Final Thoughts on UK-UNLV

Here are some final points to wrap-up the game last night (Here are my thoughts from late last night):

-It’s been talked about at length already, but I really can’t say enough about the atmosphere in Memorial. The crowd was electric from start to finish. UK fans were out to prove how supportive they are and exactly how wonderful of a fan base UK has. The NIT is not where UK wants to be, but that was forgotten when UK took the court. The moral of the story is that anytime the ‘Cats are playing ball, ‘Cat fans are going to show up in force.

-The only time some negativity reared its head was when Billy Gillispie was introduced at the beginning of the game. I would say that 60% of the crowd cheered, 20% did nothing, and 20% booed. Obviously there is hostility there, but it did overcome the atmosphere.

-Talking to the people in the know that I went to the game with, I am comfortable saying that I believe Coach Billy Gillispie will be at Kentucky next year. There are serious conversations to be had about the way Gillispie does his job, but I think Mitch Barnhart still believes he can be a great Kentucky coach, which is the same way he felt about Rich Brooks. However, I am certain that the second that Barnhart no longer believes Gillispie can be great, he’ll be out the door. In my opinion, we’re not there yet.

-I was pretty close to the action last night, and possibly the number one thing that jumped out at me about UNLV is that Wink Adams is JACKED. I mean, he’s doesn’t compare with the buffness of our own Wink, but the man is huge.

-One quick funny story. We were parking before the game, and we noticed a UK Associate AD directing traffic into a parking lot in his suit. We know him pretty well, so we stopped to make fun of him for his demotion to parking attendant. He said “This is what you do when you’re a 4 seed in the NIT.” Ouch

Here are the post game quotes from players and coaches courtesy of UKAthletics.com:

Kentucky Coach Billy Gillispie
On Tuesday night’s win …
“It was a real good win for us. It was a lot of fun in there just to get a chance to play in one of the most storied buildings ever, maybe the most storied building, in my opinion, to ever host a basketball game. It was a quite an honor for our team. Our fans were unbelievable. I know our guys really enjoyed playing here and the fans I could tell really had a great time with this. What a great honor, what a great building. When you think about all the great players, the great coaches, the great teams and the great games that have happened in that building, it’s quite an honor just to have a chance to play over here.”

On the way his team responded to UNLV’s second-half run …
“They were 3-for-17 in the first half on 3s and they’re a much better shooting team. We played some pretty good defense but they still missed a lot of wide open shots that they normally make, and they definitely made those in the second half. Nothing is easy for us. We’re not looking for anything easy but I thought they responded much better than they have because we were running out of timeouts, they were trapping us, we weren’t doing the greatest job being strong with the ball. We were picking the ball up too much and offensively we were less than stellar. When we missed, Pat (Patrick Patterson) got a real big play and saved that ball, then we almost threw it away and I think Perry (Stevenson) got the loose ball. Those are the things that determine games; those are the things that we’ve probably been missing down the stretch.”

On his players responded to playing in the NIT …
“They’re basketball players and they love to play. When you play something, you should compete. All 300-something teams want to go to the NCAA Tournament, no question. But that doesn’t mean that if you don’t make it then you’re going to mope. These guys are inexperienced guys, they’re young and that’s the only reason we didn’t make (the NCAA Tournament), in my opinion. I think they have a chance to be great. I think they’ve worked as hard as any group in America on a daily basis. We didn’t always compete in every single possession like we needed to but a lot of that happens with experience. I’m very, very proud of the way they’ve played all year. I’ve told them on numerous occasions, I don’t ever let anybody make you feel bad about winning 20 games to this point – 21 after tonight – or falling short of what all of our goal is. The season is not over. We’re going to play; we’re going to do our best. They had a great attitude about it. They understand the reason why we’re in the situation that we’re in. They want to rectify the situation. They took the first step of doing that tonight and I think it’s going to bode well not only for tonight but for the future.”

On the boost the fans at Memorial Coliseum gave the players …
“I thought it was a great crowd. I don’t know what time you all got here but it was a great crowd this afternoon. I think that a lot of people at a lot of different places – when you we’ve been there 17 straight years, didn’t make it, so how is everyone going to handle it? How did our crowd handle it? Well, they sold out every single ticket as quickly as it could happen. They were excited about it. I don’t think anyone in that building tonight wanted us to be playing in this tournament, but I know this, I doubt if anyone came to the game and didn’t enjoy the game and I think they did their part to help us it make it a nice game and good win for us.”

Kentucky Players
Jodie Meeks
On responding to UNLV’s second half run…
“I thought we responded really well. I think that shows how our team is maturing. Earlier this year, we had games where we had leads and let teams back into the game. I thought we did a good job of withstanding their run and getting stops on defense when we needed to.”

On what was the key to UNLV’s second half run…
“They are a very good team. They are hard to guard one-on-one and they used ball screens pretty well in their comeback. We did a good job of contesting their shots and they just made some shots. They also played good defense, so I give them a lot of credit.”

On tonight’s crowd…
“Tonight’s crowd was great. They showed great support and helped us get off to a great start early on. Last time Kentucky played a game in this building, it got a win and we wanted to keep that going. I thought they (the crowd) helped us to keep rolling.”

On the team’s mindset heading into this game…
“This team has never been one to give up. Any time we put on a Kentucky uniform we want to be ready to play. We are glad to be in the NIT and we are ready to keep playing.”

On how it was as a shooter playing in Memorial Coliseum…
“It was great. I missed some open shots early on, but I kept my confidence and continued to take good shots. I thought as a team, we shot the ball very well and did a good job of playing inside-out.”

Patrick Patterson
On tonight’s crowd at Memorial Coliseum…
“Tonight’s crowd was a lot more alive and active. I could see everyone standing up pretty much the entire game. The fans were very loud and a lot more into it (the game) and that helped us to have a lot more energy.”

On advancing in post-season play…
“It feels great to be able to advance and to know we get to play another game. We’re having fun playing together and we don’t want it to end. Hopefully we keep this going and play well in the next game.”

On Perry Stevenson’s explosive second-half dunk…
“It was crazy. I just looked at him and he had this little pose that he always does standing over the player and I couldn’t help but smile. That’s Perry for you. He’s a great leaper and a great dunker. We look forward to hopefully him doing more of that in the games to come.”

UNLV Head Coach Lon Kruger
Opening Statement …
“I appreciate the opportunity to play in a great atmosphere. The fans tonight were fantastic. Kentucky had a run in the second half that we didn’t handle very well. We didn’t do the things that we were supposed to do defensively. I am proud of the guys for fighting back after being down 20 points. They had one of two choices and they decided to fight like crazy and made a decent run to put themselves in position towards the end of the game. You have to credit Kentucky because they responded well and they did the things they needed to do to finish strong down the stretch.”

On the game …
“We were down 20 so we changed our defense to not give them as many good angles to the goal and we combined that with making some shots on the other end. We started trapping a little bit more and we started trapping a little more in the back court. Kentucky did that what they needed to do to keep themselves in the game and at the end and they finished they way they wanted to.”

On the second half …
“We cut the lead down to three but we never quite got over the hump at that point. We didn’t get the looks we wanted to and they did a good job of converting their free-throws like good teams do. Meeks and Patterson are really good players. The more you watch them on film the more you grow to appreciate how hard they work and how tough they are.”

On the seniors …
“Our seniors have been fantastic. They have been the NCAA the past couple of years and the postseason again this year. They have won tournament games and helped establish a foundation to help us continue to grow and build. They will look back at this time and know they made some great contributions and how much they have invested into the program.”

UNLV Players
#1, Sr., G, Wink Adams
On why they struggled shooting the ball early …
“I really don’t have an answer to that. We did a great job of driving and getting open looks for our shooters but they just didn’t fall. It has been happening like that all season. Our whole thing is that eventually they will start falling and that is what happened in the second half and the main reason we were able to close Kentucky’s gap.”

On the effort UNLV gave …
“We had nothing to lose and were putting everything on the floor. We came together and said that we were going to have to get some stops to get back into the game. When we got some stops and made some shots we got right back into the game. We cut it to three and I am proud of my team for the way that we fought tonight.”

On if he is proud that his team fought back and got back into the game …
“Yeah I feel like that, but you always want to win the game. You do feel better when you leave the game knowing that you played 100-percent and did all you can do to win the game. It always feels bad to lose the game but at least you know in your heart that you played 100-percent.”

On their season …
“The whole season has been up and down. We have been struggling shooting the ball. In November, we said that we didn’t want to get to March and say `I wish we could have done that’ and that is what happened. We were happy to play in the NIT and get to play a prestigious school like Kentucky. It was my first time out here and playing against these guys, and this atmosphere is far and away above other teams, in my opinion. The season has been fun and I have enjoyed playing with these guys. I wish it could have gone another way but they have a chance next year to have a good season.”

#24, Sr., G, René Rougeau
On the comeback …
“Give credit to Mareceo Rutledge and Kendall Wallace. They really came off the bench and gave everyone some fire. Everyone was hustling and getting on the boards. That is how we should be playing and the bench really did a great job tonight for us and got us back into the game.”

On the atmosphere in Memorial Coliseum tonight …
“It was definitely a great atmosphere. It was a great game to go out in. Kentucky has a great fan base and we appreciate the opportunity to be able to play in an arena like this and against such a prestigious team like Kentucky.”

On how they build towards next year …
“The guys that we have coming back next year know what to expect. Coach has high expectations for everyone and I am sure that they will get back to the NCAA Tournament. They got a taste tonight to see what it is like to play in a heated environment and I am sure they will be successful next year.”

“Although we have had some disappointments throughout the season, it has been a fun year and Coach said that a few days ago. We have had great careers here at UNLV. All we can do is look back and be happy about how things went with our careers.”