KENTUCKY HC MARK POPE Q&A:
* Really proud of our guys. Thought they came out like I hoped they would. So intentional to start the game.
* Terrific Wright State team. Clint Sargent is an up-and-coming coach in this biz. Watch, they will be a good team.
* We got a little over-excited with some home-run stuff, maybe a few more turnovers than we'd like, but a lot of nice assists. Still probably 10-15 possessions where we can find a better man to shoot it, but concedes he likes 30 assists on 37 buckets a lot.
* Turned defense into offense a lot. Liked that. Otega came up with some really timely steals and stops. Lamont is just a menace out there. I've been that coach on the other side where you're just hoping he doesn't take it from you every time. They were really disruptive. I don't think we've even begun to touch where we can be as a rim-protecting team.
* Amari Williams on the break is fun to watch. It's like 400 pounds of steel on the loose, going downhill. You never know what's going to happen with it, but it's fun to watch. He's really important to what we do.
* Conditioning is really important to playing the style they want to play. They've been meticulous about it, measured it with technology and analytics like they do everything else. He notes that he's really lucky to have a team this deep and healthy to keep coming in waves right now, but the conditioning factor still can get better.
* On his philosophy toward referees and how much to rant and rave... When he started 8-10 years ago, he'd got to the referee symposium and watch them view clips of the hardest plays to call in the sport. Learned a lot from those sessions. Says he'll lose his mind from time to time, but wants his players to know the refs have no power over whether we win or lose a game. We have to be disciplined with keeping our minds and our focus on the game.
* Again on being able to turn forced TOs into transition points... Really important for us. That's a terrific offensive team we played. Talented. To have that kind of consistently disruptive effort against them was really encouraging. Such a luxury as a coach when you can do that.
******
WRIGHT STATE HC CLINT SARGENT Q&A:
* Thought we were well-prepared for Kentucky, but Coach Pope's team was really physical, and when they get out in transition, they are hard to guard. We're a better team than this, but you have to credit Kentucky. They were really tough tonight.
* Impressed by how fast Pope built this roster that fits his scheme. You can tell he has the right group, connected kids, and it shows up on both ends of the floor.
* You have to give so much attention to their shooters that guys like Amari Williams become really dangerous on the staggers. We can't really defend the way we want to defend against that kind of action.
******
KENTUCKY PLAYERS KOBY BREA, AMARI WILLIAMS, OTEGA OWEH Q&A:
