On how the “reboot” is affecting the team …

“They’ve been good. There’s still things that we have to work on, and I’m spending time right now watching tape when we’re up 18, 20, 25, 16 that we get back those points. So I spent yesterday breaking all that down and coming up with ideas because they’re not going to fix stuff on their own. It’s just not what they do. And so we’re going to work on some of that today and continue on the defense and continue on the ball movement, and the, I told you, it took us three weeks to get where we were. It’s not happened overnight. I don’t want them to get away. Let me put it this way: They went from one shot, no shot to probably a little too much grind out against Alabama. We have to be somewhere in the middle, but they proved that they could play that way if they had to, which is good.”

On what he sees big leads getting smaller …

“A bunch of stuff that we’re going to work on. I feel comfortable that, and it’s not just defense, it’s both sides of the ball and we’ll get better.”

On if it’s a mental problem or physical problem with the team …

“No, I think it’s as much technical as it is mental. Like, they’ve got to have a plan. OK, you’re up 18, here’s how we gotta play. They don’t know. Today we met in the morning with some film stuff and I asked the guy, ‘Why didn’t you do this?’ He said, ‘I didn’t know I was supposed to.’ Not his fault. If he doesn’t know then we’ve got to teach him. They’re starting to take more responsibility. At some point someone is going to say, ‘I’m not playing well and this is on me.’ I’m not sure they’re ready for that yet, but they’ll start moving in that direction. The more they take on responsibility, the more it’s what they have to do together to better for all of us.” 

How he feels about playing the team again that started the downward slide … 

“Well, they’re good. I mean, I watched the Georgia game and they should’ve won that game, too. I mean, they’re running they’re stuff. They’re a matchup problem for everybody. Rick (Barnes) is doing an unbelievable job, which he always does, getting his teams ready to battle and play. Whether you play man or zone, he’s got a good answer.”

On Isaiah Briscoe’s decision making …

“He’s been better. We still – the energy and some of the other things that we need are just – you know, and it’s you can’t try to cure everything. You’re going one thing, let’s get this right. Let’s get this right. What I’m encouraged about is down the line where this team should be, here in a couple more weeks. And that’s, you know – they want to do it. They’re trying. Good group of kids that, you know, do some things that I shake my head at.”

On if he’s identified things they’re doing down the stretch to give up big leads …

“Yeah, I did. I came up with some ideas. I don’t like – I don’t walk into a room and have people tell me, ‘This is what I think it is.’ Why don’t we just watch the six games, or the five games? Watch it and go away. They’ll leave and think, what, ‘OK, now tell me what you think it is.’ You don’t throw things out that were working and you don’t make up the reasons, you just – so I watched those on an airplane and came back with a pretty good idea of how I want to attack it. And we’ll do some of it today and then we’ll go Wednesday and Thursday and Friday before we go to Georgia.” 

On if they were pretty consistent …

“Yeah. Yeah.”

On if you’re a Basketball Benny, will you notice the changes …

“If you watched it, you’d probably have a good idea. You’d have to watch it though. You can’t just write about it and give your opinion. Which is sometimes your hope, not your opinion. Did you get that? Some of you just don’t get that.”

On if he gets frustrated again rewatching the game tape of the previous game vs. Tennessee …

“No, because I’m trying to fix things. I’m not – I’m not blaming. I’m not throwing kids under, ‘They should this. What are? You know.’ They are what they are.”

On what he believes is the major issue facing his team right now …

“Just learning how to play in situational basketball. You know, you think about it, the fast team that we had in 2012, we were fast. This team could be faster. But, how did we play in the championship game? What was the final score? (It was) 67-59. And it was only because we were shooting fouls at the end. That game was in the low 60s because we had to be in the low 60s to win the game. I mean, I saw where it was going. I didn’t like it. I slowed it – slow down. Let’s just play and grind these dudes a little bit. You gotta be able to do both. But, our speed is a weapon. And you gotta use your weapons. You gotta use open court, driving to get to the rim. You know, we’re a good 3-point shooting team. Use your weapons, yet you’re going to play somebody that makes you play half court. You gotta be able to do it. So a lot of our issues are situational. There’s no in – anything within that’s an issue. I mean, it’s just that they don’t know. I’m trying to put a lot of this on, ‘Alright, let me spread this thing out a little bit between staff. Let me tell these guys my job is in practice, your job is in the game.’ As they went through it, I don’t know – look, you can sit there and go crazy when they give up a lead or you can figure out, ‘Why are they doing this?’  Because we’ve done it five times. Top 25 and all of the sudden you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, we could lose this.’ If we haven’t talked about it, we haven’t really worked on it and shown them – you can’t blame them. Dudes are in high school six months ago. Trying to play what we’re doing against veteran teams?”

On difference in De’Aaron Fox in the past few games … 

“Well, you know, he was sick and that zapped him a little bit and I think he will be fine. The biggest issue if you look is the way he played the ball and bothered the ball and defended. He looked like Tyler Ulis. He backed up a little bit off that. That’s the No. 1 weapon he has. And then the second weapon is his speed. Those are effort things. Those aren’t, you know. You gotta do that first.”

On if that’s a case of trying to save energy …

“No. I think it is easier just trying to do something crazy and if you make that day you can go one out of five plays. I have had guys that way. First he is grinding and pushing, do it and go. I am going to make one really fabulous play and that will keep everybody off my neck for three, four minutes vs. the day to day. I am not shock and awe. That is not how I coach. I am not show time. Our thing is every day we are doing the same drills. Every day we are trying to get better. It’s the grind of this. Those plays happen just in the flow of the game that you do something crazy because you’re that good. You don’t have to play to do something crazy. Just play. But again, I am happy with what these guys are trying to do and I am getting a better mental picture of where this team needs to be. and unless we had gone through some of the stuff we went through, I probably would’ve been fooled. So, I think we are moving in the right direction. ”

On NCAA looking to reset fouls after the 10-minute mark on experimental basis … 

“Never heard of it. Don’t, don’t know enough about it to even respond.”

On Fox and Bam Adebayo’s status after yesterday’s car accident …

“I was on an airplane and landed and then before I get back on, ‘Are your guys OK?’ What? They were in a fender bender that some – they were passengers in a car that were in a fender bender. I was meeting with De’Aaron before I left and he came in and I didn’t even ask him because everybody said yeah, they’re fine. Nothing happened. I mean, like, but you’re Kentucky. It’s on the ticker. What is on the ticker? You know what was on the ticker two nights ago? What Ellen and I had for dinner. It’s crazy. I mean, what in the world?”

On if he celebrates Valentine’s Day …

“Do I celebrate Valentine’s Day? You reminded me so I will probably get her flowers. I didn’t know it was Valentine’s Day tomorrow but I usually get her flowers or a card or something – or sometimes I have someone else get it because I forgot. You helped me.”

On how many players he’s comfortable drawing up a play for a shot late in the game like he did with Derek Willis at Alabama …

“I’m pretty comfortable. We’ve done it with different players on here, on the team. Gotta be able to make foul (shots) in case you get fouled. We’re still a work in progress. I know Malik (Monk), we rank something for him. I put De’Aaron Fox in pick-and-rolls against Mississippi State because I was comfortable with him making those plays. He did it. He’s gotta figure out the rebounding at the defensive end: How are we going to do this to survive? And Wenyen (Gabriel) the same: How are you going to do this to survive? We’re still, again – we’re still experimenting. I don’t know if you watched. Most of you don’t. But we played pick-and-roll defense with Isaac (Humphries) a little different. You have no idea what I’m talking about, which I like. But we played it different, and we’re trying different things so the kids, we can see what they’re able to do. You can’t ask a kid to do something he’s not capable of doing. You just can’t do it. You just gotta keep figuring it out – or you don’t play them. That’s your option. Figure it out with them or don’t play them. Don’t put them in there where they’re not capable of doing what you’re asking. I put Derek Willis in that play to get him that shot because I know he’s capable of making that. There are other guys that I would not put them in that play because they’re capable but I’m not sure they’re very confident that they can make that play. I love what Kenny (Payne) is doing right now. Kenny is watching. If a player is not playing with confidence either on defense or offense, he’s out. Kenny’s just taking him out. So you either play with confidence or you’re coming out. So what do that mean? You play with confidence. You can miss a shot confidently. Miss a shot, confidently play defense. But if you’re out there and you don’t breathe – you don’t breathe for four minutes at a time – well, you shouldn’t be out there. Be confident. Get yourself in practice. Work on it. Walk in that game knowing I want to play and I’m going to play confident. So there are some things we’re working on and doing. We’ll see.”

On if Payne just takes them out or he tells Cal …

“Either. He’ll say something to me or he’ll say, ‘Get them out.’ So we’re trying a little bit of everything.”  

On what he hopes they learned from the loss at Tennessee …

“We’ve been working on, obviously, scoring through our offense and not just rushing a shot and stuff like that. So I think that was a big thing in the Tennessee game a couple weeks ago. We were just kind of taking shots and not running our offense and not getting shots through the offense. We’ve obviously been practicing that so it should be a lot better.”

On how the team has changed since the Tennessee loss …

“We’ve obviously had the reboot. Like I said, we’ve been trying to score through our offense and not through just rushing shots. Defensively, we’ve changed up a couple things and we know exactly what we’re doing and that sort of thing. And in this league everyone’s so good, it’s definitely game plan to game plan. It changes for everyone.”

On how much the reboot has helped …

“A lot. Obviously it’s not going to happen overnight, and we’ve been—two weeks now I think we’ve been working on it. I’ve seen a big improvement and we’ve all seen a big improvement – or a big change, at least – on the court and stuff. But like I said, it’s not going to happen overnight. We take it game by game and hopefully by when it counts in March we’re at that stage where we can sustain that for the whole game and not just parts of the game. That’s what we’re working on.”

On Isaiah Briscoe’s role in the reboot …

“For Zay, it’s creating shots for other people. He’s so good at that. With him, he can create shots for everyone else and still get his points. He doesn’t have to force it. That’s the biggest thing for Isaiah in the reboot. Cal’s just had him trying to create shots and in practice been statting how many shots he’s created for other people and that’s obviously fueling us and getting us into a better position offensively.”

On what he’s done differently since the reboot …

“For me, honestly, it’s just coming out and playing with confidence and aggression and fighting. But for the bigs as a whole, we’ve all—pick-and-roll defense is something that we have to figure out and we’ve been working on that a lot over the past week. And rebounding. Offensive rebounding, defensive rebounding. And honestly, the biggest thing for me in the reboot is pick-and-roll defense.”

On whether he’s still battling confidence issues …

“Not as much. I’ve come a long way from that point in the season. Obviously sometimes your head goes crazy a little bit and that happens to any human being, but as a whole I think I’ve come out of that.”

On how much help defense improved at Alabama …

“We’ve been working on blocking shots and taking up space and helping from the weak side and stuff like that. So, yeah, I saw a difference as well in that game and it just proves that what we’re doing in practice is really translating onto the court, which is a good sign.”

On why they had issues with help defense …

“I think it’s just the specifics of it. Like, yeah, it’s a basic thing, but for people who have come out of high school on teams where they don’t really do that, having to work together as a collective unit with the help D is not as easy as it sounds. Obviously we’ve been working on it and it’s picking up.”

On if he feels like he’s back at 100 percent …

“Yeah, I’m feeling good. I’ve been feeling good for a couple weeks.”

On what he recalls from Kentucky’s loss at Tennessee …

“I remember we were taking quick shots, not the best on defense, all the stuff we’ve been working on since then. That was a moment of growth for us, I feel like. Something we learned from and some experience for us. I feel like we’re ready this time around.”

On what he’s working on personally …

“I’m just working to always stay in shape. Just do whatever’s asked of me, play my role, understand that role, work hard on the defensive end, rebound the ball and just play like a big guard.”

On what the team is working on …

“As a team, something we’ve emphasized all year and something we’re still continuing to grow at is fight. Just fight at all positions and all aspects of the game, really, offense and defense. That’s the most important thing for us. As long as we’re willing to battle and put our body on the line and work hard. We all feel like we owe it to each other. You look to the guy next to you and you really trust that he’s fighting for you and you’re fighting with him. We just want to go to war every day.”

On how tough it was for him to carve out a role and then miss four games due to an illness …

“It wasn’t the best thing for me. Really unpleasant experience. The Tennessee game I wasn’t even in the building. I didn’t like it, but it’s just a little step back. But we’re moving forward, going in a good direction right now, feeling back to 100 percent.”

On what he was thinking when he was watching the Kentucky-Tennessee game from Lexington …

“It’s different watching it when you’re not there. It’s a little bit of a different experience. I was a little frustrated. I just felt how all these guys were feeling. Feeling like we could have played so much better. But we’re really not focused on that game anymore. That’s not really who we are. We know that. So we’re focused on what’s coming up next.”

On if he watched games and felt he could have given the team something …

“When you watch the film you not only watch yourself, but when you’re not on the court you see moments that you feel like you could have done something better for the team in that moment. Or even when you’re watching yourself when you are on the court, you feel like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I was doing that. I didn’t know I looked like that.’ That’s what Coach says about the film though, the greatest thing about that is it doesn’t lie when you watch it. You really see what happened and what you can improve on.”

On how important it is to use this second game against Tennessee as a measuring stick for how far they’ve come …

“It’s great. It’s a really great experience. Like you said, it’s our first time getting a second chance at a team, and I’m glad it’s a team that gave us a battle, gave us a fight, because I feel like that’s something we were lacking last game against them. I feel like we have a lot to bring to the table this game, and we’ve learned a lot since then. It’s a good opportunity to have another shot at these guys.”

On how the four-guard lineup looked at Alabama …

“I feel like it works well. We play small, but we’re a little bit faster. I feel like we have multiple guys who can guard multiple positons, so I feel like it works in our favor.”

On what he took away from the Alabama game …

“Same thing we’ve taken away from a few games this year, we get up and it looks like in that last 10 minutes there’s just a time that we can focus in defensively and just really work to fight and finish the game out. That’s something we’re taking away from that game.”

On if he thought the defensive effort overall was better against Alabama …

“Yeah, I feel like it’s improving every day. We’ve been really focused on that, really working hard in practice, situationally, just to focus on when we’re up how we’re playing, how are we playing defense, and can we maintain that. We’ve done some drills, some work where we’re doing some runs and sprints, and right now we’re going to lock down on defense, right when we’re tired. I feel like that’s something we’re continuing to improve on and get a lot better.”

On what changes he sees from the reboot …

“Like I said, it’s just continuing to fight. I feel like we’re getting closer and closer every day to being able to fight for 40 minutes. Right now, if you watched the last game, I think we’re probably at about 30 (minutes). Games before that, maybe 25 (minutes). So, I feel like we’re taking positive steps forward and real soon I think we’ll be at 40 minutes.”