Nov. 7, 2008
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery 
Head Coach Billy Gillispie
On Perry Stevenson…
“I know the numbers indicated that he played really well but that is the onlyplace I saw him play well. I don’t think he is playing well for us right now.I know that sounds crazy when a guy gets 20 rebounds. He was good in the sensethat we played a lot of different combinations in the game and he was the mostexperienced guy in the game because guys were sitting on the bench because offoul trouble or whatever. Stevenson is a very intelligent player and knows whereto be on every play. He is too smart and too good for that to be happening inthis point of his career.”
On Michael Porter and DeAndre Liggins …
“They played fine because we won tonight. There is one statistic that reallymatters for a point guard and that is whether your team won or lost.”
On the game …
“I thought it was a great game for our team because Ouachita Baptist played veryphysical. It was a physical game on both ends of the court. We got a chance tosee how I would play us if we were able to play ourselves. We practiced for avery long time yesterday so we may have been a little tired going into the game.However, we played today the same way that we practiced yesterday. It was a verygood game to be able to teach and learn from. Our guys played very hard tonight,but maybe they just didn’t think too well at times.”
On extending the lead in the second half …
“I think with the guys we had on the court during the second half we were ableto push the lead out because Ouachita got a little tired. I think our guys cameoff the bench and played very well tonight. The guys that didn’t get a lot oftime tonight found out that if they really want to compete on game day then theyreally need to compete in practice. The greatest thing about competition is thatyou find out who is really committed to earning minutes instead of just beinggiven minutes. In a game like this you have to produce when you are on the courtor you will be put on the bench. For a team to be really good they have to havethe right mental approach. After Monday night’s game then guys should have cometo practice and treated the practices leading up to this game as the most importantpractices in the world. Some guys didn’t do that and as a result they didn’tget much time tonight.”
Kentucky Player Quotes
#22 Ramon Harris
On the game against Ouachita Baptist…
“Tonight was a good opportunity to learn about things we can and cannot do. Wehad too many turnovers in the first half and a lot of mistakes overall. We couldn’tget the set offense correct and we couldn’t get the defense correct at times.There are a lot of things that we can work on still.”
On Ouachita Baptist…
“Ouachita Baptist came in here to win and they weren’t going to back down. Thereis a lot of leadership on that team because there are a lot of juniors and seniors.They are very experienced.”
On teammate Perry Stevenson…
“Perry Stevenson stepped his game up tonight. We needed him tonight and he playedstrong. Patrick Patterson got into foul trouble, so he we needed his leadershipand he brought it. His stats didn’t surprise me tonight because Coach Gillispiealways wants him to do that. The sky is the limit for Stevenson and all the guyson our team. Coach wants Stevenson to establish himself as a great player.”
On the many fouls in the game…
“As a player you have to adjust to the game because you can’t control how thereferees will blow the whistle. You can’t worry about how the referees will calla play. You just have to focus on your job as a player, and help your teammatesout.”
#23 Jodie Meeks
On Perry Stevenson…
“He was a monster, he was all over the place. I think he had about 16 pointsand eight blocked shots. He was a beast tonight though, we were glad to havehim on our team. He had 20 rebounds tonight and it was great having him. I hopehe plays like that every game the rest of the season.”
On the time without Patrick Patterson…
“It was an adjustment but sometimes during the season I’m sure we’ll have tohave that kind of situation out there. But it was good to get used to it in anexhibition.”
On his play during the game…
“I think coach and I talked about it and he said we’re taking good shots andwants me to shoot the ball when I’m open, to look for Patrick in the middle.I just have to play smart. I think as a veteran on the team I have a little morefreedom and I’m going to take the opportunity to take more shots.”
On the team’s play tonight…
“I think it’s kind of hard to say. The first half we didn’t play as well butthe second half we stepped it up. I’d give us a B. We played hard at every positionbut we just have to fix some of the mistakes we made.”
On himself being ready for the season…
“It’s been a long preseason, you get tired of playing yourself but at the sametime you have to in order to get better. We’re all ready for next Friday. I feelpretty good; I think I’m playing hard like coach wants me to play. I just haveto continue to take smarter shots and make smart choices on the floor. Coachis never satisfied and that’s what we like about him. If you get 45 points, he’sstill going to tell you what you need to correct, and that’s how you get better.”
“I hoped and prayed to come back this strong. The off season was tough with rehab, and of course you have a little bit of doubt. Once I got in shape, I think I got pretty strong. At the end of the summer when I didn’t have any more aches and pains or setbacks, my confidence came back and doubts went away.”
#54 Patrick Patterson
On getting four fouls…
“Getting into foul trouble is frustrating for any player. A lot of my fouls tonightwere just basketball plays. I would have a man on my back and try to stop theplay, or help my teammate.”
On teammate Perry Stevenson…
“Perry Stevenson’s play was great tonight. I hope he does that all season long.He had 16 points and 20 rebounds and I hope he can do that against top schools,like North Carolina .”
On Coach Gillispie’s opinion of the game…
“Coach Gillispie wasn’t happy with Perry Stevenson’s play, or anyone else’s work.It was an exhibition game, so hopefully we’ll turn it around. I’m sure we’llbe watching game tape in practice tomorrow morning and correcting all of ourmistakes.”
On Ouachita Baptist’s 13 three-point baskets…
“Ouachita Baptist had a lot of three pointers on us, especially number 10 (RowanLedbetter). They were throwing them up, and they went in. Unfortunately we openedit up for them and gave them a lot of opportunities.”
#21 Perry Stevenson
On his performance…
“There were no defensive stats up there so I was poor defensively. It just wasn’tgood enough. Coach isn’t being too hard, he came in last year and I thought hewas hard on us at first but it was for a reason. I thought my play was subpar.I thought I could do a lot better. I needed less fouls, stay in front the mannot even letting him get into the paint. I feel like my man did it too many times.”
On his amount of play…
“I had no idea how much I’d play. I just expected to play a considerable amountof minutes and for me to step out for only the last minute or two of the game,I just didn’t expect to play that much.”
On the effect of Patterson in foul trouble…
“That’s just another case of not having him get rebounds. It just helped pushme because I felt my team needed me and I was just trying to answer the call.”
Ouachita Baptist Head Coach Charles Schaef
On the difference in the game tonight…
“You have to give ( Kentucky ) a lot of credit. They are a tremendously athleticand deep team. I know (Perry) Stevenson had some shots that he blocked. We weregetting pretty good penetration on them. It was just a little too early in thepossessions when the defense was set on the weak side. They were getting cleanblocks on us. That’s just something we have to learn going up against taller,shot-blocking, lengthy teams. You have to move the ball a little bit more anda little bit longer into the possession before you go and attack.”
On his assessment of Kentucky …
“It was a tremendous night for us playing against such a quality opponent. Thisteam that they have, you are going to see deep into March Madness. They are good,long and athletic. I watched them in the Blue/White scrimmage and watched themagainst UMSL and they have got another step better from the UMSL game to ours.If they keep taking those progressions, they are going to be unbelievable comeJanuary and February.”
On some of the positives coming out of the game tonight…
“Well, our kids gave it their all out there for 40 minutes. They played witha lot of heart, a lot of toughness. We had some defensive breakdowns in the secondhalf but a lot of that was credited to ( Kentucky ). Our defense was very physicaland very aggressive. I was very proud of us defensively in the first half. Wehad Rowan (Ledbetter) step up and hit some big shots there in the first half.Jaraanimo Marks and Daniel Maddox didn’t score in the first half but we werejust down eight. That’s a very big positive because those two guys are normallytwo of our top scorers. Our kids just kept fighting. ( UK ‘s Patrick) Pattersonwas obviously tough in there and (Jodie) Meeks got it going. Just having thisgame on our schedule has made us a lot better because we had a sense of urgencyabout the way we practiced the last two months.”
Ouachita Baptist Player Quotes
#10 Rowan Ledbetter
On playing in Rupp Arena…
“It’s a dream come true. I grew up in Arkansas so I’ve always known about RuppArena. It was just a great experience and I’ll remember it for the rest of mylife.”
On the difference in the first and second half…
“In the first half, I made my first shot and that got me going. In the secondhalf, they denied me because they didn’t want me to get a shot off. That’s probablythe difference. My teammate got in the lane and I knew they could get there andnot me so that doesn’t bother me. As long as they were getting shots I was alrightwith that.”
On how this game prepared them for the upcoming season…
“This game is going to prepare us for playing in an environment like this, infront of 23,000 people. Billy Gillispie is known for pressure defense and we’regoing to see that, especially when conference roles around. They are just solong and big and that’s going to prepare us defensively and offensively.”
#11 Jaranimo Marks
On playing at Rupp Arena…
“It was very exciting. We have been talking about this for a while. When CoachSchaef told us we were going to play at Rupp Arena we were all very excited becausethere is a lot of history here. We got to meet Kyle Macy, the great Kentuckybasketball player, which was a privilege for us. It was a great experience forus. We all came out and played hard, but Kentucky played great.”
On this game’s performance…
“I struggled mentally at first but as the game went on I calmed down, got inmy rhythm and started scoring from there. Kentucky is a great defensive teamand they are very athletic which made it hard at first.”
On preparing for the rest of the season…
“Playing a great team like Kentucky will prepare us a lot. Division II basketballis different because of the lack of this many big men. It will prepare us a lotfor the different offensive and defensive teams we will see this season. We haveto stay together as a team and remain mentally involved.”
