Jan. 28, 2015

Kentucky completes their season series with Missouri on Thursday, January 29 in Columbia. The game will be carried by ESPN and tip is set for 9 p.m.

Gameday Information
Kentucky at Missouri Thursday, Jan. 29 – 9:00 p.m. ET Columbia, Mo. Game Notes: UK | MU
Coverage
TV: ESPN Radio: UK Sports Network Live Video via WatchESPN Live Audio Live Stats Text Updates
UK	Team Stats	MU
74.6	Points	63.2
50.4	Opp. Points	68.1
.457	FG	.414
.317	Opp. FG	.417
.357	3-FG	.353
.271	Opp. 3-FG	.338
.688	FT	.663
40.5	Rebs	33.6
32.2	Opp. Rebs.	36.0
15.7	Assists	10.9
11.3	Turnovers	13.3
8.2	Blocks	3.0
7.7	Steals	6.1

Cat Scratches: Cats thinking no differently entering Missouri rematch

Kentucky entered its first matchup with Missouri a heavy favorite and the game proceeded accordingly.

Two weeks later, it’s time for the rematch. The result, then, would figure to be the same, right?

John Calipari isn’t so sure.

“There’s a reason you play the games,” Calipari said. “The last score does not matter. Whether you won or lost has no bearing on the game you’re about to play, especially in college.”

Well, maybe some bearing after all. The Tigers (7-12, 1-5 Southeastern Conference), says Coach Cal, will be smarting a bit when the top-ranked Wildcats (19-0, 6-0 SEC) come to Columbia, Mo., on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET, not far removed from an 86-37 loss.

“I think the last game helps them a lot more than it helps us,” Calipari said. “Probably stung them a little bit.” … Read the full story

This Week’s News:

UK’s Defense Stifles South Carolina

• In a place that’s been difficult to win for Kentucky in recent years, the Wildcats tied the best start under John Calipari at 19-0 with a 58-43 defensive masterpiece at South Carolina on Saturday.
• UK improved to 52-0 under Calipari when holding its opponent to less than 55 points, including 14 wins this season.
  • Kentucky has limited 14 opponents to 55 points or less, the most in school history in the shot-clock era (1985-86).
• The Cats held South Carrolina to 22.6 percent from the floor, the 10th opponent to shoot less than 30 percent vs. Kentucky.
• South Carolina’s 19 second-half points marked the 14th half this season where UK has stopped its opponent from reaching 20 points.
• UK had more blocks and steals (17) than South Carolina had field goals (12).
  • The Cats limited the Gamecocks to just four field goals in the second half.
  • UK held the Gamecocks without a field goal from the 4:31 mark in the first half to the 15:12 mark in the second.
  • Kentucky also held South Carolina to a 6:16 fieldgoal drought that ended with a USC 3-pointer with 6:07 left in the game.
• With two steals in the game, Willie Cauley-Stein became the first player in Kentucky history with 200 or more blocks and 100 or more steals.
• Devin Booker charted a game-high 18 points, his fifth game with at least 18 points.
  • Over his last nine games, Booker is 22 for 33 from 3-point range.
• Aaron Harrison totaled 13 points, adding four rebounds and a season-high-tying three steals.
  • He’s made 24 3-pointers over his last nine games and has a 3-pointer in a career-long 11 straight games.
• Tyler Ulis had a team-best six assists in just 20 minutes.
  • He has a 63-17 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Mr. `Clutch’ Rises Again in Win Over Vandy

• In Coach Cal’s 100th career game in Rupp Arena, the Wildcats jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never trailed against a pesky Vanderbilt team en route to a 65-57 victory.
  • Calipari now owns a 96-4 all-time record in Rupp Arena, the best start to a career at home in UK history for any head coach.
• UK made 4 of 6 (66.7 percent) on 3-point shots.
• Aaron Harrison led UK with 14 points – all coming after halftime.
  • He scored seven of UK’s final nine points.
• Kentucky, which leads the nation in blocked shots, logged 11 rejections, the eighth game this season UK has recorded double-figure blocks.
  • Karl-Anthony Towns swatted a career-high seven shots and Marcus Lee added a pair.
• In addition to Harrison, Dakari Johnson reached double-figure scoring with 10 points.
• Willie Cauley-Stein posted six points, a gamehigh 10 rebounds, three steals and a block.
• Lee chipped in with seven points and six boards in 12 minutes of game action.

Three-peat: Booker Keeps SEC Freshman of the Week Honors

• Devin Booker won his third straight SEC Freshman of the Week and fourth overall after averaging 12.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and a pair of assists in wins over Vanderbilt and South Carolina last week.
• In four true road games during his freshman campaign, Booker leads the team with an average of 14.5 points per game and is shooting 56.3 percent from the floor. Booker has knocked down a squad-best 10 of 19 3-point field goals in road contests.

Media Opportunity – January 27, 2015

Head Coach John Calipari

On Devin Booker’s recruitment and if he empathizes with recruiting at a place like Missouri  …
“I’ve been on that side. I’ve been at Memphis and Massachusetts and I hate to tell you no one felt sorry for me when Duke and North Carolina came. There were kids I recruited, I would always ask them, `Are you recruiting the kid or not? Do you really want them?’ `Yeah.’ Staff: `Go get somebody else. We’re not beating that.’ I think, again, when you look at how much guys have gotten better, that’s why they come here. There were 25 guys better than him (Devin Booker) in that class? I mean, phew, there are 25 good ones out there. And again, you know, `Well, only one-and-dones come here. He was a one-and-done before he came here.’ I’m proud of him and happy for what he’s doing. I would say his dad is extremely happy, but Missouri wasn’t the only one that recruited him for five years. There were some other people that recruited him for a long time.”

On if he has spoken to Booker ahead of the game at Missouri and if he plans to …
“I haven’t said anything to him right now. Meh, the kid will look at me like I’m crazy. They have great attitudes, all these freshmen. But they also have the veterans there that give them an opportunity to just go do their thing don’t worry about it. They don’t have that hanging on them like every shot you miss or make is life and death for us to win or lose. They don’t have that. They’re all performing. I mean, every one of them has done well.”

On if winning gets fatiguing and the challenge of keeping the players engaged …
“Well, here’s what I would tell you. There’s a reason you play the games. The last score does not matter. Whether you won or lost has no bearing on the game you’re about to play, especially in college. The second point of it is, with a team like Missouri, one of their best players did not play in that (first) game. Now he’s playing. I think the last game helps them a lot more than it helps us. Probably stung them a little bit. We probably played better offensively than we had in a long, long time. And then when I watched the game it was 14-10 with 12 minutes to go in the half. It was 14-10 and then we kind of got it to 12 and then it kind of got away from them. But that’s without one of their best players. I would say for us I’m just focused on us getting better. That’s all it is. Trying some new stuff and messing around and getting these guys to continue to compete against one another.”

On the theme of the season being the team competing against itself  …

“Just energy. Our whole thing is if we play with energy, then we have a chance. It doesn’t mean we win every game. Again, the thought of, `You have to win,’ or go undefeated – we’re not talking about that. We’re talking about how do we come to every game with energy so we know that we have a chance to win? How do we do that? How do we sustain that energy throughout a game? How do we have fun when teams still come after us? How do we limit our errors so that our errors are forced errors and not unforced? It’s all of those things where we’re worrying about our team. That’s what I’ll do today. I’m not going to talk much about Missouri. I’m talking about us.”

On if the team will ever embrace goals like going undefeated this season …

“It’s not about what I want. It’s what they want. I have no idea. You would have to talk to them. We don’t ever talk about it. It hasn’t entered my mind. I’ll give you an example: People will say, `What does this look like?’ It all depends. When I was at Memphis, I believe we won our first 26 games. We’re playing Tennessee in our building and there are 5,000 people outside of a 20,000-seat building watching it on screens. It is ridiculous. We’re going to win the game, and then we fumble the ball. They make a 3 at the buzzer to beat us by one. Was that lucky for us or unlucky for us? It all depends on how you deal with it. For us, from that game, my team went whoop – bing (gestures pointing upward). We beat Michigan in the NCAA Tournament by 30 at halftime, Texas in Houston, and UCLA. Do you want to name some of those guys (on UCLA): Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, and there’s like nine of them. They went down by 20. And we have a nine-point lead with two minutes to go, miss free throws and lose the national title. Tennessee, on the other hand, it was not good for them. It was unlucky because they beat us and went like (that) from there on in and finished the season with a dud.”

On if he prefers to lose a game going into postseason …

“It doesn’t matter. It all depends. It depends. It depends on how you would deal with it. I know what we did with Memphis. We took that game, cut it up, and our kids took it on and went to another level. The Indiana game (2011-12) – was that lucky for us or lucky for them? Was that good for good or good for them? From that point, my team went (gestures pointing upward), but it was pretty good for them. The problem was they had to play us again and it wasn’t so lucky that they had beaten us early because there was no way that my team wasn’t going to win that game. It was a great game and they lost by 10. We’re just trying to get better. We’ll deal with things as they come. We have a great group of kids.”

On focusing on quality of play as opposed to the outcomes of games …
“Well, if the other team really gives us – they punch us, they go and they play, and they just play out of their minds, and now we have to fight to win a game – the outcome would matter. But if two teams are going at each other and you’re playing great and they’re playing great and all the sudden they throw a half-court bank and beat you by one, the outcome doesn’t matter then. It’s how you respond to the outcome. That’s how I’ve always coached. It’s not life or death. You move on to the next. Now, I’m going to coach to win during a game. I’m going to be aggressive with the guys.”

On how Willie Couley-Stein is playing …
“He’s playing well. I mean, he still needs to do some stuff for us offensively, but I think he’s doing fine. He’s like having a sixth defender out there, and our pick-and-roll defense is really good (with him on the floor) based on the fact that we can switch with him. Our bigs are getting better: Karl(-Anthony Towns) and Dakari (Johnson). Dakari’s even better than Karl. Trying to get Marcus Lee up to where Willie is, which is hard because he’s unusual.”

On what Cauley-Stein can improve …

“More offensive rebounding, catching it three or four feet from the goal (and) get fouled. Right now he’s made 85 percent of his free throws the last five or six games, whatever that is, so get fouled. Go in there and ball fake and get fouled. He’s working on a better base, being stronger.”

On trying to keep the freshmen feeling fresh physically …
“Well, we’re doing stuff now. I’m not ready to talk about what we’re doing. It’s a little different than I’ve ever done and I’ll probably want to wait a week before I talk about that. You know my things are fresh minds and fresh legs, but there’s all kinds of ways of doing this. You got coaches at the end of the year that will practice three hours, three and a half hours. They don’t care. That’s what they’re doing and their teams win, too. Last year we did practice long at the end of the year – longer than I’ve ever practiced – because we had to. This team is different. I told you at the shoot around I gave them a choice, I said, `Spend four or five minutes together and figure out if you want to shoot around. We have to get up at 6:30 (a.m.) or you can have a walkthrough at 8 a.m. and we’ll go over to the game.’ It took them 14 or 15 seconds to say, `We’re good, we don’t need a shoot around.’ And they played well. So I trust them. They’re making decisions (on) what’s best for them and their bodies, and we ask and try to get their opinion on it, but at the end of the day–like today’s practice is that one practice that we’re going to be after each other.”

On having a physically fresh team at this point in the season because of depth …
“No, they should be, but I don’t (know). The thing that stunned me was I watched the South Carolina tape (from) a year ago, and it was March 3 and 10 days later we’re like a different team. How did that happen? Because I’m in the middle of it, I don’t look back, but what happened? Oh my gosh. That team that I saw against South Carolina was in the championship game without Willie Cauley, who we probably win the whole thing if he’s playing. Without Willie Cauley. I have no answer when I watch that tape. Like, that’s crazy. I guess it was a story. I don’t know if it was or not but when I saw March 3–because I’m thinking we played them in the middle of February, and the tape said March 3, I’m like, what?! So what it tells you is just keep coaching and keep trying to get them better. They’ll catch on. If I want to try new things, try it, they’ll be fine. Our thing is we want to be at our best at the end of the year. I still think we have a long way to go both defensively, offensively, trying to figure out what will be our rotation later in the year. We stick with what we do and do we go to seven or eight? How do we do this? My druthers (is) I’d rather play nine or 10 guys – that’s what I’d rather do – but I’m going to do what puts us in the best position we need to be in.”

On how much he talked to Montaque Gill-Caesar in the recruiting process and what he liked about him …
“He was a great kid. Hard worker, very competitive, tough. He will mix it up. This will change the complexion of the game. They needed one more guy to mix it up and that’s what he’ll do. Plus, he can score. He can score baskets for them, which they struggled (with). “

#1, Devin Booker, Fr., G

On what his dad is feeling this week …

“I’m not sure. I’ve talked to him a few times, but he still has a lot of love for Missouri and he has a lot of love for Kentucky now, so I’m sure it’ll be good for him.”

On if his dad will be wearing blue …

“I don’t know. I guess we’ll see. I have the same question for him.”

On if his dad will root for him and Missouri at the same time …

“I don’t know. I’m sure he will. Missouri has a special place in his heart since he’s been there. They really show him a lot of love. They’ve showed me a lot of love, so I don’t really know. I guess we’ll see.”

On how hard it was for him to not go to Missouri …

“I feel like this was the best decision for me. That’s what it came down to and we talked about it together for days on days, and I came up with the best decision for me.”

On Missouri fans sharing their unhappiness with his decision …

“They did. But I still have love for Missouri. They showed me a lot of love when they were recruiting me. They recruited me since seventh or eighth grade and they still have a special place in my heart also.”

On playing pick-up games with his dad and his dad’s friends …

“I think that’s what made me the man I am today. You know, when you play against older people it teaches you–they’re not fast, they’re not athletic, they just teach you their tricks to the game and just being around them helped me out a lot.”

On what sort of tricks they taught him …

“Just like, I guess playing angles more than using you athleticism and you know, (those) little tricks just help you out.”

On Cal saying he couldn’t guard 45-year-old’s back then …

“(Laughter) I guess not, they’re some pretty good players.”

On how far he thinks his defensive game has come …

“I feel like it’s come a long way. Me and my dad talked about it a lot in high school that, you know, when I get to the next level I’m going to have to defend, so it’s something I’ve focused on. I’ve figured out it’s more of any effort thing than a skill, so if you put your effort towards it, it’ll become easier.”

On if 45-year-old’s try to overpower him and not out-quick him …

“Exactly (laughter). It’s more of a post-up, you know I was like 12 or 13 then, so they were a lot bigger than me. I think it’d be different now.”

On what other part of his game he’s taken pride in …

“I’d have to say just being more comfortable with the ball. A lot of teams pick us up full-court and that’s just one thing I’ve focused on. Trying to relieve some pressure from Tyler (Ulis) and Andrew (Harrison), like be another ball-handler out there, get it across half-court before I give it to them. I guess that’s it.”

On if his defense was underrated in the past …

“I don’t know. In high school I didn’t really focus on defense that was probably my problem, `cause you didn’t really have to. You could take plays off. But in college, obviously, you can’t do that or you’ll get exposed, so really you just have to focus on defense and you know, like I said, it’s more of an effort thing.”

On not taking a team lightly the second time after beating them by 49 points the first time …

“Well we’re playing at their house. It’s totally different. It’s a road game. So our fans back at Rupp, they helped us a lot during that game, so I feel like their fans are going to try to do the same for them, so we just have to play against ourselves again. That’s been like the topic of the season is playing against ourselves and not worrying about who our opponent is.” 

On what his emotions are playing in Mizzou Arena after being there so many times …

“I guess I can’t answer that right now. I’m just going to have to wait till it actually happens. I can’t really tell.”

On if he’ll be really nervous …

“I don’t know about nervous. I guess you could say nervous, maybe a good nervous.”

On if getting bored of winning could happen to this team …

“Get bored of winning? I’ve never heard of that. I don’t think we get bored of winning. I don’t think any of us want to lose. Every game we go out there and try to win.”

 On if the team has started talking about the possibility of going undefeated …

“I mean, we know that’d be unbelievable to do from the start, but, like I said, every time we go out on the court we try to win. It’s not really in out mindset, `We have to go undefeated.’ If anything, we feel like we have to win a championship more than we have to go undefeated, so if we lose a game here or there, I just hope we finish out in March.”

On not forcing anything the last time UK played Missouri …

“You know, it’s not a big deal to me. I’ve based my game off, my whole life, playing the right way and doing what I have to do to win. So if that was shooting the ball only, what, two times, then that’s what I had to do. So just make the most out of it scoring, but if scoring isn’t what I have to do then I’m fine with it. We won by 49, so I’m totally OK with it.”

On if he’s got an impulse to heat check …

“I used to take more heat checks in high school then I do now. I feel like it’s not a good shot so I don’t know why I’d take it, and on the college level I feel like you don’t have to, especially with a team like mine. I don’t think Cal’d like a heat check either (laughter).”

On if there was a time he assumed he’d end up at Missouri …

“I don’t know about that. I mean, they recruited me for a long time, but my hometown was Michigan also, so they were recruiting me for a long time. Obviously I did, I did think about it a lot, and it crossed my mind plenty of times.”

On if he knows Coach Anderson at all …

“Coach Anderson recruited me there, Coach Frank Haith–wait are you talking about, I was talking about Mike Anderson. You’re talking about Kim Henderson? My dad told me that Kim coached him when he was in college, so I don’t really know him that well but my dad said he’s a really good guy.”

On when UK came in the picture for him …

“It was right at the beginning of my senior year.”

On if it was hard for Missouri and Michigan State to lose him to UK …

“Not only was it hard for them but it was hard for me also, because, like I said, I did have those connections with those schools. But at the end of the day, I felt like the best decision for me was the University of Kentucky, so that’s the decision I made.”

On when Michigan State first started recruiting him and then Missouri …

“I think eighth grade. And then Missouri right around the same time.”

On the number of games he’s been to in Mizzou Arena over the years …

“I’d say probably four or five. I’ve actually seen some pretty big games there–when they beat Kansas at their place, so it’s a crazy environment. The student section showed me a lot of love. I’m sure it’ll be different now, but I understand, so it’s all good.”

On if he expects some big boos …

“If I do, it’s not a big deal to me. I understand why they’re doing it, so I mean it’s just part of the game. That’s what road games are.”

On if his dad is like royalty there …

“Yeah he is. They love him. Everywhere we go–I mean I went to a few football games also. We went to all the homecoming games. They love him there. We used to walk around at the tailgates and he’d get stopped everywhere we went. It was like how Big Blue Nation treats us, and I was really surprised about that. They’re a great fan base also.”

On people telling him they hoped he would come to Missouri …

“That’s exactly how it went. They used to always take pictures with both of us at the same time and tell me to continue the legacy–it’s in my blood. But at the end of the day I made the best decision for myself.”

On him having so much fun …

“I feel like, why not? We’re out there having a good time. I’m on a great team and I’ve really been blessed with the opportunity. I couldn’t wish for anything else like this. I really do, I just have a great time out there.”  

#00, Marcus Lee, So., F

On getting back motivated to play Missouri again after handling them last time …

“I think it’s just another game so we have to get up just like we do for every other game. So, we have to prepare ourselves like we do for just about every other day and every other game.”

On the game being played Thursday as opposed to a Tuesday …

“Yeah, I do think it’s a little bit different. It’s a different schedule for us. We all just have to wake up and be ready for whatever happens.”

On if he expects to face more physical styles of basketball, similar to what South Carolina showed …

“Of course, especially since we’re in the SEC. It’s a real physical conference. That’s kind of how you have to expect each game.”

On if he expects to get a better game from Missouri this time …

“That’s what you expect from every team. You expect them to give you their all because if you’re not going to see their all, what’s the point of playing? So, I know they’re going to come out and give us the best they have, and we need to go out and do the same.”

On their biggest concern as a team …

“Like always, we’re in our day to day just trying to get better each day. We’re not really concerned about the next week or the big things we’re trying to get. We’re trying to get better each day and come together as a team.”

On his improving play …

“I think it’s just being comfortable with what I’m able to do and knowing that the team trusts me to do it. There are some days that I need to do a whole lot more, and there are some days my team needs me to do something different. So, I’m just trying to figure out what my team needs me to do for that day and I’ll end up doing it.”

On if he’s been concentrating on blocking shots lately …

“It’s just the way I’m supposed to play. That’s how I’m supposed to be in games and that’s just something I’ve been trying to focus on. It’s some of the things I need to do for my team and that’s something I had to change.”

On if any of the shot blockers on the team have wagers on who will get the most blocks …

“No, not at all. We’re just trying to get the job done. That’s something we always get yelled at for and we always challenge each other in practice to get that blocked shot because we know we’re really big. It’s just something we’ve always worked on.”

On listening to what Coach Cal said about being UK’s `energy’ guy …

“When a coach kind of tells you and explains what needs to be done to play, you have to figure out a way to do it, no matter what it is. You have to find a way to get it done if you want to play. That’s something I’ve tried to focus on and try to harness as we go.”

On if Coach Cal has recognized him doing what he’s been asked …

“Yeah, I’m definitely understanding that he’s seeing it because we definitely talk about it a lot. It’s just something that both of us have tried to step up on.”

On some of the things that used to get him pulled from games …

“I know there’s one thing about being more physical and holding on to rebounds, and that’s something I’ve really tried to keep on and totally focus on. That’s kind of something that has changed throughout the year.”

On two-handed rebounds and why it has been a tough habit to break going up with one hand …

“I don’t know. I’ve always been taught to go one handed and then two. It was just a big change for me and it’s just something I’ve had to overly exaggerate until it’s just one nature.”

On how many free throws he’s been shooting …

“Yeah, that’s just something I’ve always been working on and getting comfortable at the line. The more you shoot, the more you get better at it so I’ve been going at it on a daily basis.”

On not taking Missouri lightly after beating them by 49 points last time …

“I mean, we don’t really remember how much we beat teams by. We’re not, like, rejoicing and looking back at the games that have already happened. We’re looking forward and looking for what’s new and what else do we need to do to get to our final goal.”

On ways they can look and play within themselves …
“Yeah, we’re always trying to better ourselves as a team, so we see how we do that game or the game before and then we try to improve on it, no matter what we did. Whether it’s defensively or keeping order offensively, we’re just always trying to improve and get better.”

On specific things they’ve done that’s sparked an internal goal …

“Not number wise, we don’t really set a goal. But we’ve always set a goal to stop somebody defensively or be more crisp offensively. That’s kind of something we’ve focused on more in the past couple weeks is being more crisp offensively.”

On what the goal is against Missouri …

“Just be more crisp offensively and never really slack off on defense because if we slack off on defense then what are we actually doing?”

On the play of freshman guard Devin Booker …

“I think the freshmen, as a whole, have been doing really great. They’ve come in and they’ve fit in like they’ve been here since we’ve been here. The way they’re playing is great and I’m ecstatic about it.”

On what kind of history they keep mentally on teams they’ve played before and have to face a second time …

“We just go game to game. We don’t even see what happened the last game or the game before. We’re focused on the game that’s ahead and if it happens to be the same team then it’s just another time where we have to prepare and be ready.”

On how much they think about what they did right against the previous opponent …

“You always have to reflect on the things you did right so you can, like, remember it and give the same energy and do the same thing. I think it’s just real important to reflect on the good and the bad.”

On their motivation facing a team they beat by 49 points previously …

“I think our motivation is just to play just as hard as we played last time and show everybody else how much better we’re getting and not so much beat them by 49 or beat them by 50 because that doesn’t really matter.”

On their motivation if they were the team that had been beaten by 49 points …

“They’re just going to try to go twice as hard and just go at us like there’s nothing else to lose. That’s how everybody has to go throughout each game no matter who you’re playing.”