University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee vs. South Carolina Postgame Quotes
January 23, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 23, 2002
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Tennessee Head Coach Buzz Peterson
"We have no excuses. They came in and took it to us. Why? I wish I had the answers. This was our third game in five days, and we were never into it. We challenged everybody to get the team going, but it didn't happen.
"There is no use pointing fingers. We will hang together. I want to go out there and practice them at midnight, but the NCAA rules say we have to take tomorrow off. Friday we will go back to the basics and work hard on the floor. We will figure how to make adjustments so we can play without Ron Slay.
"Give South Carolina credit, they hit some good shots on us. We figured they would stop connecting, but they kept knocking them down. We didn't fight through the screens like we should have.
"South Carolina was active. They wanted the loose balls, we didn't, and they got them.
"We can't feel sorry for ourselves because of one guy.
South Carolina Head Coach Dave Odom
"This convinced me I was right all along. I know nothing about basketball. Nothing! Anything I say is simply guesswork. Anybody who could have predicted this need not worry about money. We knew it was their third game in five days. They were more tired than we were and they just lost arguably their MVP in Ron Slay. But, they had a lot going with them tonight. They had momentum, the home court and it was an important game.
"It was not their night. It was a South Carolina night from beginning to end. It's one of those games you'll see once a year. It's inexplicable. We won this game in our meeting Sunday night, in our practices Monday and Tuesday and our flight over here.
"The kids stayed committed and dedicated. They were upset at themselves. I found out that when you challenge them, they will respond. If you don't challenge them, they will get fat and happy. They need to stay on edge every day. I hope I'll be smart enough to stay after them day after day.
"Powell's performance looks like a key tonight. But we'll have to put that in context. You put Ron Slay out there and it's a different match-up. We'll have to look at the match-ups as the season progresses.
"Crump is a great athlete, but is not a physical player. It was a good move with Powell tonight. He brings us energy, drive and he's unafraid.
