Notes, Quotes, and Interviews: LSU Edition

Julius Randle – Kentucky Forward 

"On the last play… “That was a basketball game. James (Young) was being aggressive just like he was the whole game. He did a great job getting into the paint. If he put it on the rim, I was going to get it. They had been trying to box me out the whole game. Luckily, that one fell right into my hands.”  On the difficulty this team posed them… “I don’t know their record, but they’re a great team with great players and a lot of talent. They get all the credit. They match up well with us. Regardless, it’s going to be a war. Luckily we came out with the W.”  On the excitement level in the locker room after the game… “We were just happy. We knew we were getting some off days so we were excited about that. A game like that is tough. There were plenty of times we could have put our head down. There was a time when we did put our head down. We could have said forget it, but we didn’t. We kept fighting. Andrew (Harrison) made two tremendous free throws at the end of the game to put us into overtime. We were able to take it on from there. We made plenty of tough shots in overtime—some 3’s, even. We just kept fighting.”"

Andrew Harrison – Kentucky Guard 

"On the pressure of playing in an overtime game… “We have lost overtime games before. We all told each other during overtime that we are not losing this one, so we just kept coming. They hit some big shots in overtime, but we just kept coming, kept fighting and kept swinging.”  On what this win does for the team… “It’s a great confidence builder knowing that we can win down the stretch and we’ll just have to try and get ready for Thursday.”  On the emphasis of getting to the rim… “Aaron (Harrison) and James (Young) pretty much took turns driving and scoring, so having those two it’s great. They doubled Julius (Randle) and me; I couldn’t hit a shot to save my life. You just have to play through it. That’s what basketball is.”  On being worried while facing a deficit in overtime… “Worried? Yea, definitely. Coach was saying that we are not losing. When somebody says something like that, you have to believe it.”"

Aaron Harrison – Kentucky Guard

"On their reaction after the final buzzer… “It was really fun. I think it will bring us closer together. It helped us a lot and brought us together as a team. We enjoyed that moment, we just all want to win.”  On how it seemed this win released a lot of pressure… “Yeah definitely.  You have to enjoy basketball.  You can’t play as many games as we play and practice as much as we do if it’s not fun.  I think we make it fun for each other.”  On if he was confident they were going to win… “I mean it’s a game.  You don’t know if you are going to win or lose.  We had runs and they had runs.”  On how he felt after his fall in the first half… “I was more scared than anything.  It is a scary feeling falling and you don’t know where you’re falling or what you’re going to hit.  I hit the ground pretty so I knew I just had to jump up quick. I had to get up for my teammates.  You can’t feel sorry for yourself.  That is not what we are about.”"