University of Kentucky Basketball Men’s Basketball
Feb. 6, 2021
Lexington, Kentucky
Tennessee at Kentucky
Kentucky Head Coach John Calipari
COACH JOHN CALIPARI: (Tennessee guards Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer) bullied us, and they are freshmen. They were the best two guards are on the court, whether they are freshmen, seniors, sophomores, whatever, they were the best two. But again, they were best two because they were physical and they bullied us. It wasn’t like they were jacking threes and going nuts. They just went to wherever they wanted to on the court and either went into your body and shot or jumped over and you shot. And then when they figured out that’s all they had to do–(John) Fulkerson killed us last year, and we do a pretty good job. It’s a one-bucket game with five minutes to go, and all of the sudden, turnover, turnover, layup, layup, bad shot, because we pass up a shot, and all of a sudden it’s (a deficit) again. I mean, I was at a loss for words. Like can you not—we had two turnovers at the half. We had two turnovers in the first three minutes of the second half. I mean, just throwing crazy passes. Why would you throw that? ‘Oh, I thought I could,’ we can’t be that team. So disappointing. I’m just—you know, I don’t know what to tell you at this point. We are playing good enough to win and then we hit a stretch where we don’t score a basket. Our guards didn’t shoot it well, I know, but they still passed up open looks that led to turnovers or bad shots. Again, five or six of them. The bigs are telling them, “Please shoot!” But when you’re 4-or-5-for-25-, -26 as a group, that’s when you start ball faking and trying to drive and get fouled, and just can’t be that group.
Q. I thought that Keion (Brooks Jr.) looked like a go-to guy there for about 37 minutes or so, 36, whatever it was. Scoreless down the stretch. What did you think of his performance?
COACH JOHN CALIPARI: I thought he was great today. Not only did he score, he rebounded, and he was above the rim. We have some other guys that have been big-time rebounders for us. I don’t know if the game was rough, but they wouldn’t go after balls, not even attempt. He did. And yes, we just went right at him and just said create. Now the only thing that happened late is they crowded him, and he threw it out, and he was begging guys to shoot balls. And you know, he was in the huddle saying it, “Shoot the ball.” You know, and again, understand it’s—no one is being taken out for misses. I took Davion (Mintz) out one time because he didn’t shoot a ball. You can’t be in. And so, you know, we just—you know, it was one of those nights where we needed to have one guy make some shots on the perimeter because of how (Tennessee) played, and we just didn’t get any of it.
Q. I would assume that these guys, some of them haven’t lost 12 games in their life, much less in one year. How much of a challenge is that emotional hurdle, and do you have concerns of losing the team the way the losses are piling up?
COACH JOHN CALIPARI: I don’t worry about that, but they also have a coach that’s not used to losing 12 games in three years. I’m trying to stay positive. I’m trying to hold them accountable. I’m trying to continue to teach. I’m never going to stop, quit on this team. I’ll give them everything I have. But at the end of the day, they have to get on the court and perform. And they have to be strong with the ball. You cannot turn it over in critical times. Did we do it again today? Yes, we did it again today. You have to understand, every practice we’re working on this stuff. The issue becomes where you get baskets from if guys don’t want to shoot open shots, how do you create some opportunities for baskets, and every game it seems like it’s something new. Very, very hard way to go about this. But it’s what it is. You know, and we try different ways, and if something works, we stick with it.
Q. It looked like you were trying to play at a faster pace and getting that done, first time you got to the foul line, second half, you barely get there, Tennessee gets there a lot.
COACH JOHN CALIPARI: I don’t know, I have to watch the tape. We didn’t get to the bonus until two minutes left. They were in the bonus 15 minutes left in the game. Big advantage because now it’s a free-throw-shooting contest. We were there in the second half with 10 minutes to go, not 15. But I’ll have to watch the tape. Just see what the tape says.
Q. At some point, do you have to at least keep an eye on next season in terms of, maybe you want to see this guy in this situation, I want to throw this guy into this fire and get a look at him or this group of guys who might be the foundation going forward?
COACH JOHN CALIPARI: I’m worried about the next game. I’m not worried about postseason, conference tournament. Look, we’re not that far off. We just played three ranked teams and we had a chance to beat them all. And we break down at critical times. Do I have the wrong guys in? I made some changes, and the guys that went in didn’t make any shots, turned it over. I mean, we’re trying everything we can, but I’m not thinking about next year. It is—I owe it to these kids and this program to do whatever I can to get this thing flipped around, and that’s all I’m doing. I’ll watch the tape. I’ll go back. I’m trying to be light and positive, even though it’s—I’m telling you, it’s been 35 years since I’ve had to deal with something like this. But this team can paint the picture that they want. But not if you continue to have the same things happen, and we work on it, we show it on tape—see, part of it being, if guys aren’t playing well, this is the immaturity—if you’re not playing well, it’s hard for you to help us versus an Anthony Davis, “I can’t make a shot, you guys shoot, I’m going to block every ball and rebound every ball and I’m going to play great defense. You score, I can’t.” That was a mature star who got it.
Where, again, we’ve got to get guys, when you’re not playing well, what do you do to help us win? Do you do anything to help us win? Again, moving screens. I’ve got to watch the tape. Critical. That’s, like, the game. The game changed. You need to watch, and see, did he move, if he did, why would you? Why would you do that in that situation? So again, got to watch the tape. I’ll be able to see more then, and like I said, we’ve got a quick turn with a team—are you ready? Five out, four out, beat you on the bounce. Five out, four out, beat you on the bounce. Arkansas. (Head coach Eric Musselman) is doing a great job with his team, terrific players, a lot of one-on-one stuff. We didn’t do very well today. I would have liked to have had Jacob (Toppin) in a little more, Jacob in, but our offense was so bad. I was trying to get some baskets and that didn’t work well. So it was a mistake by me. I should have gone with Jacob and let some other guys sit a little bit and tried to say, okay, let’s guard, because basically what they did is they just ran right down us and scored.
Q. I’m also going to try to be positive but it seems like your team has had more fast break points in these past two games than they have all season. Is that something you’re trying to do intentionally? This team should be able to get out there and run.
COACH JOHN CALIPARI: We are, but you’ve got to throw the ball ahead, or they won’t run. So today, what happened is, their one guy was ahead twice and didn’t get it, so he stopped running, and I told him, “You must sprint, and if he doesn’t throw you the ball, he’s coming out. You’ve got to throw the ball. Not down the middle, up the sideline.” Now, let me ask all you Basketball Bennies: If you it throw it up the sideline and those guys are covered, what does that mean the court is?
Q. Open.
COACH JOHN CALIPARI: And what do you do now?
Q. Go to the basket.
COACH JOHN CALIPARI: Go right at it and create a shot. It’s not that hard. All we’ve been working on for the last week and a half is what you just said.
So it’s showing up. But at critical times, decision-making. Execution. Why would you throw a slow bouncer when he had a shot? Again, because I’m not worried about his shot but I’m worried about what I’m doing.
Just we’ve got to get together and be about each other, especially if you personally aren’t playing well.
Q. Just 12 minutes tonight for Isaiah Jackson. Any specific reason for that?
COACH JOHN CALIPARI: Yeah, wasn’t getting balls and Keion was doing it. Keion got all the rebounds and scored. He seemed a little bit behind in the first half, so I went with Keion in the second because of how he played. We were at plus-eight with Keion and Olivier in together. We just have to keep Olivier on the court.
KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME QUOTES
UK-TENNESSEE POSTGAME MEDIA
RUPP ARENA | LEXINGTON, KY.
FEB. 6, 2021
#12, Keion Brooks Jr., Gr., G
On being the go-to scorer…
“Yeah, I am one of the veterans on the team. I understood this game was going to be won in the trenches, a game where we really had to fight. My teammates did a great job with getting me the ball and I just got to my spot, raised up and made shots.”
On not scoring in the last seven minutes …
“It’s the flow of the game. They started loading up on me, doubling me when I catch the ball in the post, a lot of help-side.”
On asking out of the game during timeout …
“After going on the run, we went on, we messed up that run. I tucked my jersey, Coach knew I needed that (break). At that point, I played nine, almost 10 minutes straight. I felt winded. I just wanted to catch my breath really quick. After that, our offense stalled. They went on a run we never recovered from.”
On team struggling to find positive outlook on season …
“I mean, no. I mean, we’ve lost so much, how much can we keep on learning from doing all this losing? We have the same conversations again over and over again, and we still end up not winning games like we should. There is some type of value when, going forward, to having that experience to not want to feel this way again. You can teach future teammates or future teams, ‘This is what this team went through,’ and do everything you can to not let that happen again. But for the most part, losing sucks.”
On how difficult it is to keep going when not getting positive results…
“For me, personally, it’s not hard at all because I love the game. I couldn’t play for three months, so every day I get a chance to play basketball, I’m happy and I’m blessed and I’m here to go out there and give it everything I’ve got. My teammates as well, every day we still come and work hard and practice hard. We listen to our coaching staff. We do everything we can to try and win these ball games, and quite frankly, it’s just not happening for us. But, it’s not due to a lack of effort or a lack of trying.”
On getting your teammates to take open shots…
“You know, just keep encouraging them to when they have a shot, take it. You know, take that shot and we can have a chance to maybe get an offensive rebound. That’s all we’re asking for. But, everybody has shots that they pass up at times. You know, you just have to have the confidence that when you’re open, you shoot the ball, and you give your teammates a chance to get an offensive rebound. I mean, if you shoot the ball, you know, one of three things can happen – make it, miss it, or we can miss it and get an offensive rebound. But, we can’t pass up open shots and then turn the ball over. That’s not good at all.”
On if there is any trepidation in the last few minutes of tight games …
“We’re just not executing. It’s not because we’re nervous or anything. Once stuff starts to hit the fan, we don’t know how to snap back and be like, ‘Ok, we’re going to get the best shot, we’re going to get a stop, we’re going to take care of the ball.’ I don’t think anyone is scared, like pissing down their leg or anything, we’re just not disciplined enough to close the game out.”
On how Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer played …
“They played well. I was familiar with Jaden Springer, I played him in high school. I knew how good he was. Keon Johnson, I didn’t know much about him besides watching film. But, they both came in and played really well. They got to their spots, pulled up, made shots, got to the basket when they could, and then when we fouled them, they knocked down their free throws.”
On advice you’re giving Terrence Clarke…
“I’m just trying to put my hands around him, my arms around him, tell him I love him and I understand what he is going through. I know he is chomping at the bit to get out here and play with us. I know it’s extremely difficult when you have a feeling of helplessness when you know you can’t go out there and impact the game or do some stuff to help your teammates out. As far as when we’ll see him again, you know, that’s between God and the medical staff. I’m just praying that he has a speedy recovery, but also, I don’t want him to be rushed back where he could possibly injure himself more. I want him to get healthy, fully recover, and play when the time is right for him.”
Kentucky Basketball Postgame Quotes
Kentucky vs. Tennessee
Rupp Arena – Lexington, Ky.
Feb. 6, 2021
Tennessee Head Coach Rick Barnes
On Jaden Springer and Keon Johnson down the stretch …
“Well, you know obviously we started the game with too many fouls early, we got ourselves in trouble there. We were trying to work from that. What we did in the second half was what we were trying to get done in the first half, trying to get going downhill, 94-feet and I thought those guys got into a rhythm there where you could just feel they had that attack mode. Last couple of days in practice all we have talked about is run, run, run, run and get out in transition, try to get easy baskets to try and get teams back on their heels as much as we can. But the second half really, I thought the big key in the second half, I think the last six or seven minutes was Josiah (James) getting on (Keion) Brooks because he was having his way with us. We got stretched out too much, but really proud of the guys. I thought the second half they really came out to win. I really got on them at half. I said, ‘I really want you guys to listen.’ I wasn’t really happy at halftime, only because we weren’t listening when we were coming out of timeouts and not doing the things we wanted to do. I said, ‘If you guys listen and execute, you guys will really have a chance.’ I’m really proud of them for doing that.”
On his message to the team at the under 12-minute timeout he took and how it was received …
“Well, it was because I told them, ‘Hey guys, I’ll tell you over and over, when you are down you can’t have two back-to-back turnovers, ridiculous turnovers. We can’t get back in the game if we’re going to keep turning the ball over. We have to get stops. We’ve got to get a shot every time.’ Both times we tried to pass the ball in a tight game when all we had to do was turn around behind us and we had guys who could shoot the ball that were waiting and we just made poor decisions there, but that’s what it got down to was, when you’re down 10, you can’t turn the ball over back-to-back like that. But we worked through it and the game was a tale of two different halves. Obviously, they in the first half I think got to the free-throw line 13 out of 15, in the second half we were able to get it there.”
On Keon Johnson’s aggressiveness tonight …
“I think it’s based off the fact that we’ve showed them enough tape where we want to drive the ball and how many times, they’ve stopped themselves, even the play where he went in there and got blocked, believe me that was a great Keon Johnson play. It showed him going in there, them blocking, it didn’t even phase him. That’s what we’ve asked him to do. We’ve asked Keon, Jaden (Springe), Josiah (James), E.J (Anosike) could have dunked the ball twice tonight. Again, too many times we’ve stopped ourselves when we’re driving and some of it is the fact that it’s a different style than we’ve played in the past. I mean we’ve had John (Fulkerson) and Yves (Pons) and that’s not as effective. This is always what we’ve thought we could do with those guys once they figured it out and hopefully tonight they did. We thought we might have had some things figured out after the Kansas game. We came back and didn’t do what we wanted in terms of being aggressive. I’m just really proud of those guys, because again hopefully they understand that they’re more capable of doing more than they probably have up to this point.”
On the importance of his defense to protect the lane late in the game …
“Well, they got there. We got in foul trouble and they’re a well-coached team. when you get to the double bonus as quick as they did, I mean if you want to drive the ball and they’ll put you back on your heels on the defensive end where we said we can’t keep giving them foul shots. We have to make them earn some things and that makes you a little tentative. We had some guys, we played some guys, you have to give them some credit for that. they were doing it, were getting spread out too much, more than we wanted to be. Again, we kept talking about our gaps and getting to our gaps quicker, but too many times I thought in the first half we were leaving guys alone where they were either being isolated off of a post move, back to the basket, or guys coming downhill. They were listening. They run a good offense. They run some things that are hard to defend.”
On Tennessee’s success especially against rival Kentucky and how much it means to the fan base …
“Every game does mean it. I think we all know that Kentucky is our rival. There’s no question about that. I’m not sure I even knew that until I got here and everyone let me know real quick how important the Tennessee-Kentucky rivalry was starting way back in the 60’s and so I get it. I know what it means to Tennessee being three and a half hours south, playing over all these years but at this point in time you know how much respect I have for John (Calipari) and his program and the way they do things. I’m just happy for our guys. I’m happy for Yves Pons and John Fulkerson. Those guys have had a chance to come up here to win some games, but again I realize our fan base loves it, they do, I get it, and we’ve got a lot more we can do.”
On guys like Johnson and Springer doing what they needed to when guys like Fulkerson are in foul trouble and just not hitting shots…
“Yeah, I can see some of that and I think sometimes, I’ll go back. I believe this and I think it’s true of Kentucky, it’s true of us and all university basketball programs that are playing freshmen, it’s not a typical year. It’s not. You would think that without having a full summer I can tell you. I think Keon and Jaden are getting into the kind of shape that I think they would have been in a month and a half ago if things were normal. Tonight, both of them beat themselves out of some games but I will tell you this: they played longer and harder tonight than they’ve played since they’ve been at Tennessee. We would have been a month and a half, as would Kentucky, and teams that would have played these guys. So, it has taken these young guys, and again I think John would have told you the same thing, longer to get to understand what goes into this. But tonight, those guys did play through fatigue, which they haven’t always done. They’ve been willing to take themselves out. I must have asked them at least one, two or three times, ‘Are you okay?’ I don’t have to ask. They kept saying, ‘I’m good coach. I’m good.’ And in the past, they would say ‘Give me one.’ So, I think that’s a big step for those guys. And now, the real big step will be can we count on them to bring that level of fire every night from here on out?”
On the root of the problem with foul trouble …
“Well I’ve experienced that and probably worse. I think we came out and our guys were wanting to play. I thought we were too aggressive, too physical. I’m not arguing with one of those calls. I think every call that was made was a good call. I told them some of them happened in bang-bang situations but some of them, like Santiago’s (Vescovi) right in front of me, that’s a ridiculous foul. There’s no reason to foul right there. But again, you know I’m not denying any of those fouls. I haven’t seen them all but during the game I thought a couple of fouls they called were fouls. I was just thinking, ‘Hey maybe we need some of those.’ But I’m not going to question anything from the officials. Again, I thought early that the calls I saw were fouls.”
On talking to his players about driving to the basket and getting fouls compared to shooting the 3-point shot, especially in the second half …
“That conversation has gone on for six, seven weeks about driving the ball and not stopping. ‘Go, be ready to play off of two feet.’ So, we’ve been talking about that for a long time. Tonight, I thought the difference was we were bringing it from 94 feet, getting in goal and bringing the ball down with some force and some speed. We were getting going. With these guys, and not just two freshmen but EJ (Anosike). I mean EJ had a chance to get down the lane tonight and finish a couple plays. Again, we’ll keep showing them. It plays right to those guy’s strengths and we just need to get consistent with it.”
On becoming the only active head coach in the nation with three wins at Rupp …
“We’ve come up here with some good basketball teams, good players and guys. I told them a year ago we were down I think 16 with 11 minutes to go, came back and that was one of the greatest comebacks I’ve been a part of. Tonight, we were down 10 at halftime. But the credit goes to the players. I mean you saw them tonight. It was fun watching them play like that from where I was, it really was. I just loved the way they got locked into the game and were oblivious to everything that was going on and we focused on what went on between the lines. I’m just excited for these guys and excited for our fan base.”
KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME QUOTES
UK-TENNESSEE POSTGAME MEDIA
RUPP ARENA | LEXINGTON, KY.
FEB. 6, 2021
#11 Jaden Springer, G, Fr.
On you and Keon Johnson lighting it up tonight …
“I have to give credit to Coach (Barnes), he told us to be aggressive and get downhill and make some plays and make something happen, so we just stuck to the game plan and it worked out.”
On running in transition …
“I feel we got caught up in trying to learn the plays too much. I think we forgot about trying to just get easy buckets to start the game and then focused on our plays. That has probably been the biggest thing the coaches have been talking to us about the past few weeks.”
On him and Keon Johnson being in control …
“I don’t think during the game we were really focusing on that. We were just trying to focus on winning the game and playing our style of basketball.”
#45 Keon Johnson, G, Fr.
On being aggressive tonight …
“Just my teammates getting me open. I felt like I had a lot of open looks and I just couldn’t turn those shots down.”
On the 18-point scoring stretch between he and Jaden Springer …
“Well, we have been trying to play faster but more under control, and I felt like we were converting off of their turnovers. And, whenever we got the ball off of a rebound, we tried to push the ball up the court as fast as possible and we were converting the ball there.”
On driving the basketball …
“I just started seeing those shots Coach was showing me. I turned down a lot of shots, but throughout the weeks I have been practicing the shots I would usually turn down. But they all felt good tonight.”
