The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss-Kentucky Postgame Quotes
1/20/2001 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 20, 2001
Ole Miss head coach Rod Barnes:
(On the win over Kentucky)
"I'm proud of all of our guys for bouncing back and coming back out pumped up and ready for this game. Kentucky is a very good basketball team, one of the hottest teams in the country. We let our offense work for us today. They had good rhythm and made baskets. A win is always great. We needed the win for confidence."
(On the adjustments made this week)
"We went back and looked at some tape, prayed a lot and did some soul searching. We visited with each other about what our roles are as far as this team is concerned. They made the commitment, and I am fortunate to have these guys."
Rahim Lockhart
(On not fouling out)
"I knew I had to play smarter, especially in the beginning. I thought that if I played smart to start off the game, I might be able to gamble a little more and be more aggressive in the second half. I could get up and defend."
Jason Harrison
(On the game and his performance)
"Coach (Barnes) told us that he believed in us and that we could win this game. We just had to get on the court and prove it to ourselves. The shots felt good coming off my hands today."
Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith:
(On the game)
"I thought Ole Miss showed composure throughout the game. They have an outstanding defense. We didn't make shots the whole game due to the intensity of their defense. The four-point play (free throw, three-pointer) changed the momentum of the game. We were never able to recover. Keith and Saul really struggled today."
(On Ole Miss players)
"Jason Harrison stepped up. His three-pointers were daggers in our hearts. Justin Reed also came up with some big rebounds."
(On keys to the game)
"Anytime you have 21 turnovers, you cannot expect to win a game. We also got out-rebounded, and that was one thing we did not expect."
(On SEC play)
"We were not sharp mentally today. For a lot of our kids, it was their first time playing here. I have told them that we are in the SEC now, and you have to suck it up. We need to bring a lot of energy and intensity to every game. I was impressed with Gerald (Fitch), I thought he played with the type of energy we needed. We need that same type of energy from our other players."
(On Ole Miss' defense)
"I thought Ole Miss' ball pressure was outstanding. It continued to wear on us throughout the game. Not only were our outside shots not falling, but they also made it difficult for us to get the ball inside."
Kentucky sophomore Keith Bogans:
(On his shooting struggles)
"Our shots were not falling today. We just could not hit from outside. Sometimes you just have games like that. Not too much was going our way today."
(On Jason Harrison's shooting)
"He shot the ball really well today. We were not surprised at all. We knew he was a good shooter, but we just made the mistake of giving him open looks."
Kentucky sophomore Marquis Estill:
(On the game)
"Ole Miss came out really fired up today. They played great defense and were very intense. We were having trouble with our outside shots today, so when I got the ball I tried my best to step up my game."
Kentucky junior Tayshaun Prince
(On the game)
"Today was just not our day. We could not get any shots to fall and we were not together defensively. You have to give Ole Miss a lot of credit, they played good defense and were a big part of us being out of sync. They played with a lot more confidence than we did today."