Kentucky head coach John Calipari shares his thoughts on tonight’s game against Alabama. The Crimson Tide lead the SEC West. Tonight’s game will be seen on ESPN at 9:00pm, and we’ll surely bring you a feed on Nation of Blue where you can chat with other UK fans and watch the game if you’re stuck at work without at TV.
[B]On if he believes his team will be better on the road this time around …[/B]
“I don’t know until we get out there and play. We’re talking (about) a young team. We seem to start games better. We seem to play better defense. We haven’t sustained it. I mean, even LSU in the second half for a 10-minute stretch it was an even game in the second half. But we’re trying. We’ve got a bunch of guys trying, they understand what I mean about being content and being committed and they’re trying.”
[B]On if he’s gotten feedback on his appearance on ESPN …[/B]
“I did (get some feedback). When I went out recruiting I was stopped by a lot of people who were really kind. The best call I got was from my daughter telling me (she was) proud I was asked to be on the panel. She just said, ‘Dad, do you understand just to be asked to be there was something special for her,’ she said. It was really a neat experience. What I talk to my team about, because they have uniforms on, you’re treated different. If you didn’t have those uniforms on you’d be treated different. You have to understand that there’s still a ways to go and because they’re content with how they’re treated there’s still reason to stand up and make sure if there’s anything unjust that you see out there that you say it and you say something, because if you don’t say something about it you’re agreeing with it. That was our message today to them.”
[B]On the feedback he’s received from his players …[/B]
“It was funny, they liked that I went up and said it would be absurd for me to say I understand what it means to be African-American in this country or in the ‘60s or at this time. Terrence (Jones) said, ‘I’m glad you said that.’ It was from the heart. The one thing for me, I was not at all uncomfortable in any environment, in that environment. The views that I have are all based on how I was brought up. My two aunts now live in my grandmother’s old house and I was going to take a picture of the two houses that are next to each other. This house was the Harley’s, a black family, and this was my grandmother’s house, and literally they were feet apart. When I was about 9- or 10-years old there was stuff going on in Coraopolis, (Pa.), and my dad left my mother’s house with me and Mr. Harley was on the front porch and he said, ‘Vince, you’re fine, I’ve got your mom.’ And I thought, what a nice man. That was the beginning of my race education. I’ve been blessed. You’re brought up and born in certain areas and different things. I’ve been fortunate. It was by chance.”
[B]On how difficult it is for players like sophomore guard Jon Hood and freshman guard Stacey Poole to come off the bench and play free because they are afraid of messing up and sitting out again …[/B]
“Well, the mistake is you don’t come up with the rebound. You’re afraid to go get the rebound? See, that’s the cop-out what you’re talking about. I don’t want to make a mistake. He’s not taking you out for missed shots, you went 1-for-6. If you rebound and defend I can leave you on the floor. And some of the guys have buzzard’s luck. Whoever’s their man shoots it and scores and they’re all over them and it doesn’t matter, I feel bad for the guy. But, if you defend and rebound I can leave you on the floor and let you work through stuff. If you don’t rebound and defend I’m not leaving you on the floor to go 1-for-6, because the bottom line is we’re trying to win. So, when you say making a mistake, it’s effort. Are you backing up? Are you getting out-toughed? Are you letting that guy grab the ball out of your hands? Then you don’t deserve to play. It’s not about a missed shot or layup, guy’s miss them. They’re going to miss shots; they’re going to turn it over some. Now if they’re out there not defending, (not) rebounding and trying to make crazy plays I’ll take them out.”
[B]On if freshman forward Terrence Jones will continue to come off the bench …[/B]
“I don’t know yet. I’m going to watch practice today. He was really good in practice yesterday, or two days ago, and I want to see him today. (We’ve) got to get him to pass the ball. Right now he’s not passing as much as he needs to. We have that movement, and it’s not only that there’s a high-energy level with that other group. There’s also pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass. And if it goes, pass, pass, you hold it, stop. You’re not going pass, pass, pass, pass. You’re going pass, pass, stop. So we’ve got to get him moving. I told his teammates, when I watched him in high school, what impressed me most about Terrence Jones wasn’t his shooting, wasn’t his rebounding because he didn’t always go after the ball, it was his passing. Unbelievable passer. We’re just not seeing it right now. So we’ve got to get him to do that, yet I need him to score. It’s kind of like Brandon (Knight). We need you to run our team and pass the ball but I need you to score some baskets too. (Am I) asking a lot of him? Yeah, but I think he’s capable.”
[B]On Alabama …[/B]
“(They are) really good defensively, really tough. Their inside guys remind me of the Georgia players. Very physical, get you near the basket, and if you’re playing half speed you’re going to get killed. Very active in the zone, they trap, they do good things and they run their stuff. They run good stuff. I’m trying to find a tape to build my confidence up and I haven’t found one yet because I start watching – and then I watched our game we played with them last year. The games we played with them last year, they were right (there), they had chances to beat us both games. They’re doing well.”
[B]On having eight teams currently tied for first place in the Southeastern Conference …[/B]
“It speaks about the balance of the league. People wanted to say South Carolina and Alabama weren’t that good or that LSU’s not – now we got them pretty good, but the reality of it is they’re 2-1. Think about that. And Mississippi’s lost a couple games that they easily could have won. They had Mississippi State beat dead to rights, and they somehow slip, and they had Florida at Florida. It’s crazy. It’s what the league’s supposed to be; a bunch of good teams fighting it out and playing.”
Read the entire article [URL=”http://www.ukathletics.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/011711aab.html”]here[/URL].
