Postgame Quotes: UMass at Kentucky

Dec. 22, 2006

Massachusetts Head Coach Travis Ford

Opening statement ...
"I give Kentucky all the credit in the world here. When they are making threes like that - they are going to play well. They are going to get that every night with their defense. They are one of the best defensive teams I have seen. I think I may have hyped up to our team about the defense a little too much. When they are shooting the ball like that and with the consistency of the defense and the way Coach Smith teaches defense, there are not five better teams in the country; if there are I would like to see them. I have watched every game Kentucky has played over the last four or five days and they just played with an extreme sense of urgency, they played with a great edge. Our guys were ready to play. We just didn't have an answer for a lot of the things they did. Anything we did, they just took it too us. Give them credit; they took it to us and made shots they haven't been making lately. When they put it together like that, they are a good basketball team, very good. We have played some good basketball teams this year and they are as good as I have seen."

On the UK defensive effort on UMass forwards Rashaun Freeman and Stephane Lasme ...
"We knew they were going to double-team them. That is something that [UK] always does. We worked so much on it the last couple of days. I think they started thinking too much and started forcing quick shots instead of trying to work for better post positioning. They tried to just get the ball and shoot it quickly. We did not get much out of Rashaun [Freeman] or Stephane [Lamse]. If those two are not producing, our chances go way down."

On differences between UK tonight and on film ...
"They got better shots. We probably helped out that cause a little bit. We gave them a lot of confidence, that is for sure. What they did though was they created shots for each other and that is a little different than what I have seen. What I had seen before was a lot of one-on-one. That is something that we worked on for the last couple of days. They found the open man very well. They just found the open man a lot. They got in the paint and we had to help and then they would find the open guys. But you still have to put it in and they put it in. A lot of times you can find the open guy and still miss shots."

On the emotion of returning to Rupp Arena ...
"It is one of the hardest games to coach because it is against a good basketball team. I didn't get caught up in all the outside stuff. There is not a bigger fan of Kentucky basketball than me, definitely. I love Kentucky basketball. It has done so much for me and I have so many great memories - I love Kentucky basketball no question. But, we were here trying to win. I like our basketball team. We have a good basketball team. We had 10 days off since the Louisville game and I was very concerned with that. I was concerned because we had guys still taking finals this morning. We had guys miss practice yesterday because of finals. We played hard but we looked sluggish, very sluggish and I attribute a lot of that to 10 days off and finals. But again, Kentucky was just a step quicker in everything they did tonight. Kentucky basketball is very dear to me there is no question. I am going to be rooting for them every game from this point on."

Kentucky Head Coach Tubby Smith

"It was good to get a win against a very good team. Travis' teams are always tough. Today we got off to a very fast start. We have been defending and shooting the ball much better, and I think tonight was one of our most impressive efforts. We challenged a lot of shots and did some very good things to hold a team like Massachusetts to 37 percent shooting. We had some very good efforts by some players, and with 20 assists I was very impressed with our ability to move the ball and pass the ball, especially with the break starting. I know their minds were somewhere else. It was a good all-around effort, and we'll have a lot of things to work on when we get back. But we'll enjoy this win because it was a good win, and we're happy about that. We want to wish Jared Carter well, who had surgery this morning, which was successful. He'll start his rehab immediately."

On the scheduling of Massachusetts before the break...
"We got a good win over UMass, a team that beat Louisville and were 9-2, and we played pretty well. It wasn't a very smart scheduling job, but it is good for us to go on the break getting these two good wins we've just gotten this week. We're getting better, and the progression is there. If we just limit our turnovers then we'll be okay."

On Derrick Jasper's eight assists tonight...
"It is hard to be a point guard, and I get on him, but I thought he had an all-around good game. He stepped up and had eight assists, five rebounds and two steals. I think he got fatigued near the end of the game, and he was guarding (James) Life, who is a very talented player. I think Derrick stripped him of the ball once, and he stripped a few other guys. I thought he did a good job, and I think he's getting better every game."

On the team's better offensive effort...
"Randolph (Morris) set the tempo early on, and posted up strong. We moved the ball well, and we passed the ball well. We tried scoring with basic motion by limiting the things that we're doing. We're getting better spacing, better movement. Our passing was better, and I think we had better shots. We had open shots with Joe Crawford hitting those three-pointers to get us going. I thought that was critical for us."

Kentucky Players

#32 Joe Crawford, Guard
On his performance...
"I let the game come to me. I took the shots, and when I got some opportunities, I took advantage of them."

On the game...
"I think this is the best game we've played so far. We played well on defense and offense. We let down a couple of times. We still have to get to the point where we can break a team and build the lead. We're getting better every game."

On if the team is getting better...
"I think we're getting a lot better. Everyone is contributing. We had four people in double figures. I think we're becoming a better passing team. We still have to take care of the ball better."

#3 Ramel Bradley, Guard
On the game...
"I think mentally our guys came out prepared. We came out ready to be aggressive and ready to shoot the ball. We knocked shots down. When we're knocking shots down, it's no big deal to move the ball because the offense is flowing."

On what he wants for Christmas...
"I just want everyone to have a good Christmas. I really feel that there's nothing that I really need at this moment. Maybe a Lamborghini. I can wait for that. I just hope everyone has a good Christmas."

On the pace of the game...
"I think that had a lot to do with us being mentally prepared to come in the game and play the kind of game we wanted to play; control the tempo, play offense the way we know we're capable of playing. We defended well, and we came down and knocked down shots."

#13 Bobby Perry, Forward
On the victory ...
"I'm glad our team came out ready to play. We knew UMass would come out fired up and emotional since Coach Ford played here. It's great to go into the holiday season with a win."

On Kentucky's play...
"I think this is the best we've played this season. To play a team like UMass and put them out the way we did, I think this was a big game."

On Stephane Lasme...
"He's probably one of the most athletic guys I've played. When you have a shot blocker you have to take it to them and put them on their heels."

#33 Randolph Morris, Center
On the physical inside game...
"That's what you have to expect from two teams with post players as integral parts of the team. That's just what it comes down to."

On his performance...
"I don't have any complaints. As long as we win, I think I'm doing my job. I've been playing about the way I expected. I think better conditioned is the key."

On Kentucky's mindset...
"We're trying to take it one game at a time. I think our mindset is exactly where it needs to be, and that's on the next game."

#12 Lukasz Obrzut, Center
On his performance this year...
"I feel much more comfortable, especially down low. I realize this is my senior year and I try to go out and play the best I can every day."

On Kentucky's performance...
"I think it's coming along. All the work we've put in since June is starting to pay off. Everyone knows we started off struggling, but we're trying to go out and give it our best."

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics

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