Jan. 25, 2004
Coach Mike Brey Quotes
On Irish sophomore forward Torin Francis:
“He works hard, and I’m really proud of his development. It was tough for him to get touches, but he became more active defensively in the second half. We really needed that at the start of the game.”
On the team’s upcoming game:
“This team is a bounce-back group. They have been resilient after some tough losses. This would have been a nice win, but we have no choice but to get back to work. Right now we’re 3-2 in the league, and a win on Wednesday would help us.”
On the Irish’s maturity as a team:
“In the first half, they played like men and we played young. We showed better maturity and shot selection in the second half, but we just couldn’t get the win. They’re too good of a team.”
On Kentucky:
“They’re a very good team, and they have a great program. That kind of success is something we strive for.”
On his team’s effort today:
“I thought we played a very clean game. We did the things we had to do to get the win. We played with a lot of energy and we played together. “
Sophomore Guard Chris Quinn
On the game and what the team has to do to win:
“I think we just have to play our game for forty minutes. Tonight we didn’t do that. We came out in the first half and played out of character. In the second half, we played like the team we know we are and we came back. You can’t let a good team get that far up on you, even when you work that hard, it’s just too difficult to come back.”
Sophomore Forward Torin Francis
On the direction the team is heading:
“We lost today but I still think that we can beat a ranked team. We have a lot more games against ranked teams but we are just going to take it one game at a time.”
Junior Guard Chris Thomas
On the game:
“We played bad in the first half and great in the second half. We let them get too many easy baskets. In the second half they came out and ran a backdoor on us and we practiced on defending that all week. Its easy baskets like that, that take the game away from you. We came right back and hit a three and it could’ve been a seven point game but instead it was a nine point game and we were back to where we started in the half.
On Kentucky’s defense:
“They play the best defense, just as good as any defense that we played against. They get right into you, they hand-check, they grab and they make you take some tough shots. In order for us to get points on the board, we had to look down low or make some bad shots.”
Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith
On Notre Dame’s effort today:
“Notre Dame has a very talented team, but today we came out red hot and shot the ball well. When you shoot the ball well you are going to give yourself a chance to win.
On Kentucky’s steady play today:
“The best (effort) we have had in a long time. We did not have extended droughts offensively or defensively. We did not have any major defensive breakdowns except not boxing out. Otherwise, we had about as complete a game as we have had in some time. “
On the play of Chuck Hayes and Cliff Hawkins:
“Chuck was very steady today. He came out ready to play. Cliff ran the team with patience and poise. That was a big key. We had a real steadying effect (at the point) and we didn’t seem to hurry anything.”
On his team’s effort today:
“I thought we played a very clean game. We did the things we had to do to get the win. We played with a lot of energy and we played together. “
On Notre Dame’s effort today:
“Notre Dame has a very talented team, but today we came out red hot and shot the ball well. When you shoot the ball well you are going to give yourself a chance to win.
On Kentucky’s steady play today:
“The best (effort) we have had in a long time. We did not have extended droughts offensively or defensively. We did not have any major defensive breakdowns except not boxing out. Otherwise, we had about as complete a game as we have had in some time. “
On the play of Chuck Hayes and Cliff Hawkins:
“Chuck was very steady today. He came out ready to play. Cliff ran the team with patience and poise. That was a big key. We had a real steadying effect (at the point) and we didn’t seem to hurry anything.”