Dec. 14, 2002

Recap?|? Final Stats?|? Notes

Missouri Player Quotes

Missouri junior center Arthur Johnson On surprise of quick start: "I wasn't surprised because you know what you can do as a group. We finally put it together out there, and it showed tonight."

Missouri junior guard/forward Rickey Paulding On play of Missouri guard Josh Kroenke: "Josh played real big for us tonight. He hounded the ball defensively, he dove for balls, he grabbed loose rebounds, he was a vocal leader, he was everything for us tonight."

Missouri junior guard Ricky Clemons On Missouri's defensive game: "We came out and established our defense, and that's the thing we've been living up to. We're just going to continue to get better. Our offense plays off our defense...As long as we continue to keep doing what we're doing, good things will happen for us."

Missouri freshman guard Jimmy McKinney On leading without Paulding, Clemons, and Bryant on the court: "I think I handled the situation pretty good. I think the players coming off the bench were pretty good. They started making a little run, and coach said this was a team that would make runs. Unfortunately, they made their run with our key guys on the bench."

On upcoming Illinois Game: "It's the border-line, it's "Braggin' Rights" to see who's the best. We're going to practice for Illinois and just come out and play Mizzou defense."

Game Quotes: Memphis Tigers

Memphis head coach John Calipari On Missouri's Arthur Johnson and Missouri rebounding: "He played well. Their team played well. They took what was there. The biggest thing they did is, every time they needed a basket they got a second shot. They just had more of an effort to go get the ball."

"We may have had 28 rebounds, but I bet you off of those 28 rebounds, we probably scored five or six baskets. Where, when they go 18, they scored on 17 of them."

On full court pressure: "I didn't keep it up because I've got five guys out there. I've still got two guys out, but when Jeremy Hunt is back and Chris (Massie) is back and I've have eight or nine guys, I can play that way if you I have to. When you've got five guys and there's 12 minutes left in the game, you can't play that way. We couldn't get it close enough that I felt comfortable, but finally I said lets start anyway."

Memphis junior guard Antonio Burks On foul trouble: "I just tried to come out and play aggressive like they did, and unfortunately the calls didn't go my way and they went Missouri's way, so I was in foul trouble the whole night."

On Memphis' slow start: "They played so aggressive. We had a lot of people playing a little soft. They're going to get better because they're young plays, we've just got to step our defense and offense up."

Memphis sophomore guard Billy Richmond On Memphis second half goals: "It was on our mind that they were a top ten team, and we're kind of short handed so we just wanted to give ourselves a chance to win the ball game. We pretty much did that, then we had a mental breakdown. I kind of got tired out there because I'm not in good shape right now, but we'll be alright when we get our "big man" Chris Massie back."