UK ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
MEN’S BASKETBALL
CALIPARI WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE
JAN. 21, 2021
JOE CRAFT CENTER | LEXINGTON, KY.
Head Coach John Calipari
On the Auburn series …
“Well, anytime you have – you’re in a league and another team is good you know that it is a significant game. The problem with us, if we try and make any game bigger than another because every game is a white out, a blue out, a black out. It’s just how it is. So, we’ve got to go into the game knowing that the game that we’re going to play, we respect all of the teams. I mean, Texas A&M was an outstanding team. Sold out. I mean, it was a great crowd, and it was a rock fight. And so, they’re all the same. They’re (Auburn) a good team. I mean, they’re big, their guard play, they shoot it. They do a lot of stuff to get lobs. I started watching tape about a day and a half ago on the plane on the way back from A&M and I was like, ‘Wow.’ So, I hadn’t seen them until I watched this but they’re really good.”
On if Shaedon Sharpe’s status has changed …
“No, it doesn’t change anything and that’s with all due respect, Kyle (Tucker). But it doesn’t. He plans on being here next year. I mean, he’s watching. Whether I play him or not this year, if he’s ready to be able to be in games, I’ll put him in. But he’s a great kid and he’s doing well. He’s going to make practices even better. He’s only been here two weeks. At the end of the day, you know I’m going to be for kids. That’s how I do this.”
On the environments of road games becoming beneficial for NCAA Tournament games …
“Well, that’s why I like neutral (site) games because of that, but these games toughen you up and it also – the game may be neutral in the NCAA Tournament but there’s a little different importance to it. So, when you get in league play making plays like TyTy (Washington Jr.) did at the end of that game, that was huge. At the end of the day, teams are going to stop you from doing what you want to do, and it becomes players making plays. If you don’t have anybody on your team (that can do that) it’s harder to advance. You’ve got to have a couple of guys on your team, and it appears as though we do.”
On the head-to-head backcourt and frontcourt matchups with Auburn …
“They’re all tough matchups. They’re long. They’re big. (Wendell) Green is good with the ball and shoots it. So, they’re tough matchups. Look, we’re going into a hostile environment. I mean, it’s going to be a really hard game. For us, we continue to learn about our team. You know that in the last game we shot 36% and won and I’m ecstatic because you need to know that when you don’t shoot it well you can still win. You’ll figure out a way. That means you have fighters on the court. If a guy wasn’t fighting, you can’t be out there. We’re not making shots. We’ve got to win another way. I always tell these guys; you’re being evaluated not how many points you scored. That’s eighth grade. It’s what do you do to help this team win and especially when you’re not scoring. Well, you do nothing? That’s how you’re evaluated. So, we’ve got a bunch of guys that have a great mindset. It’s going to be a hard game.”
On Auburn’s Walker Kessler’s development …
“Well, he’s playing more minutes so he’s getting an opportunity to do stuff. But the minutes he got at North Carolina were based on the other big kids they had. They had really good big players. But more minutes you’re seeing – they’re doing good stuff of running him to the rim for lobs, he’s blocking balls. He’s good. I mean, obviously he’s one of the best big men in the country and it’ll be a tough challenge for us.”
