On Kentucky having the second-highest scoring offense, South Carolina being defensively sound as well and what Kentucky has to do to be successful …

“The one thing they’re going to do is get offensive rebounds. We’ve had teams not send anybody to the glass. Again, what he’s (South Carolina head coach Frank Martin) been able to do down there to build it year to year. To lose their whole front line. They lost good players and they came back to be able to do what they’re doing – being undefeated in our league and win games on the road like at Georgia, which is just am impossible place to try to win a game. They led from start to finish. Rebounding? They do it. Giving you a tough shot? They do it. They have full rotations as well. They’ll bring four guys to the ball. If you drive, they’re bringing three to four guys at you. I have to give them credit. I’ve always liked Frank. He knows that, and I’ve always respected him as a coach. I know how he doesn’t baby kids. He’s coaching them. You watch him. I need our fans to watch him closely because he’s harder on his guys than I am on our guys. You guys think I’m hard. But I respect that. That means he has a great relationship with the guys.” 

On what Sindarius Thornwell means to the South Carolina team…

“He’s like one of those guys that can score baskets. He can rebound. They play him at the four at times when they go small. Now they have four guards and he’s a pick-and-pop guy or they just run their action. They’ll give him the ball and just say drive it. When he’s going against fours, he’s like a two or three with size. He’s really good and he’s tough. He’s physical. This is another team that will be scrappy. Auburn played that way. Mississippi State played that way. They’re going to come to play and they’re not backing down. They’re coming in with an expectation, and it’s going to be a hard game for us.” 

On how he felt about how many fouls are being called …

“People must be fouling. Let me just make my position clear. I think we’ve got to keep calling fouls, but you have to make sure they’re fouls. So there are some replays that you look at and you say, ‘Well, that wasn’t even close to a foul.’ Those shouldn’t be called, but I mean, there’s a forearm on a drive, there’s a body check on a big, those should be automatic calls. Call the fouls on both teams. If one team is fouling and the other team is not, that’s when you have those kind of fouls called. Because you’re feeling like, I can’t call them all against the other team. But why not if they’re fouling every play? If the other team isn’t fouling, don’t call them. That’s when you get asked, ‘How can they call that a foul?’ How can they call this a foul?’ Call the game the way we all want it to be. We want freedom of motion. We don’t want a guy driving to get banged three times before he shoots a layup and you say, ‘Why did he miss the layup?’ Well, probably because they guy has a finger in his eyeball, and his knee and his thigh it probably affected the layup. So I am about calling fouls that are fouls. If the game is physical it should be called.”

On referees having fear about physicality of games …

“No. They’re being told to call fouls. The only issue is there’s some that aren’t fouls that they’re calling. I mean, if you look and everybody is like, wow. The TV, the people, the fans and everybody says, ‘Well, no one even touched anybody how did they call that? Probably not a foul they should’ve called. But look, I don’t blame officials. I don’t. You know, they’re not perfect. I appreciate it when an official comes over to me and says, ‘I missed that.’ And then I don’t say anything. Um, you know, these guys, they have got a tough job. And I said it the other day: When you are officiating our game and it is this fast and you have to run five times to try and stay up with these guys and then there’s a play happening in front of you, there are going to be some fandom calls. What foul? ‘Well, I thought I saw it.’ It’s a mirage. You just ran seven times up and back. It’s hard. But, you know, they’re doing what they’ve been told to do, which is if it’s physical play, call a foul. I am all for it.”

On a lot of foul calls on the offensive end …

“Yeah, we are trying to tell Bam (Adebayo), if you put your hand out away from your body, you are giving them a chance to call an offensive foul. Don’t do it. Don’t do it. Keep your hands tight. When he goes like that, they have a right to call that, even if you looked at it and said, well, there was not a whole lot of contact. Well, yeah, but you gave him a chance to call it. The other thing is on a drive, if a guy puts that forearm on you and you are driving the ball, or hip checks you, that is supposed to be a foul every time whether my guys do it or the other guy does it. Call it a foul. I mean, does anyone really want the game to go back where they can just beat the crap out of each other? I mean, I don’t think anybody does. I mean, I support what they are trying to do. As a matter of fact, I was one of the voices behind it. Call the fouls. Now, we all adjust how we coach, and I am telling my team, ‘There are games where you are playing and they are calling it really close. Well, then adjust You’re in the game seeing it. You have got to adjust.’ ”

On why it seems like there are mores skirmishes in basketball this season … 

“I don’t know. I am just watching our games. And I think, again, there is a frustration level when you are playing us. When you have practiced two weeks to play our game and you’re fighting and you’re in the game a little bit and then all the sudden it gets away from you, I think there is a frustration that develops. I have to beat Kentucky, Kentucky, Kentucky and then you push a guy. I mean, come on. There is no one in there fighting anybody, but there is a frustration level when you are playing us. We have seen it. I have been here eight years and I have probably seen that 50 times, and I get it.”

On being if he was still upset at Malik Monk for hanging on the rim last game after watching the tape … 

“Yeah. It wasn’t (as bad as it looked) but why do it? Here is what I am trying to explain to him: He is so good. J playing hard and making easy plays, you will do three outrageous things that they will put on SportsCenter. Not even trying. You are trying to get on SportsCenter. And if you remember, John Wall, when I went through that with John Wall, I said the same thing: ‘John, you don’t have to lose your mind and do something nutty. Just play hard and you’re going to make a play.’ Then he goes one for nine, but that one play was so outrageous they put it on SportsCenter. He’s the same. But they are young – 18- and 19-year-olds. So, he (Isaiah Briscoe) and Malik just played bad last game and they had to go hug Derek (Willis) and Wenyen (Gabriel) for that. So the hug went the other way this time. Those two saved those two guards.  ”

On Willis and Gabriel stepping forward after last game … 

“Oh yeah. Big. It is big to build your own confidence. You know, I keep telling Derek, ‘I know you are working on defense, I know you are trying, but you hang your hat on making shots. Not dribbling, spinning, throwing passes. Not cross-court passes for baskets for them. You can’t. Just shoot it, make an easy play. That is who you are. That is the strength of your game. Offensive rebounds. Fly in transition. Dunk balls. Work on your defense.’ But is he ever going to be a defensive stopper? He is a senior. He is what he is. Be the best version of that. How do we get you even better knowing what you are as a player? ”

On this team being different in terms of confidence and other mental factors… 

“ I don’t know because I can’t remember year to year, but I can tell you we have a ways to go. I am going to explain some of this stuff today. We are going to meet for about five minutes in looking at what we are as a team offensively and where we have to go; looking at where we are defensively as a team and where we have to go. And a bunch of that is you have to do your job. If you don’t do your job, no one’s trusting anybody. Just one guy that doesn’t do his job and what he is supposed to breaks down the total trust of your team, the unit. That is what we are having. We are just going to work on it. It is a process. It doesn’t happen overnight. We are starting four freshmen. Starting four freshmen. We are playing two sophomores. There are younger teams than us – like two. It is a process. It happens. 

On Isaiah Briscoe …

“I had a call and I called him into the office. Two or three people called, basketball people, after the Mississippi State game, and said that he is so much better as a player. It’s incredible. He’s making free throws. He can make perimeter shots. His decision making. And he’s even better defensively and in rebounding that he was a year ago. It’s incredible. So when I called him in, I asked him how he thought he played, ‘I was awful.’ I said, ‘You were awful, but let me tell you about the calls I got about you. Part of the reason this is happening, instead of blaming me that you were awful – like a year ago – you’re taking responsibility for yourself. This is your performance not mine, and that’s how you’re getting better.’ Last night we had a team picture, a short film session, we practiced for two hours, they had a film session with the coaches for another 15-20 minutes. While they were in there, I went to take a shower, looked out of my window and Malik (Monk] and Isaiah Briscoe are doing a full body workout, totally soaked, going again. I’m proud of that. That makes me feel great because they have to master their craft. They have to be responsible for their own performance and not blame. If you blame you’re not getting better, but if you take responsibility you’ll get better. You’ll figure it out.” 

On if he knew Karl-Anthony Towns going on the air a couple of games ago to talk about the program …

 “I didn’t know he called in. What did he do? No one tells me anything around here, just so you know that. They put stuff on my Twitter – YOLO – don’t tell me. So what happened? He’s the best. He didn’t Mississippi State after the chin-up, did he? ‘I did that against LSU.’ He didn’t do that? Oh no! Did it for the other one.” 

On players being ambassadors like that for the program …

“It’s what this is about here. I mean, we’ve got a bunch of them trying to get to the Kansas game. We want to come. This guy, this guy, that guy. Five or six of them. They’re connected to the place. They understand that they have people here who care about them and love them and were a part of what they had to do and look after them. Again, they’re in that league and they’re responsible for their performance. They understand that. It’s like Andrew (Harrison) when he went to the D league. He said it was what he needed to get himself right and then he goes up and does all the good stuff he’s been doing. It’s good for them and I appreciate the fact that they look back on this experience with good feelings.”

On playing time against Mississippi State …

“I just took my opportunity and did the best I could with it. It was a lot of fun to be able to play because I haven’t been playing much this season. It was good to get out there and have a little bit of playing time. It was a lot of fun.”

On John Calipari liking his toughness …

“He’s really pushing the guys in practice. He wants us to be strong and show our physicality while focusing on rebounding and boxing out.”

On having a better feel for college basketball in general after watching half of last year …

“Yeah, it definitely has. Having that extra half year and coming in and watching that team play gave me a bit of a jump. International basketball is a lot different than college basketball so I’m just adapting to the different rules and the faster pace. International basketball is a lot more slow and you bang bodies more.” 

 

On your personal growth as a player …

“My game has taken a huge leap. I’ve been playing a lot better since I’ve been here, obviously, playing against players like Bam (Adebayo) and Isaac (Humphries). Going up against players like that in practice every day has given me strength.”

On what Bam does really well that has forced you to get better …

“Just being able to play defense against him all the time and him playing defense against me. Both of us are getting so much better just by having that physicality.”

On physicality in practice …

“If you came and watched it gets crazy. It gets heated in there a little bit. We’re going at each other and fighting each other, so it’s a lot of fun. Me and Bam just going at it, you should see it.” 

On competing to back up Bam …

“It gives me a bit of confidence. I’ve just got to fight for that spot and show what I can do in practice. I just want to make the most of every opportunity that I get.”

On what he remembers about last year’s South Carolina game …

“I know it was pretty tight probably up until the 10- or 11-minute mark. I only remember that because we watched film the other day on it. It was probably a three- or four-point game and then we broke away from them and got the ball rolling. I’m not sure if that was one of the games Coach got T’d up and ended up getting kicked out of the game. It was a hard game at first. It was real physical. It kind of took us some time to get used to it and then, like I said, we eventually broke away from them.”

On if the physicality of the last couple games could help prepare them for Saturday …

“Yeah. We’re just going to face teams that are going to play like that with us, just try to get in our head, get into the emotions of the game and then take us out of what we do. I don’t know, just something to prepare for. Like I said, we’re going to see it at the end of the season. South Carolina is a physical team. I’ve watched them play and every year since I’ve been here they’ve really been a physical team – get after you, hit the boards hard and that’s something they do well. You just have to be prepared for it.”

On how important it was for he and freshman forward Wenyen Gabriel to play well at the four spot with all the foul trouble …

“It was just one of those games. I know I had radio after that game and I was kind of talking about a lot of people I had seen were kind of focused on the refs and how they were calling it. I didn’t really want to put it on the refs because the refs are just out there to do their job, whether they call it tight or they’re not calling anything. You can’t really base how you’re playing off that. We just had to adjust with how the game was going by. I know a lot of stuff Bam was doing he was getting called for. There’s calls where setting screens both ways – I know we had some calls on that. So just when me and Wenyen were out there we were trying to pick up the slack for what it was because I don’t think Bam played a lot that game. Isaac (Humphries) came and gave good minutes. I think Tai came in and did really well. Like I said, just picking up the slack where we could, try to do what we could.”

On South Carolina having the No. 1 defense in the country …

“They just get after you. They’re a physical team. They get up in you. When they make a shot they’re sending probably three or four guys it looks like to the glass every single time. So they offensive rebound well, too. Like I said, they know what they want to do, they’re good at what they do and it makes them a really solid team.”

On if they reflect their coach’s personality …

“I’m sure that could be a thing. The way a coach is, is definitely going to carry off how the players are going to play. If that’s his personality off the court and how he coaches then I would agree completely. It’s always one of those games where it’s always been physical; it’s always been a tough game for us. Their players play hard; their coach is really into the game. It’ll be fun.”

On their reaction to when Calipari was ejected from last year’s game at South Carolina …

“It kind of got us going, I feel like. I feel like that was actually a thing that kind of took our momentum way up there. I think Kenny Payne took over. He kept us under control and we used it kind of as motivation to play harder and get what we needed to get done.”

On if they learned about themselves in that game …

“Well, Tyler (Ulis), he was kind of the coach on the floor for us I would say. We had him and then Kenny Payne I thought did a good job. All our guys stepped up, including the coaching staff. That’s just how it goes. We just adjust to situations and that’s what makes our team special each year.”

On if that was a turning point last year …

“I would feel like it somewhat was. It was kind of a thing where we just dealt with different situations. I know one game, Isaiah (Briscoe) in warmups did something to his ankle and he couldn’t even play, so we had to make an adjustment there. It was just like that the whole season. I know I got injured. It was just one of those things. That’s just how we are though. We do things on the fly and it works out.”

On how much Coach Cal has talked about playing defense without fouling …

“It’s pretty much a thing every day, moving your feet. There’s rules we go over all the time. We’re always up and up on the rules. A thing we’ve been teaching now is if someone drives into you in the lane just jump straight up with your hands up because that’s not a foul, regardless, if you’re out of the little circle. It’s either you’re jumping up or you’re taking a charge, something along that nature. But we’ve been focusing on defense, really focused on rebounding now, checking out guys and then going and getting the ball. Just taking it day to day.”