Feb. 25, 2007
Kentucky at Vanderbilt
Memorial Gymnasium
February 25, 2007
Vanderbilt Head Coach Kevin Stallings
“I hope that if I had been in the short end of this game that I would be sitting up here saying that this was a great college basketball game. Because I thought that was a great college basketball game.”
“I am really proud of our team. I thought we got ourselves up against it a little bit. They put us up against it. The first 20 minutes I thought they were awesome. We came out in the second half and got it going offensively a little bit.”
On the performance of Derrick Byars…
“We kind of challenged Derrick at halftime. We didn’t think he had one of his better first halves. I want to try and remember exactly what I said because he was pretty spectacular in the second half. It was a great game and certainly could have gone either way and we felt good about making the plays down the stretch.”
On the key to beating Kentucky four straight times…
“I think if you are going to beat them you better compete absolutely as hard as you can compete because they are going to. That is where you at least have to begin. I thought our guys gave every ounce of energy that they had today and that is what ended up winning it for us.”
On Vanderbilt’s defensive performance…
“Defensively our pressure was pretty good. We ran at them and trapped them a couple of times and got them to turn it over. We wanted to try and keep them off balance because we felt like if they could get into a rhythm it would be problematic. They got into a rhythm in the first half, but I felt like we were able to keep them out of one in the second half.”
“Coach Stallings told me to pick it up. The team depends on me heavily. It took a while but the second half is my time.”
“We won the game based on defense. [Kentucky] wasn’t getting shots up and getting shot clock violations. That shows that we were getting it done.”
On the tip from Dan Cage that led to Byars’ final basket:
“It was the biggest play of the game. I missed a free throw and Dan Cage tapped it out to me. I saw Randolph down there and he beat me earlier so I just wanted to get it up quick.”
“Kentucky has dominated this league for decades. Every time we play it’s a close game. The difference is we’re getting it done at the end of the game. Hopefully we can sustain that.”
On Alex Gordon’s play:
“Alex [Gordon] is a fighter, a warrior. He wants to do anything possible to help the team. He’s very valuable. He’s a leader and he made big plays that kept us in the game.”
“Kentucky is a powerhouse. Coach Smith does a great job preparing them for every game. Growing up and watching them on TV, it makes it feels great to win.”
“A lot of teams are fighting to get into the tournament and playing their best basketball. To know you can get it done at the end does wonders for your confidence. I looked at the clock with four minutes left and, even with the game being as close as it was, there was no doubt on our team that we were going to win.”
Kentucky Head Coach Tubby Smith
“It was just a tough, tough loss. It’s just very disappointing when you can’t make the plays down the stretch, don’t get stops like you should, and you don’t value the basketball. The turnovers really hurt us. When you turn it over 22 times, it’s just very disappointing.”
“We had chances to put the game away, but you have to make stops and take care of the ball. I know I keep talking about it. I thought we came out focused and ready to play, but it only takes a couple of breakdowns to get beat.
“We did a good job on (Derrick) Byars and (Shan) Foster during the first half. In the second half, I guess we just decided not to defend them.”
On Kentucky’s final possession:
“We were just trying to get the ball inside, get a good shot, maybe get fouled taking the ball to the basket.”
“We just have to go back and practice. We have to get our guys to understand the value of the basketball, and just how crucial each possession is to our success. When you don’t (do those things), you’re going to get beat.”
Play of freshman guard Jodie Meeks
“He did a great job. He’s a strong player, both physically and mentally. He’s just a clutch player.”
Lukasz Obrzut
“We were a rebound away from winning the game. We just have to start executing on our offensive plays. People were coming off screens and were open. An unfortunate trip or miscommunication happens and the ball goes the other way.”
On Vanderbilt’s Crowd:
“Vanderbilt had a great crowd that really came out and sparked them for 40 minutes. Their players feed off their crowd and, as opponents, you try and come out and shut the crowd down. We couldn’t do that today.”
On the Play of Vanderbilt’s Derrick Byars:
“Derrick [Byars] makes some difficult shots. He comes off screens three feet behind the three point line and makes them.”
Guard Ramel Bradley
On the Referees Not Calling a Foul on the Last Play of the Game:
“After I took the shot, I looked at the referee and I was standing under the basket. He blew his whistle as if he was going to call a foul and then another ref came over and said, no, the game’s over.”
On the Setup of Memorial Gym:
“I thought Coach [Smith] did a great job of communicating to us what he wanted to do on each play. Today, I just thought we hurt ourselves.”
Forward Bobby Perry
“It was a tough loss. We had the opportunity to get one rebound, one stop, and this all could have been a different outcome. You have to look at our turnovers and the hustle plays Vanderbilt made down the stretch. We need to prevent those from happening and go out and make those plays ourselves.”
