John Calipari
On Johnny Juzang …
“He’s got a great attitude. He takes responsibility for how he’s playing. You are what your stats say you are. ‘If I played more, if I could shoot more, if I …’ Nah, you are what your stats say you are. And he just kept fighting. And I’m so proud of him. Here’s the biggest thing why you gotta have a team full of guys ready to go: We had a couple guys not play well. They’re not machines, they’re not robots. Maybe it was a bad matchup. Whatever you want to say. So here comes Keion (Brooks Jr.). And here comes Johnny. Because we just didn’t have the energy and effort out of Tyrese that you need to win a basketball game. You can’t just be playing. Johnny went in there, biggest play for Johnny – anybody watch the game? [Reporter: Offensive rebound.] On a free throw. That’s a real skill. [Rolls eyes.] It’s just effort, just energy, and that’s why we left him in.
“Now I put Tyrese in at the end because he said, ‘Let me get back in. I understand, I see it.’ I mean, he missed a free throw earlier that could’ve put us up 10. No. Then, no. Your stats are what you say you are. Then he went in and made the last two. He made sure at the end to tell me, ‘You know I made those last two.’ Yeah, we were up 12. It’s a little easier to make them then. He’s getting better, but we’re holding these guys accountable. Nick (Richards) asked me for the ball. Think about that. ‘Coach, would you throw me the ball in the post?’ So, we ran some stuff to throw him the ball and the kid came through. Made shots, made free throws, made baskets. Ashton (Hagans) didn’t play well in the first half, but it didn’t matter. The biggest rebound of the game was that rebound he grabbed in traffic, which is what he always does – no one else on our team can get that ball except him – he grabbed it. This is hard. They’re playing well, they’re playing better, and we had to do some stuff. We had to trap (Jordan) Fulkerson. He was killing us. He had half my team fouled out. And then he was still scoring if he didn’t get fouled, so we trapped him a little bit. And at the end, Rick (Barnes) kept going back to that middle pick-and-roll, throwback drive, so we tried to switch it late, late, just to give them a different look, because they were killing us. They’re good. They played really hard and they made 3s. We had to leave somebody and we gave up some 3-point shots, but it’s a good road win for our young guys.”
On Hagans’ decision making of late …
“Again, sometimes he’s trying to make a harder play than he needs to make. The play he walked, Nick was fine; all he had to do was look and throw a bounce pass to Nick. Instead, he went like this and wanted to lay one off to him and they called a walk. He didn’t need to do that. Just make the easiest play. He’s so physical, he defends so well, he rebounds. Now we’ve just got to get this decision-making where he’s just not turning it over. We need him in the game. We ran a play and Tyrese just couldn’t (run it) – a play that you know Ashton’s going to make, the ball gets tipped.”
On the importance of winning in Knoxville and putting it away late …
“They kind of told me we haven’t done well up here. I don’t really go team by team and coach by coach. But this is a hard environment, this is a tough place to play, and Rick’s teams are not going to give you the game. You gotta take it. They just won’t. They’re not going to do stuff to cost them a game. You’re going to have to take the game in this building. That may mean make two outrageous 3s. That may mean lock them down and go rebound balls, which is hard to do against them. They’re one of the best rebounding teams in the country. But this is something for us – we’ve had four ridiculous environments like this in a row, four weekends in a row. And I’m still alive.”
On Juzang’s bounce pass to Richards for a dunk in transition …
“There were two things that happened: On the rebound on the free throw, I said, ‘Pull it out!’ And then he made it and I said, ‘Great shot, Johnny!’ That play you’re talking about, I said, ‘Easy, easy, easy! … Ah, great pass, Johnny! Way to play, kid!’ So he’s building my confidence in him. Like you guys are saying, ‘Where did this come from?’ when I’m watching it and I haven’t seen it. You’re kind of a little bit like, OK. But again, you’ve got to own your performance if you want to change. You have to come every day and know there’s no easy way to what I’m trying to do. And you have to understand that every game I play is someone’s Super Bowl and their team is playing, so if you come in and decide you’re not going to play hard, you’re not going to get open, you’re not going to be strong with the ball, you’re going to look bad.”
On what he said after Tennessee cut lead to four in the second half …
“We called a timeout, I believe, right after that. It was a four-point game if I’m thinking right, and some of this stuff, until I watch the tape there’s stuff that will slip me. The only thing I told my team was, ‘You all expect someone else to go get the ball where they got three guys chasing down every ball. You all want someone else to get it. If you want to win this game, you’re going to come up with balls. There’s nothing else I can tell you.’ Then we talked about what we were going to do offensively and how we were going to play. I think at that point we were going to go at Nick a little bit, but I’ll have to watch the tape.”
On how being a good free throw shooting team changes strategy …
“That’s why you don’t want to take a quick, contested jump shot. You’re a great free-throw shooting team. We’ve had one game where a team shot 20 more free throws than us this year, one game. And they are a 3-point shooting team, so it’s kind of unusual that that would happen. But, we are a team that wants to get fouled, we want to go to the rim, we want to post the ball. That’s how we play.
How’d we do from the 3-point line today? We end up 5 for 10. Then someone will say, ‘Why aren’t you taking 30 3s?’ Because we’re a great free-throw shooting team. There’s only been one game where a team is going to shoot a lot of 3s and they get to the line 20 more times than us. That’s it. Most of the time we’re going to get to the line more. But, Fulkerson himself may have had as many free throws as we did. How many did he end up with? He’s 10 out of 12 himself. They were 19 for 24. They were pretty good too.”
On if he had a moment where he sat down with Juzang …
“I told you, Johnny is not afraid to shoot balls. You were at the South Carolina game. Did you want him to shoot that 3? I didn’t either. Three-point game with a minute and a half to go and he has a shot and shots a 3. ‘You haven’t played that much and you shot it.’ There was another play he shot it and missed it and went and grabbed it and put it in. He is not afraid. Now, he’s got to get in tune with his teammates, because he’s not afraid.
“I’ve done this a long time. There’s a lot of cop-out that goes on. ‘I’m afraid if I make a mistake or miss a shot, I’m taken out.’ Then you go to him and say, ‘He’s playing six guys, why would you say that?’ He ain’t playing a lot of people and you’re one of those. You can’t cop out. Demonstrated performance. Like today is going to help Johnny enormously. And the team, I can’t tell you how happy they were for both he and Keion. Ecstatic.
“For us to get where we’re trying to go, to get better, we’ve got to have EJ (Montgomery), Nate (Sestina), Keion and Johnny Juzang. They got to step (up) – but so does Tyrese. And it’s nothing to do with skill and basketball ability. Your effort and energy has got to be where everybody else’s are, and if it’s not, you can’t be in. You just can’t be in. I mean, my point to him, ‘It was one-on-four and you went crazy, got it blocked. Then you jogged back on defense and jogged on defense. Where’s your energy? You had it going that way against four guys? Where’s the energy coming back?’ That’s all part of growth, that’s all part of maturity. And what we’ll do is hold him accountable. I know how good Tyrese is. We’re not going to be better without him on the court, but if Johnny does what he does we’ve got a nice little rotation.”
On the early bracket reveal …
“[Sarcastically] We were a two seed? We weren’t? Wow, that surprises me. Were we an eight seed? We in the tournament yet? We’re not in the tournament?”
On if it’s a motivation thing …
“No, no, no. We probably won’t talk about it. I didn’t expect anything. I thought we could have been a one seed, but that’s just me. It is what it is.”
#3 Tyrese Maxey, G, Fr.
On Johnny Juzang …
“Johnny made plays. He stays ready, puts in the work every single day. First one in the gym, last one leaving. I’m proud of him. Coach told him to stick with it and keep fighting. Today he really did come through.”
On not extending leads …
“We’ve gotta grow. They hit some big shots at the end of the shot clock where we had a really good defensive possession for like 29 seconds and they hit a big shot. There was one possession we gave up three offensive rebounds. Stuff like that can’t happen, but the way we fought back and just rallied as a team when they went on the run, people hit big shots and big free throws down the stretch and got stops.”
On if he saw something from Juzang that would lead to today …
“Like Coach Cal said, when Johnny Juzang shoots you think it’s going in. Like I said earlier when we first got in here, he’s the first one in the gym. He’ll probably be in the gym tomorrow morning, maybe in the gym tonight knowing Johnny. I’m just proud of him. He’s stuck with it. He could’ve let go of the rope early in the year when he wasn’t making shots. But he’s stuck with it, kept playing defense, kept fighting, and today he came up big for us.”
On how cold-blooded Immanuel Quickley is with big shots late in the game …
“I second that. I know he got in foul trouble early but for him to come in the second half and still be aggressive and not timid. He knocks down big shots. He’s going to make good plays. Just like Johnny Juzang, he’s another one that stays in the gym every single night. He’s probably mad at himself. I think he missed a free throw today. He’ll probably be in the gym as soon as we get off the plane shooting free throws. That’s just a testimony to his work. I’m proud of him. We’re going to need him to keep balling.”
On not being one of the top 16 seeds for the NCAA Tournament early reveal today …
“We’re just trying to get 1% better every single day. Keion Brooks played well. We didn’t even mention him. He didn’t score but his energy was unmatchable. He got every single offensive rebound. I think he ended up with nine boards off the bench. It’s amazing to have those type of assets like Johhny Juzang, Keion Brooks, Nate Sestina., to have those guys off the bench is really going to help us.”
#10 Johnny Juzang, G, Fr.
On being ready when others got in foul trouble …
“Yeah, definitely. That’s a lot of the games. With our bench, there’s really only eight of us. Whenever we’re in foul trouble, it’s definitely a game where our bench has to step in.”
On if anything specific got him going early …
“Not really. Just a good night. My teammates were looking for me and shots were falling. Nothing really got me going. I try to bring energy every game but my teammates were falling me and shots were falling. It was a good win.”
On his confidence that every shot he takes, the ball will go in …
“Yeah, I feel like just any player has to believe they’re going to make shots. That’s about it.”
On what kept him positive during the down times …
“Yeah, if you have a clear vision and goal in mind of what you want to do, you’re going to keep pushing. You’re not always going to feel great or motivated or positive. That’s just not realistic. You’re going to go through stretches where you’re down and not motivated. You’ve just gotta keep going no matter how you feel when you have that goal in mind. Just keep pushing.”
On how cold-blooded Immanuel Quickley is with big shots late in the game …
“He’s a killer. He’s a killer for sure. What he’s done this year, big plays, clutch plays, he’s different. He’s different.”
On Immanuel Quickley’s work ethic …
“That’s something I’ve gotta throw in, too. Quick, just like Tyrese, in the gym nonstop every morning, late nights. These guys are always in the gym. When you see them make plays on the court, you know why. It’s no surprise.”
On not being one of the top 16 seeds for the NCAA Tournament early reveal today …
“I haven’t seen it yet. I’m not worried about it. We still have time. At the end of the day it’s what you do — we’ve had some losses throughout the season, but it’s what you do toward the end of the season. I feel like we’re getting a lot better and we keep growing. It’s still early February so as long as we keep growing and getting better, I know we’re all working hard. I’m not worried about it.”
Tennessee Head Coach Rick Barnes
Opening statement …
“In the first half, we did what we wanted to do by trying to get their front line in some foul trouble. We just couldn’t stop them in some late game situations when I thought we defended them pretty well. When they put their head down and started driving and made some tough shots at the rim, they’re capable of doing that. We knew that that would be something that we’d have a hard time dealing with. Then we get behind a little bit. We started hurrying up. We had some looks at it that we’d like to make, but they didn’t go down and it can get away from you quickly. I thought our guys fought. I really do and I appreciate their effort.”
On how prominent Johnny Juzang was in the game planning and what impact he had today …
“He was, we don’t leave any of them out of the game plan because we felt like we would get them in foul trouble. We felt like we’d have to go to some of those players. We fell asleep and fouled him one time. Davonte (Gaines) fouled him one time when he had great defensive position and gave him two there. We went to sleep on the backside, gave them a three there at the end of the first half. I thought John’s (Calipari) players came in and they’re good players. They’re capable of making those plays. In the first half, we felt like we gave them two of those three’s where we fell asleep on the backside. We gave them a lob where we weren’t as alert as we needed to be and then a couple of foul shots. Again, they’re going to score points. In the second half, we had some great looks at the basket. At some point in time, you’ve got to hope they can go in, but our guys fought. None of their guys surprised us, because we knew we could get to their bench. We talked about what those guys were capable of doing and they did what they do.”
On if inserting Drew Pember off the bench was a product of struggles on the part of Uroš Plavšic …
“We’ve told those guys if they work in practice, all these guys are young and our job is to develop these guys. It’s part of it when you have a young team and we’ve lost what we’ve lost. We’re still trying to build a program here that we want and so those young guys, whether they’re ready for these types of games, you’ve got to put them out there some and see what they can do. I was really proud of Olivier (Nkamhoua) actually, in the second half. He didn’t play in the first half. I thought he came in and really did some things that (will allow him) to get a shot at it more. He had a shot early, didn’t do it. He had to sit a little bit. He’s responded by working harder and doing things in practice. Uroš has got to be more physical. A guy of that size, he can’t be a finesse player. He doesn’t have to be a finesse player. He’s a freshman. He’s learning this. The play in the second half should have been a dunk. If he was playing at the speed he needed to, that should’ve been an easy basket for us, as opposed to them getting a block right there.”
On if the 26 3-point attempts were a product of the score down the stretch, rather than settling for outside shots …
“Yes, those threes came late. We had great looks at them. I’m telling you. We had some looks at it that I would have been upset if people had them against us. I would have. The fact is, you’ve got to make some at some point in time. Some of that is when you’re behind and catching up. You’ve got to start shooting some up. We’re going to be a team that we want to play at our best and be somewhere between 16 and 20 (three-point attempts). That would be a good balance for us. Then again, some of those at the end, we shot and played quicker, but when you’re down you have to do that.”
On if Lamonté Turner is missed in a game like this …
“No doubt, there’s no doubt. You miss that kind of defensive presence. When you go back and look at the tape, like we do, from a year ago and what they do now, that’s the biggest thing we don’t have on our team right now – that on ball defensive pressure that we want to put on them. We’ll get better. We’ve recruited some of that. That’s part of it. With what we’ve gone through this year. We’ve had to adjust our defense where we’re not nearly as good on the ball as we’d like to be. We’ll keep getting better and we have to, to be quite frank.”
On if Josiah-Jordan James is still considered day-to day …
“It’s day-to-day. Again, he hasn’t been healthy all year. He wants to play, but we’re not doing him any good or us any good if he can’t give it to us the way we need him to. He’s tried. He really has. He’s just day-to-day right now.”
On if having four players playing a large quantity of minutes has any effect on their late-game performance …
“I don’t, because we’ve cut way back in practice. (Jordan) Bowden’s played a lot of minutes since he’s been here. Santi (Santiago Vescovi), there’s no doubt he got a little tired, but in games like this we need those guys. Look at them, they played one, two, three, basically four guys 30+ minutes. Their guards were out there a lot. We tried to get as much rest as we can, but when you’re in the position that we are, there’s such a fine line there that you can’t let the game get away from you. We wanted to sit him early in the first half. That lead could have gone to 16 really quick. When you go back a couple of games, we’ve been able to rest some of our guys, but we had to get them back in the game and try to get it down under 10 at halftime. That took a little bit away, what you’re talking about. At the end, it could be that. It could be a lot of things, but Kentucky – they do what they do. When they get a lead they can grind you and get you in those long possessions. They’ve got the ability of those guards to go create some offense and make some tough shots.”
On Tennessee’s defense against Kentucky’s quick guards …
“I don’t know if we have options if you’re asking me that right now. Obviously, we rely heavily on our scouting report. We rely heavily on help defense. When you give up straight line drives to the basket, I’m not sure if there is anything that you can do other than us getting better at it. There is no doubt that we have to do that. We had a couple of straight line drives too and we missed some shots at the end. They made some really hard layups. They really did. We blocked some. Yves had some nice blocks around the rim, he can’t get to all of them. First of all, those guys are really talented and they are really good at doing that. They don’t just do it to us, they do it to a lot of people.”
On Uros Plavsic and his play …
“I don’t think he has a clue yet about how he has to play this game. I don’t think he has never been considered a player that is physical. Kyle Alexander wasn’t either. We need him to understand how we need him to play. It is going to take him some time, but he is a gifted player. They got in a zone because of foul trouble and we talked about that with our team and said don’t be surprised if they have to go zone then he tried to make a play and he threw it away. Those are the plays that hurt. He doesn’t need to do anything clever or crafty, he just needs to do what we teach him to do and he will be fine.”
On Kentucky having so many people scoring in double figures …
“They are a very hard team guard. They know what they are looking for in their offense. They do a good job at trying to spread the ball around. They are very solid defensively. When you’re talking about fatigue, I thought both teams were tired. I saw their team walking to the bench as well as our guys. They have more guys that can drive the ball than we do and they do a good job of attacking that way.”
On the difficulty of only having Fulkerson and Pons playing consistently right now …
“It is hard. It’s really hard not knowing from night to night. Some of that is being new. Santiago is a phenomenal story. When you think about what that kid has done, it is amazing. We have two guys that we are playing with who were not on our eligible roster when the season started. They are trying to work in there. What he has done is really phenomenal. He’s not in the kind of shape that you would have expected him to be in. For him to continue to work to keep himself in shape. He is the guy that you go back and look at where he started, before today he was like 28 assists and eight or nine turnovers. That is an amazing turnaround for him to be able to do that. He is a guy that is figuring it out. We would’ve liked to have Josiah out there. He helps us out in a game like this with rebounding, if nothing else. It’s difficult, but the good thing is we are getting to develop some of these guys and we have to continue to do that while we try to win games and we have to continue to do that, because I think this group of guys has a lot left in them and we can get a lot better.”
On February being the month of opportunities …
“We always talk about the big picture. We start talking about the big picture in November and how important those games are. Our line has always been if you don’t think that those games are important, then wait until March. We also understand that this is the month where we play the remainder of the month with top 50 teams. It is a great opportunity for us to do some things down the stretch. I don’t think that anyone thinks that we are an easy out. I know our guys think that we can win every time we take the court. I know our guys thought that we could win this game today. We do look at the big picture and we are like a lot of people that are bunched up right there. We will see if we can get some down the stretch.”
