Kentucky Basketball Previews Ole Miss
UK ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS & PR
MEN’S BASKETBALL
UK at OLE MISS PREGAME MEDIA
MARCH 1, 2021
ASSISTANT COACH JAI LUCAS
On the balance between recruiting the next freshman class vs. recruiting the current team back for next season …
“It’s a little bit of both. Right now the main focus is just trying to get the players better that are here every day. So, that’s been the biggest thing with them. Recruiting never ends. A big part of recruiting even before the pandemic was through text messaging, phone calls, stuff like that. So, that kind of part of it has stayed the same.”
On what he calls upon to motivate the guys at this point with how the season has gone …
“They have pretty good motivation right now. They haven’t folded. They haven’t stopped working or anything like that, so that’s been the one positive with, like you were saying, how the season has gone. I think they still understand what we have ahead of us. We take it one game at a time and then we’ll just focus, once we get to the SEC Tournament, one game at a time there and see what happens.”
On why they don’t talk to the team about trying to get the double bye in the SEC Tournament …
“Well, the main thing is just trying to win every game and get to each game. And a lot of it with the double bye, you have to account for what the other teams do and how they play and stuff like that. So, when you talk about it, it’s kind of a 50-50 thing. So, as long as we can take care and control what we can control, it will take care of ourselves. So, that was the biggest thing was just getting them to focus on Ole Miss.”
On how Cam’Ron Fletcher and Lance Ware are progressing …
“They’re progressing good. They get a lot of reps and a lot of stuff in practice. They haven’t played as much in the games. We’ve kind of, you know, with how the games have been going and winning three of the last four and how we played, the rotation kind of slimmed down to, I want to say we’re playing seven or eight people. So, they’re just on the outside looking in, but they’re doing a good job and getting extra work in, extra weight room and things they need to do.”
On what kind of improvements Fletcher has made and how is he better from when he first got to campus …
“I think he’s understanding the game a little bit better. And that’s been the biggest thing with the team this year and the freshmen we’ve had is just getting them to understand the game a little bit better. He’s in good shape, playing with high motor, high energy, and that’s the big thing for Cam and how he’ll be successful, just the energy and the effort he plays with. So, understanding with how to put that with thinking through the game and understanding new terminology and stuff like that, he’s done a good job.”
On if the cancellation midweek vs. Texas A&M hurt them …
“Yeah, in retrospect you can say that. And that’s part of the year. That’s part of the COVID season. We had a little rhythm going and you want to do everything to keep it going. That pause and that break, you kind of saw what some of the other teams coming out of the break, like a Baylor at Kansas, (how that affected them). When you don’t have a rhythm and something happens – and it can be one game like the Texas A&M thing – it just throws you off, out of sync, especially for a team like ours who have kind of been up and down all year. When you find something and you have a little momentum, you kind of want to do everything to keep it going.”
On if reverting like last game is a mental thing or a physical thing …
“It’s hard to say because you can say it can come from us not playing and then there just being this gap of, you know, you don’t know what kind of hangover you’re going to have from being off that long. I think that’s a big part of it. And then we were coming off something that we hadn’t had all year if I’m correct, a three-game win streak – the second time (this season) – you just don’t know what type of stuff they’re getting and reading and stuff like that. So, it’s al little bit of everything.”
On why Florida’s zone was an issue and how that zone will compare to what Ole Miss might use …
“Well, credit to Mike White and the staff. They did a good job. They did something that they really hadn’t done all year. They played a completely different zone than what they had put on film. So, you know, he did a really good job of making it a really untraditional 3-2 (zone). It was more of a matchup, man-to-man 3-2 (zone). So, he did a good job with that, and it just kind of, it made us stagnant. I think being off, like we talked about, and just having that lack of rhythm. You can practice and you can do stuff, but it’s nothing like the rhythm you get from playing in the game. So, I think that was the big thing is that it was a little bit different. With Ole Miss, their 1-3-1 (zone) is kind of more aggressive and they’re out pressuring you a little bit more, and it kind of transitions back to a 2-3 or a man. So, it’s kind of a completely different type of concept. So, you know, I think with us having played against Florida and the zone, that’s something that will help us the rest of the year, especially when you get in that tournament situation and it’s one game. You’ve got to be able to change things at the drop of the hat, so we’re kind of thankful Florida did throw that curveball at us so it can get us ready.”
On Devontae Shuler …
“Well, he’s a big key to their team. When he plays well, they play well, and when he doesn’t, they kind of struggle. You have to from the beginning do your jobs especially in pick-and-roll coverage against him. How are you going to guard him when your guy is off the ball? You have to try to kind of crowd the paint so he can’t get downhill. You kind of just want him to take contested shots. You want to make him really inefficient. I think he had 20 points on 20 shots last game. So, you kind of want him to do something like that.”
On the lack of consistency at point guard …
“The biggest thing, being a point guard and having point guards – it’s not just necessarily on our point guard – is just turnovers in general. Some of the turnovers we have, just being a guard, you can say from all of our guards are the ones that kind of drive you a little crazy. But, you know, I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: It’s the thing of having young guards. You have Devin (Askew), BJ (Boston), and you know, you say Davion (Mintz), he’s old, he’s a senior and stuff like that, but this is really his first time you know at this level. This is a different level and there’s different things that come and you have a new staff with a new coach and everything, so he’s learning on the fly too. So, I think that’s been a big thing, just the difference in that and that’s been hard.”
On Nolan Hickman …
“Nolan, he’s somebody that’s signed here and committed here. We talk a lot. I’ve seen (him play). We get the stream of his games and been watching those and stuff like that. I kind of like thanked him, or invited him last week, told him, ‘Welcome to the club being a McDonald’s All American.’ So, we were talking about that. I think he’s somebody who will come in and be a big help for us next year.”
On not having a player who can beat a defender off the dribble and how you overcome that …
“What we’ve done is you can play through the post a little more, you have to get a little bit more off-ball action and kind of create some gaps them, I guess, a downhill run towards the rim and stuff like that to kind of generate it for them. I think the thing is, and especially here, you can get spoiled when you have guys like De’Aaron Fox and John Wall and stuff like that. Those guys don’t come around a lot. Trust me because I’ve been at schools that haven’t had them. So, you just kind of have to work with what you have. I think we’ve done a good job of, and I think this is a real big benefit of Coach Cal is just, he says that everything is in pencil. So, just trying things until we find something that works and then keep going with that, and then just having to adjust.”
On if he still has that quick first step …
“In my mind I do, but probably not in real life. But at least in my head I think that I do.”
On what challenges come from a 9 p.m. ET tip …
“It’s a big challenge because, you know, on game days coaches and players you have this kind of anxiety wanting to play the game. So, it kind of delays it all the way out to the end. But we’ve had some late games already. I think this might be our first one on the road because we were supposed to play Missouri late but that one got changed. So, I think it’s something that we will be ready for and I think with the short turnaround Saturday-Tuesday, it gives you a little more time to let your bodies rest too. I think we’ll be OK.”
On what you do to keep the team occupied on days with a late tip …
“Well, you just kind of push everything back later. So, you know, your shootaround time will be a little bit later, your pregame meal and film will be a little bit later. I think on the front end you just let them sleep in a little bit later and then try and keep them up after pregame and stuff like that, but you just give them more time on the front end to rest.”
On what the coaches tell Isaiah Jackson to help combat his fouling or if they don’t say anything to him …
“No, you have to talk to him because he’s one of our most important players both on the defensive end and then the way he can rebound and get stuff on the offensive end as well. So, you have to talk to him about it. It’s just, he’s a freshman. There’s no other way to put it. You know, some of the fouls and some of the stuff that he does is he just makes freshman mistakes. I think it’s just the benefit of, you know, we started to play better these last couple of weeks and it’s just the timing of the year of finally having to get them to where they understand completely what you’re trying to tell them. It’s little stuff like you’re saying with fouling and stuff and it’s just being able to carryover. This is stuff that probably would have happened at the beginning of January with the extra games and the way that you’re playing and stuff like that, but it just happening now for us.”
