KENTUCKY HC MARK POPE Q&A:
* Great night. JSU plays really hard, competes the whole time. Mo Williams is a guy you know will bring that.
* Loved the fans coming out like this tonight for a game that wasn't perceived to be a "headline game." It was fun.
* Asked about the team getting excited to see Noah and Perry score, and if he remembers his first collegiate bucket... Pope says he really can't recall his first one, but Trent and Travis are really special. They have a bright future. It's hard to come and sit for 35 minutes and show up like they did late in the game. Proud of those guys.
* Brea did some nice things tonight in addition to his 3s. Really good about choosing the simple play and executing really quickly. Excellent defensively. A couple of nice strips. But one of his favorite moments was he splashed a 3 in the corner and turned around and trash talked me. I loved it.
* On the assists... The more you give, the more you get back.
* Loved seeing 11 of 12 players score, and the only guy who didn't score (Kerr Kriisa) led us with 7 assists. That's what we want Kentucky basketball to be.
* Asked if he was able to know these guys would be so unselfish when building the roster so fast... Yes, he says. And he thinks that UK just attracts really good people. If you come here, it's the one place in all of college basketball where you are representing a state and a fan base in a different way.
* Loved the energy they got from Brandon Garrison tonight. He's able to play a little longer, more minutes. Just filled the stat sheet tonight: 6 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks. Really proud of the way he's progressing.
* Enjoying and savoring every second he gets to coach Kerr Kriisa. He's bringing so much to our team. Unique skillset and personality. He's got a defiance and swag to him.
* On Big Blue Nation being surprised by the play of Otega Oweh... 8/12, 21 points, 0 turnovers, 3 steals, and he's the last question of the press conference. That's kind of him every single night. He just seems to get off to a great start every game.
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JACKSON STATE HC MO WILLIAMS Q&A:
* Glad to be here tonight. Great crowd. Wish we had played better. Jokes that he's 1-1 in the building now. Had won as a player at Bama.
* On Lamont Butler... Student of the game, watched him throughout his career, he came from a defensive background, and that's never changed. He's the head of the snake for them, aggressive on the ball. Real good body. Real good pace about himself. That's the only way you can go deep in the tournament, with a point guard like that.
* They're a team that has a chance if they stay together and continue to compete like they're doing.
* On UK's assists total... Ball always moves faster than a man. You preach that as a coach. They do a great job with that. The ball don't "stick" with them. Nobody holds it for a long time trying to figure out what they have. They move it until someone has something good.
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UK PLAYERS ANSLEY ALMONOR, COLLIN CHANDLER, OTEGA OWEH:
