Here are pregame comments from Kentucky's Darius Miller, Kyle Wiltjer and Marquis Teague as the Wildcats get set for a weekend road test at LSU (transcript via UK):
#1 Darius Miller, G, Sr.
On what has been the difference between road games last year versus this year …
“I think we’re pulling it out at the end. A lot of times last year we seemed to struggle to close a team out. I think we have more will to win this year.”
On where the will to win came from …
“Honestly, I don’t know. I guess it’s just something that you have it or you don’t. I guess we kind of developed it last year towards the end of the season. Early on in the season, especially in conference play, we didn’t have it.”
On whether he feels more comfortable being on the road now as a senior …
“Definitely. I think we all kind of feel more comfortable on the road. I think we’ve been doing a good job as far as road games this far. Hopefully we can continue on that path.”
On whether he feels the team has had to build confidence on the road …
“I think getting the first win definitely kind of helped us out. We kind of struggled there a little bit at the beginning but seemed to pull it out. From then on we kind of got rolling and we’re seeing it wasn’t as bad as we thought it was.”
On how close the team is to reaching their peak …
“I honestly don’t know. I know we still have some stuff to work on. I feel like we could become a better team still but I feel like we’re playing good at the same time so hopefully we can continue to get better and hopefully make a championship run.”
#25 Marquis Teague, G, Fr.
On what they’ve learned playing on the road in the SEC …
“We know the crowds are really into the game. We have to really come together and be ready to play together. It’s real loud in every gym, so we have to be able to listen to coach and relay calls to each other.”
On (LSU guard and former Kentucky Mr. Basketball) Anthony Hickey, if he’s heard about him and if he expects him to come out hungry tomorrow playing against his home state…
“Yeah, this is his home state, so we expect him to come out and compete. I heard he’s been doing very well this year, so he’s a really good player. I had a chance to see him in the Indiana All-Star game, so (I’m) just ready to go down and play.”
On what he remembers from his previous matchup with Anthony Hickey …
“He’s a good guard, he’s real quick, good with the ball, can shoot the outside shot. He’s just a true point guard.”
On what his responsibility is on a team like this with them being such a balanced ballclub in terms of keeping everybody involved …
“Just to find people in places where they can score. My first thing is to get everybody else involved. On a team like this, you don’t really have to score as many points as I’m using to scoring. So I just try to get everybody involved and create and control the tempo of the game.”
#33 Kyle Wiltjer, F, Fr.
On what he is expecting for the LSU game …
“I am just looking forward to practice today and learning a little more about them (LSU). We are probably going to watch some film and we are looking forward to the game.”
On how much film the team watches …
“We don’t watch a lot. Generally, a couple of days before, usually the day before, and pre-game meal we watch a lot.”
On when they watch the most film of their opponents …
“Coach (Calipari) does a lot of work with the film, and then he just incorporates that into practice. It’s not a lot of work that we have to do to watch it, but definitely in pre-game meal we have to watch the sets they run in transition, and usually the go-to sets so we know what we are looking forward too.”
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