This time tomorrow we’ll all be hanging out here at Nation of Blue getting ready to watch the game and chatting with other UK fans from around the world. But that’s tomorrow night. Until then, here is what Coach Cal was thinking today.
[B][I]On who the best athlete on the team is …[/I][/B]
“Probably if you watch them do some of that stuff would be Darius (Miller), but Terrence (Jones) shows some and DeAndre (Liggins) shows some speed and Brandon (Knight) is fast too. But Darius does a little bit of everything so…”
[B][I]On how dangerous Ole Miss is …[/I][/B]
“Well there are two things. I watched their Tennessee game and they were tied with eight minutes to go and they’d given up about 15 or 16 offensive rebounds. If they had rebounded the ball they’d have been up 10 or 12 on Tennessee down there. I just saw the Vanderbilt tape and they were up one with five minutes to go at Vandy. And then Vandy made – which they can do – some ridiculous 3s and got up six or seven, they missed a free throw and all of a sudden it’s eight, but you know. We’ve got to play, this is a league right now – I told you guys a few weeks ago, we’re all four points from each other. Whether you’re on the road, at home, we’re about four points. Auburn beat South Carolina, at South Carolina. Alabama’s beating everybody. No one thought they’d be any good. Arkansas goes to Vandy and wins. Mississippi State beats Florida. We’re all four points from each other.”
[B][I]On how important senior guard Chris Warren is to Ole Miss’ team …[/I][/B]
“Obviously he scores the ball, he’ll take big shots; he makes big shots that change the game. You have to guard him and make sure you keep an eye on him, but their other guys play off of him pretty good. They’re athletic, they drive the ball, Andy’s (Kennedy) done a good job of spacing the court out so they can all drive and they play to their strengths.”
[B][I]On if he believes they’ve gotten the message from the Alabama game and others about playing on the road …[/I][/B]
“You say they’re freshmen, but I met with the older guys again and said, ‘We’re going on the road, man, this is you guys. It’s not those freshmen.’ If the freshmen play well, great, we’ll win. If they don’t play well we have to win anyway. If only one or two of them are playing well, then the other one sits and we’ll win, but you three – two juniors and a senior – this is your team and you understand what it means to go on the road and play in this league. You have to tell them, you can’t accept anything else. If a couple of them are playing well we’ll use those two, the other one won’t play. But you three, and being specific, each of you have to do your job or you can’t speak. They understand.”
[B][I]On how he thought freshman forward Terrence Jones played against Georgia after reviewing the tape …[/I][/B]
“I thought in the second half he defended and rebounded pretty well. I thought the way he started the game, he had pretty good energy and all those things. Then he’ll hit a lull which is he stops playing and fouls. He played the guy after the guy caught the ball, you’re going to foul. So he gets two fouls and had to sit out. The second half I thought he did OK. The one thing Terrence and all of us (are guilty), there’s got to be ball movement. There are times when he gets it, he stops it and he just has to know if I have a play make it and if not get rid of it. Don’t hold it and stop what we’re doing. There were some great plays versus the zone where that ball just moved, and dribbled, kicked, swing, bang, wide open 3. Well, if you’re in there and it never does that, it’s probably you then. That motion is what makes us good. Again, my goal for him at the end of the year is everybody saying, ‘There’s not a more well-rounded player, there’s not a better player who does more than Terrence.’ Right now he’s not there yet but that’s alright. It’s like Brandon (Knight). I want Brandon to be the best point guard in the country who scores. ‘He’s the best point guard in the country who scores.’ Not near that yet. I want Darius (Miller) to be one of the best players in our league. Just, he does everything well. Not near that yet. You want Doron Lamb to be that freshman scorer that everybody says, ‘Wow, he’s the best freshman scorer in the country.’ He can be that. He’s got to have more of a motor, got to sprint the floor. That’s why I keep coming back to, we’re not where we need to be. DeAndre’s (Liggins) missing layups. Layups, dead layups, he’s missing them, or wide open four-footers, shots that he will make. Well you think about him defending, he’s not rebounding because he’s leaving early. But if he stays in there and rebounds, does what he’s doing defensively and makes some shots, I mean how many guys are more effective than him? I don’t know of any in the country. But we’re not close… ‘Oh, you’re asking for a lot if you want these guys to be perfect.’ No, I just want them to strive for their potential, strive to be the best they can be. ‘What do you look like when you’re at your best? Let’s try to work for that. In your mind, what do you look like? OK, if that’s what you look like then let’s work toward that.’ Now how do you get to that mentality? How do you get to that level? Well, you practice that way and come in with a mentality that I’m going to be my best today, get used to being my best. The funny thing with our country right now is we’ve gone to video games. ‘You should see me on that video game. I got a step back, watch this.’ We’re not in a video game. You’ve got to be on the court doing it, and you’ve got to practice it.”
