Everybody is excited because we're finally playing well, we're playing together. We're playing Kentucky basketball. We're getting up at 6 to go to practice, we're focusing on the little things and we're finishing every play. Everybody knows that's how we've got to play.
I've always felt like we're a national contender. Even though we're not in the rankings right now, I feel like nobody should want to play us when tournament time comes.
Jeff Sheppard came and told us the same thing earlier in the year. He was telling us about how that 1998 team lost in Maui and how they lost some games at home. But no one remembered that when they won the national championship.
It's not one or two things; it's everything . It's getting in your stance to denying the ball.
I guess we proved we're OK. I'd rather win than feel good about a loss.
Starting is great, but I'd rather be in at the end of the game. There are much bigger issues than that.
This is a step forward. We played well in spots, so we just need to make those spots longer. But we won a game, and we're back on the right track. We needed to get that feeling of winning again.
The same ball we use in the (NCAA) Tournament. It feels good.
We're happy to be here. We're just focused. We've got our game face on.
We're a lot more mature. The roles have been defined. Everybody understands what needs to happen to win.
