Kentucky-Arkansas Postgame Quotes
KENTUCKY BASKETBALL POSTGAME QUOTES
#11/11 KENTUCKY VS. ARKANSAS
HISTORIC MEMORIAL COLISEUM – LEXINGTON, KY.
JAN. 26, 2025
Head Coach Kenny Brooks
Opening statement…
“You know, I knew this game was going to be challenging just because (of) Arkansas’ style, and they shot the three. The threes you saw them shooting and hitting tonight that’s something that they do. We expected that and knew it could present challenges for us, so we were proud of our kids. We came out and didn’t always play great, but we had some flashes. We looked excellent, and getting back in the win column. I am very proud that we always tell them that 10% of what happens to you and 90% is how you deal with it. And we could do nothing about that Texas A&M game, but we could do a lot about what the future would hold –and they came out. We had two excellent practices where they were loose and confident, and I think it showed today. So, it’s a good bounce-back game for us, very pleased with the effort. Everybody contributed in an excellent way, especially our bench. We got some good minutes for our bench as we continue to grow because we’ll need that as we go down a stretch.”
On playing back home…
“For me, I’m very proud of our kids for, you know, their resiliency and the fight. We played four games out of five on the road and the SEC and that’s tough–it’s really tough. We’ve been away for a while, but they were very professional about it. But it was exciting to be able to come back in front of our home fans– it was a good crowd tonight. I think we helped grow the game today you watched the way the game was played it was up and down it was free flowing it was freedom of movement and it was entertaining. And so I think we helped grow the game, but it’s really good to be back here. But, Mike Neighbors talked about the facility, he walked around it last night, and no offense, but he said it was probably the worst facility before and now it’s one of the best. And so that was eye opening for me. I had a friend who came up to the game, he’s from Virginia, and he was mesmerized by the facility and how it looked. So, it’s just really good to be back home in front of your fans.”
On both of your losses this season…
“The first loss we were still trying to figure out who we were and now we’re understanding who we are a little bit, and this league is too tough. I don’t think anyone’s going to go undefeated. South Carolina is great, but there’s teams in here that will challenge you on every given night. So, to be able to try to go undefeated, that’s going to be a very tall feet for anyone. So, it was more of a ‘hey, how do we handle it?’ And when we came back, we watched film on Friday. It wasn’t a lot of yelling, it wasn’t a lot of finger-pointing, it was just okay basically we just didn’t make shots. And when we dove into it, we got shots that we wanted to get, but it was just one of those nights. If you tell me that we’re going to get 18 three-point attempts, and you tell me I’m going to make one–I would say you’re crazy we are going to at least make three or four. If you make three or four, you win that basketball game. So, we didn’t hang our heads. We were disappointed, but we didn’t hang our heads. They really, took me to heart, and they said, you know, it happened, alright, so then we go out and fix it, so it doesn’t happen again.”
#7 Teonni Key, F, Jr.
On playing back in Historic Memorial Coliseum…
“I would say the same thing, it was nice. We had a good crowd and it was great just being out there and seeing everyone who came out.”
On seeing a difference from Thursday to today…
“I think today we all came out with more energy and more focus just more togetherness and being connected and confident with what we are doing as individuals. That helps everyone really get to their spots and know what they are doing. We had some ups and downs, but I think that was our biggest difference was just being out there together confident as individuals and as a group.”
On not getting ahead of yourself as a player…
“I think just like he said, just focusing on the next one ahead of us. The next one is the most important one, just being who we are as a team on and off the court. We have a lot of trust and connectivity with each other including the staff so they know what’s best for us. So, I think just focusing on the next game and trusting our staff.”
