Jan. 12, 2008
Vanderbilt Head Coach Kevin Stallings:
Opening statement:
“Give credit to Kentucky, I thought they played extremely hard. They did a lot more things that they needed to do to win then our team did today.”
On whether Vanderbilt got Kentucky’s best shot:
“That was a pretty good shot. They came out ready to play and I really thought that we did all we could in the first 10 minutes of the game to accommodate them. I thought our team really fought outside of the first 10 minutes, which was not what I was hoping for.”
On Vanderbilt’s character:
“I appreciate you saying that but there is not a lot that I have yet to learn about their character, these guys are full of great character. Our team will compete, they will play and they are going to try hard for each other. Obviously, we were a bit disappointed in our play but in terms of our character, it was certainly there along time before we had to try to comeback in the game and it will continue to be there because that is who these guys are. We have nothing but wonderful guys who try hard to do what we have to do.”
On the performance of UK freshman Patrick Patterson:
“I thought (Patrick) Patterson had a great game, I did not think A.J. (Ogilvy) had a great day. I would say that Patrick got the best of it today for sure. He is a terrific player, he is a hard guy to guard, a hard guy to box out and just a good player.”
On the keys to the game:
“I think our team had good composure and had very good composure at the end of a close game. I don’t think today was a big exception. I didn’t think our shot selection in the second overtime was quite what I was hoping for but again, the key to this game was the first 10 minutes of the game, it wasn’t the last 40 – a disappointing way for the game to get started.
Vanderbilt Players:
Forward Shan Foster:
On playing from behind:
“After the 10-minute mark in the first half, we had to play catch up the entire game. This game shows that as a team, we have the character to compete in the SEC this season. Seniors need to take responsibility and take control of the game. After coming from 16-points down in the game, it was heartbreaking to lose.”
Center Andrew Ogilvy:
On what Vanderbilt learned from their first loss:
“We learned an important lesson from the game today. We learned we can play with fatigue, that we can depend on each other and hit big shots down the stretch. Shan (Foster) is our go to guy. His shot at the end of regulation showed what kind of player he can be.”
Guard Alex Gordon:
On the Rupp Arena crowd:
“Rupp Arena was the loudest crowd and had the most people that I have ever played in front of. Our emotion level was high. We need to control our emotions and come out ready to play. Today’s game was an important test and should show us how SEC play is going to be.”
Kentucky Head Coach Billy Gillispie:
Opening statement:
“This was a very good win for us against a very good team. We never quit and we hit a couple key shots down the stretch. They (Vanderbilt) had their chances and missed some of their shots. We are very fortunate to get a win today.”
On Kentucky’s rebounding effort:
“We didn’t get every rebound, but we got the ones that we needed most. Our guys hustled really hard and that’s the way they’ve been practicing.”
On Kentucky’s toughness:
“Our guys are tougher than most give them credit. They play hard to the end and will continue to get better. They are not mentally soft. They continue to gain mental toughness. There are a lot of guys out there that are inexperienced and they have handled themselves well. That was evident today in the way they played.”
On Mark Coury’s play:
“Mark was very good today. He made a couple errors, but I thought this was the best game of his young career. I’m proud of him because he works so hard every day. It’s always good to see good things happen to guys that work hard.”
On Joe Crawford’s defensive effort:
“Joe was great all day long. Nobody has probably ever had to tell him to be more aggressive offensively, but we did today. He did a fantastic job defensively. I’m really proud of his effort against one of the better players (Shan Foster) in the country.”
Kentucky Players:
Guard Ramon Harris:
On the confidence Kentucky gained from this win:
“This gives us another step, and it’s great to see the result of the way we’ve practiced all week. It definitely makes us want to focus more, and we have to go on the road and play a very good Mississippi State team.”
On how Kentucky approaches the rest of the season:
“We are going to take things one game at a time. We beat a very good team and it will be another tough game when we play them again. Right now we have to focus on Mississippi State.”
Guard Ramel Bradley:
On Kentucky maintaining composure down the stretch of the game:
“When teams fight back and close in on the lead, that’s when you have to stay poised and focused. During the huddles, we just told each other to step up and rebound and to make stops. We didn’t want to play to lose or be complacent. Our strategy was to run the clock and rebound the ball.”
On holding on to win the game:
“We knew we had to earn this win because Vanderbilt kept fighting the whole way. We made some big plays in overtime to boost our confidence and we knew we could handle this type of situation.”
Guard Joe Crawford:
On learning Coach Gillispie and his system:
“He wants what is best for all of us, and he wants to us improve. He is still very tough in practice, and we are all growing together as the season goes on.”
On the play of Ramel Bradley:
“I thought he did a good job down the stretch. Our offense became a little stagnant and he hit some big shots to keep us in the game. He had the courage and the confidence to put us on his shoulders in overtime.”
Center Patrick Patterson:
On Kentucky’s frustration going into overtime:
“We were really frustrated that the inbounds play at the end of regulation didn’t go the way we wanted it to. We didn’t capitalize when we had the opportunities and Vanderbilt got the job done late. (Shan) Foster was able to hit a three from the corner on their last possession of regulation and we had some miscommunication.”
On Kentucky playing to their potential today:
“We knew we could play defense like this and rebound like this. We just haven’t done it to our potential this season. We were able to come out and play the way we can today.”
