University of Tennessee Athletics
Buzz Peterson Q & A - Vanderbilt Game
January 12, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 12, 2004
INTERVIEW OF COACH Buzz Peterson BEFORE WEDNESDAY'S GAME (7:30 P.M.) AGAINST VANDERBILT AT THOMPSON-BOLING ARENA
BUZZ PRESS LUNCHEON | 
VIDEO
TENNESSEE VS. VANDERBILT PREVIEW
1. Comment on the schedule facing the Vols as they take on a gauntlet of opponents with impressive winning percentages.
A: "It's a very stiff challenge facing us, but we have to look at one game at a time, and that leads us to Vanderbilt Wednesday night. The Commodores are bringing in a good basketball team led by the talented Matt Freiji. We'll have to play at our best to win. We're excited about playing again and going up against a good Vanderbilt team on our home floor."
2. How much progress has John Winchester made between his freshman and sophomore seasons with the Vols?
A: "John's matured and knows what's a good shot and what's a bad shot. Defensively, he does a good job. He's a competitor and just needs to be more consistent."
3. From your experience in coaching at both UT and Vanderbilt, describe the intensity of rivalry that will be renewed Wednesday (7:30E) at Knoxville.
A: "It's always an intense game, never failing to be a tough challenge for the Vols. They read and hear a lot about UT and look on it as a special game. It's special to us, also."
Coach Peterson's Remarks at Weekly Press Luncheon
On Wednesday's game against Vanderbilt
" I guess the word I could use is, test. This is an interesting week and we've got to move on after what happened Saturday. We are facing a good Vanderbilt team--one of the better teams I've seen come through Vanderbilt. (Matt) Freije is having a tremendous year. They have the athletes to compete in the SEC. Their overall team attitude is much improved. Their half-court offense is improved, but I think they are better defensively than they have been in the past. We're looking forward to the challenge of playing Vanderbilt. It's a game our guys have to get excited about and put what happened to us on Saturday behind them. "
On Staying Positive
" I big thing I'm going to harp on them (team) is to just stay positive. Even though it was a letdown and we're not happy with it, and I'm sure the fans aren't happy with it, we still have a long season ahead of us and let's stay positive. Don't point any fingers and let's move in the right direction and try to get a win against Vanderbilt on Wednesday. With a lot of our guys being young, they need some positive things said to them. I'll try to keep it on the positive side and put this behind us. I've seen some teams get beat pretty bad, then it starts a domino (effect). We have to put it behind us. We've got some tough games coming up and a lot of those teams are ranked. But, it's one game at a time and it starts with Vanderbilt."
On Highs and Lows of a Season
" You have to keep things in the middle. You can't get too high or too low. You have to look at the whole picture--that's the bottom line. I don't want us to dwell on this one game or one week. I want to look at the whole picture."
