[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Arial Narrow][B]Kentucky Men’s Basketball [/B][/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Arial Narrow][B]November 14, 2011[/B][/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Arial Narrow][B]Pre-Kansas Media Opportunity[/B][/FONT][/COLOR]
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[CENTER][COLOR=#000000][FONT=Arial Narrow][B][U]UK Head Coach John Calipari[/U][/B][/FONT][/COLOR][/CENTER]
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[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Arial Narrow][I]On what the team has been working on since the Marist game …[/I][/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Arial Narrow]“We’ve been working on our stuff. We can’t spend a whole lot of time when you’re playing all these young kids. Even the returning players are sophomores, except for Darius (Miller) and Eloy (Vargas) was only here one year too. You have to work on your own stuff. Let’s just be the best we can be for November 14[/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=#000000][FONT=Arial Narrow]th[/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=#000000][FONT=Arial Narrow]. If that’s not good enough, we’ll come back and regroup and keep going.”[/FONT][/COLOR]
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[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Arial Narrow][I]On whether this game against Kansas is a “statement” game …[/I][/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Arial Narrow]“It may be a statement game, but I’m hoping it’s the one they think it’ll be. It could be another statement. I think Kansas, in the same sense, is going to make it a statement game. Kansas is kind of like our team a year ago where everybody thought, ‘You know what, they’re not that good,’ and I kept telling you all, ‘I like my team and there’s no one out there that’s that good that scares me. We just have to get it together by the end of the year.’ I said it probably 500 times. I imagine, right now, that with (Thomas) Robinson and the big kid and the guard play they have, (Kansas coach Bill Self)’s saying the same thing. Now you may say, ‘Well they’re not deep.’ I played six guys last year. We played six guys. I would tell you, he’s got a veteran team of good players and they’re trying to make a statement too.”[/FONT][/COLOR]
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[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Arial Narrow][I]On how hard Thomas Robinson will be to defend …[/I][/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Arial Narrow]“Very hard. He really does a great job of creating space for himself in transition. He’ll throw himself in pick and rolls and create space for himself to get the ball back. Now, he’s playing out on the floor some so he’ll bring it up the floor on rebounds. He’ll shoot the 15-footer. He’s really good. It’s going to be a hard match-up for us. With Terrence Jones, how much do you really want to put him on (Thomas) Robinson? He’s probably too physical for a bunch of our guys.”[/FONT][/COLOR]
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[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Arial Narrow][I]On how far back he goes with Bill Self …[/I][/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Arial Narrow]“He followed me at Kansas. We have the same mentor in Larry Brown. When I left, he came into Kansas and he’s had a great career. Everywhere he’s gone he’s won. I have fond memories of Kansas. We lost a national title game where we had the chance to win, missed some free throws, and if it was going to happen to any program who would beat us, I said, ‘Let it be Kansas.’ I had my start at coaching there. I met my wife at Kansas. I had some wonderful times there. It’s a great campus, great tradition, great coaches that were there. Bill has followed in that line. I’ve got fond memories of Kansas.”[/FONT][/COLOR]
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[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Arial Narrow][I]On whether UK will have an advantage having had players already experience Madison Square Garden…[/I][/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Arial Narrow]“No because it’s going to be nutty and the game isn’t going to start until about midnight. Yesterday and Saturday we practiced late. We didn’t get out of here until 10:30 p.m. yesterday and I told them, ‘Alright men. It’s halftime of our game,’ as the practice ended. It’s going to be rough. They’re physical, they’re well coached, they do their stuff, they know how they’re playing, they’re going to jam it in. They’re going to throw you some pick and rolls to jam it in and then they’re going to jam it in and they’re going to jam it in. You’ve got to be ready for the physicalness of their play. They fly up and down the court and they shoot 3s too. So ours is, we drive it, drive it, shoot 3s. Theirs, they post it, post it, post it and shoot 3s. It’s kind of the same idea. I’ve watched tape. They play hard. They’re tough. They’re not beating themselves. This is a great test. I told our guys, ‘The pressure on us was yesterday and Saturday and today a little bit. That’s all we can do. It’s the 14[/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=#000000][FONT=Arial Narrow]th[/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=#000000][FONT=Arial Narrow] of November.’ We finally got in some out of bounds plays. We talked situations yesterday for the first time. If we’re in a close game and stuff doesn’t go right, don’t look at my players. That’s me. We just haven’t had time. It’s the middle of November. Let’s hope it’s not a one-point game and someone has the ball late.”[/FONT][/COLOR]
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[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Arial Narrow][I]On how much could be learned about the team in a buzzer-beater situation …[/I][/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Arial Narrow]“You look at our schedule, whether it’s St. John’s, who is undefeated, or Louisville, who’s in the top 10; whether it’s Indiana on the road, who’s playing well with two 30-point wins or whether it’s North Carolina, guess they’re doing alright. It doesn’t matter who we play. It’s like Marist. It was a four-point game with two minutes to go in the first half. They’re all going to play well and we’re going to learn about ourselves.”[/FONT][/COLOR]
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[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Arial Narrow][I]On what he wants more of from Anthony Davis …[/I][/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#000000][FONT=Arial Narrow]“He’s got to play more physical. He’s got to bend over. He can’t stand straight up and down. He’s got to stay in a stance. He’s got to stump more. He can’t stand around. You know, you dunk a ball and then run down the court. You’ve got to play the entire possession. When you showed him on tape, ‘You stopped, right there. Look at you standing up and down.’ It’s okay in that game, but it’s not okay the next game.”[/FONT][/COLOR]
