Kentucky Head Coach Matthew Mitchell
Opening statement…
“Well, we have a tough game ahead of us Sunday at Florida. They’re always a difficult team to prepare for, they run a lot of offense and they run it well. They play really hard, and they’re well coached. They present a big challenge for us each time we play. Very dynamic team that can score. It gives you a lot of action that you have to prepare for, and for us in a very short period of time. We got in late last night after a very physical game, and we’re back on the road, we’re traveling down tomorrow with a noon tip on Sunday. So, real challenge here to try and get prepared for a good Florida Gators team that has had a good start to the conference season. So, we’re going to have to do a great job over the next couple of days to get ready for this game. Big challenge.”
On Kentucky’s team presenting a challenge for other teams with Rhyne Howard on the floor…
“She (Howard) had a great night last night. She’s been playing really hard. I think one of the things that you notice is she is shooting the ball really well. A lot of times last year, with Taylor Murray and Maci Morris they were able to attract some attention and she (Howard) was scoring a lot of open 3s. Now, she is the focal point of a lot of teams’ preparations. She has really had to work hard to play well. I can’t stress this enough, what a team effort it takes for her to get a 43-point night. She had a lot of great screens set, a lot of great passes delivered, a lot of offensive rebounds that turned into second possessions where she’s able to score. You just saw, it was a beautiful thing to see, that the 43 points gets a lot of attention. But, it’s not a singular effort and the team was so excited to see it and to be a part of it. We were on the bus last night after the game, and the bus driver had the TV on, and they were showing the highlights. Just the excitement on the bus of everyone really made me feel good. It was a special time. So, it was a great individual performance from a statistical standpoint, but it definitely was an overall team effort. I just think with the challenge that she poses, she is just so versatile. She has great size, speed, athleticism… all that. They’re putting a hand in her face, but she’s still big enough to be able to have vision and make shots that are some-what contested. She is playing with great pace off screens. She is scoring in all three levels – the 3-point line, the midrange jumper, and now what she has added to her game this year is the ability to score at the rim that she struggled with a bit last year. So, that’s been a real positive move for her. It was a fun game to be a part of, but we needed that kind of effort. Alabama is a tough team. Tough to go on the road and win a game in the SEC. So, it was a great night for our team.”
On Howard being a great scorer and not necessarily taking bad shots…
“That’s a good observation. We all either grew up around or knew about ball hogs. I was one when I played. I took a lot of bad shots. She doesn’t come off as anything other than the flow of the offense. She is taking really good shots. She is even having the patience, when she is guarded, to change pace, split double teams, instead of taking a contested 19 footer. She’ll find a way to get in and maybe get a 12 footer with the extra effort. We were so patient last night when Alabama was trying to face guard and deny. We just kept moving the ball and then would find her late in the shot clock. So, it is. It’s impressive. I just can’t overstate this, the feeling on the bus last night, no jealousy whatsoever, I just think that we understand that this is a big part of our offense. She is a big-time scorer. But, you go back to Sunday in the Tennessee game; huge defensive plays and rebounding. So, she does not come off as just this high-volume shooter who is just trying to go get her… she is really doing it in the constructive of us winning the basketball game and that is fun to watch.”
On the team allowing and supporting Rhyne to be the player that she is…
“It is a tremendous credit to our team. But, we understand who we are this year and what we have to be this year. Every year, you only have one shot at getting it right. This collection of players will only play together one time. So, we have to figure out how this edition of the Wildcats can win, and they want to win. That’s where we have to stay. The thing we all have to realize – coaches, players, Rhyne Howard and her teammates – is that she is going to get a lot of attention in the press and she deserves it. She is a phenomenal player. But, we cannot let that divert our focus from the overall objective, and that’s winning games for Kentucky. I think they’re doing a great job of that right now. It’s sincere, it’s genuine, and as long as we stay that way, we will continue to progress as a team. A lot of room for growth for us now. We did not have a great night defensively at times, but we were really banged up last night too. We have to do a lot of things to be successful and keep our mind on that. Stay healthy, take care of our bodies, get plenty of rest, so we can get to the court and play really physical and tough and with a tremendous competitive fire. I give the team a lot of credit to go from getting on the plane to fly back to Lexington from Columbia, South Carolina… you know, watching that film and seeing a really poor effort and just knowing we had to crank things up and transform our way of thinking. They really have embraced that over the last week, and that’s the way we have to remain and keep pressing forward to try and get better.”
On shooting that many 3s …
“Well, you know, what I would like to do compared to what has to happen, you know, I have to get my mind off of that. There’s all sorts of things that I’d like to do every year that I enjoy and like, but this particular team… we are really banged up in the post. We had a spot there last night where Alabama had some really great size and there was some challenges there. So, a lot of our scoring comes from the perimeter and we work at it, we shoot a lot of 3s in practice. To answer your question, on nights for us to be competitive and win games, we need to do a good job form the 3-point line. I think 16 3s was the most any team has ever made in program history, so you may not have that every night, but we’re going to probably end up shooting a lot of 3s.”
On if you expect Florida to be shooting from outside Sunday…
“Well, they just do a lot of dynamic things offensively and schematically, that putting pressure on your defense and creating open shots, they were really hot from the 3 last night, so I’d imagine they’re going to try to ride that offensive momentum. No matter whether it is a layup or a midrange jumper or a 3, they really put pressure and stress on the defense and it is a tough, tough turnaround to come off the road on a Thursday night, try to regroup, get back, game plan, get ready to go for an early tip on Sunday, so this is a tremendous challenge for a team that has been playing really well in the Florida Gators. So, they put a lot of stress on you and we will have to rise to the occasion to earn a victory.”