Kentucky Men’s Basketball
UK vs. Morehouse College
Postgame Quotes
Rupp Arena – Lexington, Ky.
Nov. 7, 2011

Kentucky Players

#13, Sam Malone, G

On the game in general…
“It was really fun tonight, we came out with a lot of energy tonight and that makes it more fun for everyone. We play with a lot of energy and when we do we play a lot better that way.”

On the reaction of the fans to your made shot…
“It’s a great feeling, to see them all get excited and my teammates get excited, it felt good.

On the focus on intensity in practice affected the outcome of the start to this game…
“Definitely, we came out a lot hungrier today. Intensity changes everything. I think we looked like a totally different team out there today.”

#30, Eloy Vargas, F

On if these games are fun to play …
“Yeah, it was kind of fun. Everybody came out ready to play and excited to play. Everybody came out ready to play.”

On if he heard the large ovation he came off the court too …
“I didn’t pay attention. I didn’t know anything. I got back and went to the bench.”

On how he played …
“I think I played a lot better. I am a lot better conditioned. I am happy about my play. I have to keep going and pushing myself more from what I did.”

#5, Jarrod Polson, G

On the difference in this game and the first exhibition …
“We really came in with the mindset that we needed to bring energy. That’s how we won that game.”

On the week of practice leading up to tonight’s game …
“We weren’t too happy with the last exhibition game. Obviously, we won, but we know we could have played a lot better. We looked at some of that film and really had some good practices until this game, and I think that’s what happened.”

On Michael Kidd-Gilchrist’s energy spreading through the team …
“He is just so motivated. You see him out there clapping, and getting steals and stuff like that. That just kind of spreads through our whole team.”

#33, Kyle Wiltjer, F

On whether or not this game was easier than the Transylvania game…
“I wouldn’t say easier. It was about the same. I just got into the flow a little better and I got my confidence up. It’s a good feeling having the fan support behind you and I’m glad that we got the win.”

On what Coach Cal told the team at halftime…
“He told us to keep our intensity up since we started the game with such a passion on defense. That’s why we got so many easy baskets. We started off 24 for 24 because we got straight lanes. The first game we settled for a lot of jumpers so Coach (Calipari) said to keep attacking the rim, look for open shots and kick outs and to keep shooting confidently.”

On the passion level tonight versus against Transylvania…
“Most definitely. We started the first game off a little shaky. The defense wasn’t bad the first game but on offense we were settling for jumpers. Coach (Calipari) emphasized playing physical so that’s what we did in the first couple minutes of the game so our starters really got us off to a good start.”

Morehouse College Head Coach Grady Brewer

Opening statement…
“I think Kentucky has a good basketball team this year. They are young, going up against SEC competition will probably be a learning process but I think in the end they are going to be a pretty good basketball team.”

On learning something from this game …
“It’s a learning experience, every game you play is a learning experience for your kids. A lot of kids at our level think that they can play in the NBA or overseas and this shows them what they have to do to play at that level. It’s a learning experience for them and hopefully it’s a humbling experience so when we go to practice on Wednesday and get ready to play West Georgia, they will understand where they really are, the fundamentals of the game. You always talk about working on the little things and the big things will take care of themselves, boxing out, not turning the basketball over, setting solid screens, those type of things. It will be a learning experience for me, when we came here we knew what we have and when you have six All-Americans on a team and even though they are freshman, they are good and you all are fortunate to have this type of team.”

On how this game has prepared them …
“We went and played the University of Georgia on Friday and didn’t play as badly as we did tonight but again, the talent level is a lot different. I think we are going to be able to compete, if we take care of the little things and get back to the fundamentals of practice I think we are going to be able to compete and I think we are going to be pretty good in our conference when it’s all said and done.”

On Kentucky players that stood out to him …
“I think the (Anthony) Davis kid is special, and (Terrence) Jones, both those kids are special. They shot 72 percent from the field so everyone looked good tonight. I believe if my sister was playing in Kentucky blue tonight she probably would have done well.”

On how this game came about…
“Back in January, in Atlanta, we had an ESPN special with Cal, Spike Lee, and Jalen Rose. We were in Atlanta and my players were there for that and sitting in the front row. After the special Cal asked if that was my team, of course a couple of the guys graduated and aren’t here anymore, and asked to take a picture with them because he thought my team looked and acted sharp. When we were taking the picture I whispered in his ear, ‘could you give me a game up in Kentucky next year?’ Spike was there also and heard me say it so he kind of egged it on and Cal agreed to it so that’s how we got this game. I would come back, this is basketball country, if you have competitiveness in you, you want to get on this stage, this is the basketball stage.”

Morehouse College Players

#50, Andrae Nelson, C

On the experience was for him…
“At the end of the day, it was just a good experience for our team to play against some top caliber guys so that we will be able to take over our conference.“

On whether this has been the “whole” experience for his team…
“It has, for sure. You always dream coming into Rupp Arena. You hear of guys like Jamal Mashburn and Pat Riley, all of those types of players that have come here and played. Just to get the opportunity to get to play in front of 24,000 people on national television, it’s not something you get to do every day. Just getting that opportunity was amazing. I’m grateful for it and hopefully it’ll help us throughout the year.”

#11, Adam Callaway, G

On the main difference in the DI game and what he is used too…
“How fast the game was compared to the [Division 2] level, especially in our league and that we were playing some of the top guys in the nation”

On Spike Lee suggesting Morehouse play Kentucky…
“I didn’t think it was going to take place until I saw it on the schedule this year. I was really excited when I heard about it.”

On what he can take away from playing Kentucky…
“Playing in front of this crowd compared to playing in our league is a great experience, something my teammates and I can carry with us this season and a lifetime.”