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SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 12, 2009Zach GrahamAndy KennedyTAMPA, FLORIDA Kentucky – 71 CLAUDE FELTON: We're ready to begin with Ole Miss. Coach Kennedy, some general thoughts on the game. COACH KENNEDY: Disappointing second half for us. I thought Kentucky was quicker to the ball. We refer to effort areas every game, and they dominated in those areas, really hurt us on the offensive glass. We had 18 turnovers, I think 11 in the second half, which limited our opportunities, and as a result the game got away from us. Q. Did you think in the second half that Kentucky was just a little more desperate? That they really needed that win more than y'all and kind of outworked y'all? ZACK GRAHAM: I don't think they outworked us. I think in the areas that we need to pick up in in the first half like rebounding and things like that, like coach said making the 50-50 balls, I think that would have helped us out a lot. Q. It looked like they really focused on making Terrico work more for the ball in the second half. Did you sense that out there? And how do you think their effort there impacted the second half? ZACK GRAHAM: I think they did try to work to pressure Terrico to bringing the ball up. But I don't think it really pressured him at all. Terrico is a great player, and I think he handled it well being a freshman and having to step up like that. Q. I know this tournament is supposed to be a neutral site, but the way Kentucky's fans travel, did it feel like an away game for y'all? ZACK GRAHAM: Kentucky definitely had the majority of the fans out there tonight. But we've been in away games in previous games in the season, so we know what it's like to go away and play, so. Q. In what ways was maybe Kentucky a little bit better than what you've seen in recent game film? ZACK GRAHAM: I think it's the same Kentucky that we played before. I think just our turnovers and then rebounding the ball kind of really were keys and the factors in them winning the game today. CLAUDE FELTON: Zach, we'll excuse you. Thank you. Q. What did you think in the second half. You know Terrico wasn't as effective. Did you notice them keying on him more? COACH KENNEDY: They just tried to deny him the ball which was smart. I thought they were doing it in the first half. I thought we gave into it a little more in the second half. They ran and jumped a couple of times. When they do that, you've got to be smart enough to make four on three plays. We got the ball to the right people. We had a couple of shots early in the half. Typically, if you look at our team, and you've seen all of our games. If we can come out with the right approach to start the half, we can typically be in the game until the end. I thought we had a couple of key mistakes early, which allowed Kentucky to stretch. Then, when they stretch it's easier to play against a zone when you're playing in front with a three or four possession cushion. We could never get the game back to where we were putting real pressure on their game shots. They did a much better job in the second half. We had a couple of break downs in transition against the press allowing Meeks to go for A and one. We leave him in the zone, and when you leave him in the zone he's going to make you pay. I thought Patrick Patterson was a man among boys inside with his ability to dominate on both ends. So I thought Kentucky played extremely well. They played really hard. And for us are our margin for error is such that when we turn the ball over as readily as we did, and we don't capitalize on our opportunities, it tends to lead to a long night. Q. Kind of just talk about the way you guys ended the year, and you know it wasn't the way you wanted to, and just the year in general? COACH KENNEDY: I told our guys in the locker room I'm really proud for them, honestly. With what they've had to go through. They've continued to fight. We've certainly, no one likes to lose, and it's been a hard year from a standpoint of just each and every night knowing you have to play the maximum to give yourself a chance to win. But I'm really proud of these guys. I think many of them grew up throughout the course of the season, and that will bode well to the future of our program. Q. Could you talk about David, how much pain he was in, and how he impacted the game? COACH KENNEDY: I didn't see him visibly limping nearly as bad as he has in the prior two games. He told me he could go. We went with him. Tried to get him involved in the offense. He wanted to play. He realized that it was win or go home. I thought he gave a great effort. Again, his shooting was such that without those game reps, I think sometimes you get out of rhythm. Basketball is a game of rhythm and flow. And I think he lost a little of that at the end of the season. Q. You're one of eight on threes in the second half. Did they extend their defense or do anything to you? COACH KENNEDY: I thought their defense was pretty good the whole game. Terrico made some early in the first half to keep us in the game. I thought we had those same shots. I know David and Zach started the half with some pretty clean looks. They're a very good defensive team. I thought they did a good job of handling our baseline screening series. And we had a couple of slips and we threw it in there. And had opportunities at point blank rain building. And Patterson came up with big blocks at opportune times which were deflating to our kids. End of FastScripts |
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