Mississippi State Head Coach Rick Ray
On how his team continued to compete …
“I thought we did a fairly good job of continuing to compete. The situation we are in right now where you have lost so many ballgames in a row and you have attrition on your team --. The only thing we can go for right now is just to battle and compete. That’s what I want to see from our guys. I think a lot of our woes come from our struggles on the offensive end. I think we are getting some good looks out there at times, we just simply don’t knock them down. The one thing we have to figure out as a team is just self-evaluation. We continually take more 3s than any other team, but yet we are the worst-shooting team in the SEC. That’s just not logical. We’ve got to figure out a way to temper our 3-point shooting or knock down those shots because we have got to get the ball into the paint and score more. Gavin Ware has to find a way to finish versus size. Guys like (Willie) Cauley-Stein really give him a problem because of him length and the only way he can combat that is to be more physical and create seals with his body.”
On Kentucky’s problems …
“I don’t see a lot of problems. I understand that Kentucky has had some problems with injuries and they probably lost the No. 1 draft pick in the nation in Nerlens Noel, but when you want to start comparing trials and tribulations, we win all day long. Even the situation they are in, (John Calipari) still has like five-star guys and McDonald’s All-American’s that is playing for him, so excuse me if I don’t start crying for what is going on at Kentucky compared to what is going on here.”
On UK’s difference with Wilie Cauley-Stein instead of Nerlens Noel …
“I think the huge difference is the shot-blocking ability. We were preparing for Ole Miss, and Kentucky just got done playing Ole Miss. What Kentucky did was just switch all the ball screens and all the screens coming off of Marshall Henderson. Someone said we should just do that. I said that I would do that when I have a guy back there who blocks 12 shots in a game. He just changes things that you do. I will give Coach Cal credit. He has figured out a way for his team to be successful without Nerlens Noel because you base what you do defensively based on him and so you have to give him credit for trying to figure out a way to make his team still be successful without the best player in probably college basketball. Credit goes to him on that.”
On Ryan Harrow’s point guard play …
“I actually had a chance to play against Ryan Harrow when he played at North Carolina State when he was a freshman and I was still at Clemson. He has really evolved as a basketball player. I know that when we were at Clemson, he struggled against our pressure at times, like most kids do as a freshman. You can tell he is maturing and trying to figure things out. I think he is a good basketball player and I think he just kind of had to find his way with all the scoring and all the different opportunities you have here at Kentucky to get the ball to different people.
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