Jan. 13, 2011
| Gameday Information | |
|---|---|
| Game Notes |
Kentucky Game Notes  | LSU Game Notes |
| Date & Time | Sat., Jan. 15, 4:00 p.m. ET |
| Coverage | TV: SEC Network Radio: BBSN GameTracker Online Audio Live Video via ESPN3 Live Blog Text Updates |
| Location | Rupp Arena Lexington, Ky. |
Terrence Jones returned to form, breaking the UK freshman scoring record while helping lead the Wildcats to their first win in conference play this season, a 78-54 victory against Auburn.
Jones netted 35 points, snapping teammate Doron Lamb’s age-old record of 32 set all the way back in December. The 6-8 freshman was 11-of-17 from the field, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range, and 9-of-13 from the free-throw line.
Brandon Knight (13) and Darius Miller (10) both scored in double-figures as well for the Wildcats.
Kentucky finished the night shooting 29-of-58 for 50 pct. from the field, while holding the Tigers to just 34.4 pct. (21-of-61) from the floor, including 27.3 pct. (3-of-11) from 3-point range.
UK forced Auburn into 15 turnovers, converting those miscues into a 20-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
Pregame Press Conference Quotes
Head Coach John Calipari
On LSU …
“The tapes that I’m watching, they’ve won two league games, they’re ahead of us in schedule, standings, Trent (Johnson) has done a good job. They run good stuff, their guards are playing well, they’ve got some size and we have a challenge. They played us all man last year, first two games they’ve played all zone so I don’t know if they’ll play us man or zone. I really don’t have an idea. They’re good.”
On if he is seeing improvement from the players he has been working out individually …
“It’s too early. I’ve got to spend a little more time than I am. I’m hitting you guys every time before practice it seems for some reason. I need to spend more time with these guys. Slowly but surely, we just have to stay on it. Stuff doesn’t change. If it takes you two years of habits to go down a road, within a week it’s not changing. When you start down that road in a month – it’s like Eloy (Vargas), Eloy reverted in the last game to his habits of catching the ball and then stepping and then it gets blocked. We’re working on as the ball is coming to you, step and catch it and get it in the (basket). He’s got to have it. It’s engrained. He can’t get a shot in the basket right now because every time he catches it it’ll be a step back…we’re working on it. We changed some free throws, some guys are doing well, and other guys aren’t doing so well.”
On if he’s frustrated about the progress, disappointed, or neither …
“No, we just hope that one of these guys or two of them step up to help us. We’re playing six guys right now. I’d like to be able to know that – like I watched our tape last year. You have to understand, Ramon (Harris) shot 12 percent from the 3-point line, couldn’t make a free throw, but I could leave him in the game because he would defend and rebound. He could not make a shot, or a free throw, but he would go in and defend and rebound a little bit. Perry Stevenson, he’d finish a little bit, but he’d defend and rebound and try, most games, not every game, but we could go to him and we weren’t going to drop off the face of the earth. Right now, there’s just that drop and we’ve got to close that gap between those six and those other three guys.”
On if some players think of themselves as scorers because of their high school days …
“Well every player does. They all think of themselves as point guards and scorers. So, I have 11 point guards on this team that I’ve screwed up and put in different positions. If someone else shoots the ball I should be shooting. We had guys fighting for the ball to get a shot off last game. The issue for us right now is the commitment toward winning. It’s not if you score or how much you play, we’re committed to winning. There’s five minutes in a close game, what do we have to do to win? We have to execute on both ends, play a little bit tougher, play guys before they catch the ball, and we’re bouncing and talking and scrambling to win. We’re not there right now. Especially if someone plays a good game, he’s truly not there. We’ve got a ways to go, we’re just going to keep talking about it, showing it on tape and keep demanding it. It takes time.”
On sophomore guard Jon Hood avoiding the treadmill thus far…
“He’s trying. He’s trying; he’s just got a little buzzard’s luck. Everybody shoots the ball and makes it. So he walks in the game, they take one dribble, shoot it right on him and it goes in every single time, and it could be a guy who hasn’t made a shot. He’s just got buzzard’s luck sometimes. He’s trying but he still…and it’s hard to get in there and unleash yourself when you’re afraid of making a mistake, but my thing is, defensively, if you’re alert and play people before they catch it, and when a shot goes up you block out and rebound, it’s an effort mistake. If you’re making effort mistakes you don’t deserve to be on the floor. We’ve got to get these guys more comfortable. The guys are trying to get him shots, you see it. Stacey (Poole) had a layup but he was going to show this round house dunk so he fumbled the ball. Why wouldn’t you just catch it and get – because you don’t understand my game – I do, and that’s why I’m not playing you much. You’ve got to make easy plays. Why would you try that? They’re not bad kids, they just – when you’re dealing with all young players, this is what you deal with. I told them, I haven’t enjoyed the last two games coaching either game. We played awful down in LSU last year, but we tried. The two guards, John Wall and Eric (Bledsoe), were awful in that game. I don’t know if you remember, they were awful. DeAndre (Liggins) went in and made a couple shots, did some good things. We overpowered them inside but they played good defense against us, got the ball where they wanted, missed some shots…”
On if freshman forward Terrence Jones will come off the bench again …
“Possibly.”
On the thinking behind the decision of whether to start Jones or not …
“I like how we started last game. There was energy. See, it only takes one guy to zap your energy of your practice and of your game. So, if you have two guys that are standing around that’s when you’re behind every basket, every shot, every drive, and every rebound. And there have been times we’ve been that way too, but I liked the way we started the game. I mean, we made shots; there was an energy level to what we were trying to do. So if that’s the lineup that gives us a good start, then we start that way. I mean, who cares? The kid scored the ball and rebounded the ball, probably played as many minutes as he would if he were starting.”
On the biggest improvement he wants to see from Tuesday’s game against Auburn to Saturday’s game against LSU …
“Just play better. Just play better, more consistent effort. Guys come out with a sense of urgency, not being content with how they’re playing. We had a lot of guys content with how they’re playing and that just sets you up for failure. Be more committed.”
#1, Darius Miller, G, Jr.
On what Coach Calipari has focused on all week …
“Coach Calipari has focused on playing all 40 minutes. We didn’t really play a full 40 minutes last game either. We played in streaks, and had a few let downs.”
On LSU …
“We haven’t seen a lot on LSU, actually. I’m sure we are going to see a lot of them today and tomorrow and we will be well-prepared with the time we will use in the next two days.”
On coming into practice early …
“Yeah, everybody is really putting in a lot of extra work, especially recently. A lot of people are coming in early, getting up some shots, and maybe getting some running in. We are trying to do the extra work to become a better team.”
#4, Jon Hood, G, So.
On the depth of this team …
“I mean we only have six guys right now. When you go into tournament play, you have to have depth. We don’t have the 13 guys that some of the other teams have, but with nine, ten guys, we will be deep enough.”
On if the lack of depth concerns him …
“It does. That is something along the lines of pre-practice warm-ups. It kind of gets you motivated and ready for practice.”
On if he had envisioned playing more this year …
“I had, but I’m not. I have to step it up and go from there. I know it’s my defense. I know it’s my rebounding, and tough plays.”
#5, Jarrod Polson, G, Fr.
On if he is surprised Coach Calipari has not played more of the bench …
“I’m not really surprised. He (Coach Calipari) will do anything to win. If it takes an eighth man, then we will do it.”
On what it is like to play at Kentucky …
“It has been pretty sweet. Playing against the best players in the country everyday is pretty sweet.”
On if his game has improved over the year …
“I would say so. I didn’t know what to expect. Practice-wise, I expected to go against the best players in the country. I mean, that’s what is to be expected.”
