Rating:

1.0 (1 vote)

Kentucky Men's Basketball
#1 Kentucky vs. Tennessee
Postgame Quotes
Rupp Arena - Lexington, Ky.
Jan. 31, 2012

Kentucky Players

#23, Anthony Davis, F

On whether he feels the success he's having ...
"A little bit. My teammates always tell me, ‘I'm going to hold him down. You just come over and block the shot,' so they really depend on me to block shots or at least alter shots. I kind of feel like but I don't want to jinx myself."

On whether he's trying to be more tough when there is physical play ...
"Most definitely. I know I'm going to have to be tough in order for us to win games. It's all about staying in front of your man and fronting them in the post. You have to three-quarter them, both feet, stay on the high side. It makes it harder for the post passer to throw it into the post. You just do that and I'll be fine."

On how the team has been clicking recently...
"Lately we've just been hanging out together. We've been doing everything together. We just feel it. Everybody is trying to get everybody into the game. No one is doing their own stuff. We're just kind of clicking and it's really showing on the court."

#3, Terrence Jones, F

On if this game was pretty much what they expected in terms of physical play...
"Yeah and I think we did a great job of executing on offense and just really locking down on defense and controlling the rebounds."

On how the first game in Knoxville helped them in this game...
"I think it helped a lot. We just played a lot tougher. I think we learned from the first game that we played them and we've just been learning from game-to-game since and just playing stronger and through bumps and it's just been working for us and helping us get better as a team.

On Anthony Davis and what makes him so special...
"Just how hard he goes on offense and defense when it comes to just rebounding, blocking shots and you can also go to him in the post. He's just so active and he plays with a whole lot of energy without the ball. So it's just hard to stop guys like that that are just being so active on defense and offense when it comes to getting offensive rebounds on missed shots and just putting them back with dunks or just blocking shots or helping out any guy's man that drives."

On if other teams' physical play helps bring them closer together...
"Yeah, we protect one another. Anything that happens we feel like it's happening to all of us, so any situation where something happens, we always run to each other to pick a teammate up or to defend another teammate."

#14, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, G

On the fast start to the game...
"We are just getting better and better. Our defensive intensity is crazy right now, so that helped us get off to a fast start."

On the difference in the last week...
"It's just about that time. It's almost March time and I am getting excited."

On the technical fouls in the first half...
"I don't even know what happened. Just a whole lot of chit-chat. We just had a few words but that's just basketball. I think it helped us a lot though."

On embracing the physical mentality this past week...
"We are getting used to it now. There is a lot of chemistry on this team now and we are just playing our game."

#25, Marquis Teague, G

On Coach Calipari's comment that they are improving through Teague running the team...
"I'm just trying to stay within the offense, get everybody good shots and do what Coach (Calipari) asks me to do."

On whether the team is approaching their potential...
"Yeah. We just want to continue to get better everyday. Just want to get better and ready for April."

On the scramble in the first half...
"Somebody pushed Terrance (Jones) and we all just came to help him and to clear it out. Then it got a little heated. No big deal."

Tennessee Head Coach Cuonzo Martin

Opening statement ...
"I felt like they did a great job of setting the tone early. They did a good job of executing their offense. Anthony (Davis) did a tremendous job protecting the lane and making plays defensively. I've said it before; he's the difference, probably one of the best, if not the best in the country at changing the game with his presence on the defensive side of the ball."

On Kentucky's defense...
"I think they do a good job, (Michael Kidd-) Gilchrist battled. They do a good job with their press; they are a good, sound defensive team. I think what happens is when you have a presence like that, I thought there were several times we had an opportunity to score the ball and (Anthony Davis) makes a great play. When you have a guy like that, they come along once in a lifetime, he just changes the game for you. You can do more things on the perimeter, you can pressure more, you can push guys in to him and make plays. He is a presence down there."

On Anthony Davis making jump-shots early...
"(I thought) it's going to be a long night. But you know he is a guy, I saw him in AAU basketball and he can make shots from the perimeter. He is a very intelligent basketball player and he does a tremendous job of playing to his strengths. That's a credit to he and their coaching staff and he accepts that. Like I said, on the AAU circuit, he can make perimeter shots, but in order for their team to be successful he does what is necessary and that is what's special about him."

On Renaldo Woolridge....
"I thought he did a good job of knocking those shots down but he has also put the time in to improving his shot and shooting consistently. He did a good job, especially in the first half, of keeping us at bay."

On Kentucky making its first 11 shots...
"You have to give them credit, they are playing at home in a great atmosphere but I didn't think our stars did a good job of setting the tone early. We had a couple turnovers, allowed those guys to get post position, allowed them to turn the corner in transition. I didn't think our stars did a good job of setting the tone for us."

On how to respond to Kentucky's momentum ...
"Just being a ballplayer, that's all. You can draw up a play any day of the week and I've said it from day one, at the end of the year, this time of the year you want a better basketball player, you can draw up all the plays in the world but somebody has to execute the play and that's what it comes down to. You can talk your guys through, get them ready to go but you have to be able to make plays and get stops."

Tennessee Players

#1, Josh Richardson, G

On the Rupp Arena environment ...
"I didn't pay attention to it. I just wanted to go out there and play basketball. It shouldn't have affected anything."

On the start that Kentucky had ...
"It hurts you a little bit, and your confidence. They play great defense and they come out and hit stuff you have never really seen before. You just have to keep playing hard and keep playing solid defense."

On Anthony Davis blocking and effecting shots ...
"He is a shot changer. The dude is like 6-foot 10 with 7-6 arms. If you get in the lane, you've got to go at him, but it is always going to be in the back of your mind. That this dude is huge and he is probably going to block it."

#3, Renaldo Woolridge, F

On people comparing his shooting performance in the first half to former UT great Chris Lofton ...
"I take that as a compliment. (Chris Lofton) is one of the greatest shooter of all-time, recently. It feels good, but we have to get wins. (Kentucky) was a tough team, they are number one in the country"

On playing at Rupp ...
"It is kind of like when we play at home, we can feed off the atmosphere. It is always tough being on the road, especially at Kentucky. But that atmosphere mixed with being the number one team in the country makes it really difficult and they are a great team. It was tough for us."

On the mental impact of Kentucky starting the game shooting 11-11 ...
"It's a long game and basketball is a game of runs. You just got to stick to it and keep playing. We try to keep battling, but a few runs over and over gets tough. We tried to stick in there."