The Kentucky Kernel had an [URL=”http://kykernel.com/2011/01/07/cats-know-the-sound-of-the-treadmill/”]article[/URL] recently about Calipari using a treadmill as motivation to make his team work harder. I was thinking about that. I remember Calipari saying in the interview after the Penn game that he needed more out of Vargas, Hood and Poole (and possibly Polson). I was thinking about that too. Finally, I remembered a quote from Calipari about Josh Harrellson, and how he taught Cal to take some time to work with the guys who aren’t superstars to make them better. Suddenly hope was reborn.
What if Cal can bring out the play in Vargas, Hood and Poole like he did with Harrellson? Even two of the three would strengthen the rotation to eight. What if the UK bench has just been slacking because they’ve been waiting on Kanter to be cleared so he can ‘save the day’, and now they’re looking at the cold, hard fact that he’s not and they have to step up? Vargas was #26 in the nation coming out of High School. Poole was #33, Hood was #40. What if these guys played up to their potential?
John Calipari is an exceptional motivator. If you’ve ever heard him speak, you know this. The reason he gets such great recruits year after year is because, after hearing his pitch, people want to be a part of what he’s doing. If Cal can get the kind of production from his bench that he has from Harrellson, this could still be a fun season. This could be a really fun season.
