University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee vs. Kentucky Postgame Quotes
February 06, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 6, 2002
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Tennessee Head Coach Buzz Peterson
"They've been through an awful lot and have kept their courage. I told them late in the game 'We are going to win.'
"Give Del Baker credit. He didn't score a point, but he guarded Prince and did an excellent job. I put the challenge to him before the game. His work on Prince was a key. We knew we needed to contain Hawkins, because when he gets going, Kentucky gets going.
"Kentucky has so many weapons. We tried to zone in the first half. Our kids didn't back down.
"Grindstaff set the tone in the second half by making a couple of key baskets that really got us going. I told the team after the game, 'It's not over yet. Enjoy tonight. Come back tomorrow and get ready for South Carolina.'
"Marcus Haislip keeps getting better and better. We want to him to have a touch inside whenever we can get it to him. His confidence level is really increasing. At the timeout in overtime I told the team to get it inside to Haislip if they can. We were fortunate to come out on the winning side.
"Early in the game I was upset Kentucky was rebounding so well on the offensive boards. They were getting second and third shots. I knew we had to stop them from getting those offensive rebounds.
"Higgins and Grindstaff are the glue for this team. Both are playing with confidence. I hope Jenis is okay. Higgins hadn't practiced, but played with courage tonight."
Kentucky Head Coach Tubby Smith
"I congratulate Tennessee. I thought Buzz had them ready to play.
"We had our opportunities in the first half, but we have to take care of the ball better to extend the lead. If you don't take care of the ball, you end up in this kind of predicament.
"We couldn't stop Marcus Haislip and Vincent Yarbrough. They made some clutch plays in the second half and in the overtime. I thought Grindstaff really played well.
"I thought Gerald Fitch had some big threes, particularly there at the end. This is the fourth or fifth time we've done this. We couldn't make the plays at either end.
"Haislip tapped in his own miss in the overtime. We just couldn't stop them from rebounding the ball. We played well in the first half on the boards.
"We talked about getting tough and making the plays you have to make. You can't point to one play, one shot or one player.
"In overtime, every possession is magnified. Every possession is meaningful. I thought Prince wore down some, but he still made some big plays. We had some good looks in the second half that didn't drop. Tennessee set the tone to start the second half. We turned it over twice to start the second half. They scored six straight points and I could tell the momentum was shifting. We had a lot of mental breakdowns."
