulated. I think that’s one of the things we have to be aware of. People were getting tapes on us and we get tapes on them and break down what each other are doing differently. You always are looking to improve.”
On Ron Slay saying Tennessee was going to try to discombobulate Kentucky…
“He’s an interesting guy and I like that term. That’s what everyone tries to do. You try to mix people up so they’re confused. I hope it’s difficult, I think we are difficult to confuse.”
On the flashes of intensity in Kentucky the last time the two teams met…
“We played hard. They have a very talented team throughout their lineup – guys like (Jon) Higgins, (Ron) Slay and (Victor) Crump. They were playing young guys early and trying to groom people for certain roles, but now they’ve narrowed their focus and rotation. We had to play a total 40 minutes that night and we were lucky to get a couple of big shots from Jules (Camara) to win the game.”
On how much better UK is now than the last time it played UT…
“We’re much better. We have a better understanding of what it takes to play with consistency over a long period of time. That’s what you try to get to, where every possession and every second counts. We had some problems on offense on Sunday, but a lot of that had to do with Mississippi State’s ability to get in our face and make us change things, but our defense has been getting better and better each game.
UK Player Quotes
Jules Camara, Center
On how UT has changed since the last time the two teams played …
“They’ve improved a lot. They won six in a row and beat a good Florida team. Everybody knows (forward) Ron Slay runs the show. He is one of the best players in the SEC. We have to be ready and have to be on top of our game.”
On what has been the best part, aside from winning, of UK’s 16-game win streak …
“It has been a lot of fun. Practices are fun and everybody is staying positive. We just need to keep doing what we have been and keep it going.”
Keith Bogans, Guard
On UT forward Ron Slay…
“I talked to Ron the other day and he’s just ready to come out and play. Slay is going to be Slay. He can post up or shoot the three. He’s tough and we just have to go after him.”
On what Slay had to say about UK’s winning streak…
“He knows we’ve been playing and well and he’s looking at it as an opportunity for his team to come in and get a big win. We know they’re going to be fired up but we just have to continue to play the way we have been and we’ll be all right.”
Erik Daniels, Forward
On defending Tennessee’s Ron Slay…
“Chuck and I will have a hard time defending (Ron) Slay. It’s going to be a real team effort defending him tomorrow. He has a big body, and he can handle and shoot the ball like a guard. He’s very versatile.”
On Kentucky’s progress since the first game at Tennessee…
“We’re a totally different team. We started it all with our defense. We’ve been playing defense very well, and some of our offense has been created by our defense. We just picked up our defensive intensity and everyone started playing together.”
Gerald Fitch, Guard
On Tennessee…
“Tennessee has been playing pretty well, but they’re in Rupp Arena now. There are a lot of benefits of being here at Rupp Arena with our crowd.”
On Kentucky’s progress since the first game at Tennessee…
“I think we’re more focused and more organized. We know what we need to do to win, and that’s a big key. We know what it takes to win, and that’s a big difference from last year.”
On the difference between this season and last season…
“We don’t have to worry so much about the media and fans getting mad. Everyone is happy, and it’s a completely different feeling when you’re winning. When you play at a place like Kentucky, winning is the main thing, and we’re doing that right now.”
