Kentucky Basketball Previews Utah Valley
UK MEDIA RELATIONS
MEN’S BASKETBALL
UTAH-VALLEY-UK PREGAME
NOV. 9, 2017
MEMORIAL COLISEUM MEDIA ROOM – LEXINGTON, KY.
UK Head Coach John Calipari
On the last few days of tough practices …
“This is as hard as I’ve been on a team since I’ve been here, I would say. Both stretching them out and then being direct and specific on what we’re looking for and what I’ve accepted. But they’re behind most of those other teams. They’re not behind size, it’s just trying to get them when they’re fatigued to just continue to fight. When they’re fatigued, get them to think. Things that they’ve never really had to do. But, I’m going to say this, a great group of kids. As we start this off, I have to accept more than anyone else, more than any fan or media, that we are where we are and it’s going to be a process and we could get dinged along the way. This team that Mark’s (Pope) put together, I’ve watched tape, they’re pretty good now. They’re one of the oldest teams in the country and guess what they’re playing? Probably the youngest team in the country. I don’t care where they’re from, where we’re from, this is not going to be easy for these guys. I’m happy on the trajectory of the team. It’s just that we are where we are.”
On if the team is aware that it won’t be easy …
“They’re going to have to get hit in the mouth a few times, then you start realizing. Or, the other side of it is, what happens when you’re us, the other teams play as well as they can play and they play with more energy, they’re more focused and they execute better because they’re playing against Kentucky, in Rupp Arena or anywhere. That means it puts even more pressure on you to do and play the way you have to play.”
On if the team embraces the practice schedule …
“Yeah, my staff’s kind of reminding me we’re practicing with 10 players. Brad’s (Calipari) being the 10th. Brad’s the 10th. No one gets off the court. No one stops. Only the last couple days have I started going four minute segments. Where we scrimmage four minutes, take a minute and 30 seconds, scrimmage four minutes. Because that’s what the games like. Prior to that we would just go until I decided we stop. Let me tell you, when you’re doing all the other things that these kids do and you’re coming to this practice and you’re not being told you’re the greatest. Eric (Lindsey), who most the time has his feet up on my desk throwing popcorn in his mouth, he’ll be down watching us practice and said ‘I’ve not heard you this loud. I’ve not heard you this way.’ I’m not cussing but I’m loud. I’m holding them accountable. That’s then. Now, we got three games in five days. It’s hard when you’re my age, you don’t remember back to other teams and how they were early. You don’t remember 2009 being down 19 to Miami of Florida, no, Miami of Ohio. It looked like you were going to win and it took a buzzer beater by John Wall to win the game. You forget all those. You just think you won all these games. This is going to be a process. Whether it’s this team, Vermont is a top 50, 60, 70 team with everybody back. An NCAA tournament team. We’re ready to play them. Especially when you’re talking 36 hours later. I want to have fun with this. I personally want to have fun with this. But it’s hard because you get used to how things are and this is going to be different. I’m going to have to be somewhat different. As you get older, some of you in this room, you’ve been mean and nasty you’re whole life and now you try to change. You can’t. You’re mean and nasty.”
On if the team’s in shape …
“Yeah, it’s not shape. I was probably using the wrong term, fatigued. Fatigue is not just physical fatigue. You think about these kids. It’s a high school team plus six months. Now all of a sudden they’re in front of 25,000 people. The anxiety prior to the game. The anxiety before the game you do a shoot-around. The fatigue, they’re just used to when I feel this way, let go. That’s what we’re trying to tell them they’ve got to fight through.”
On if the AAU mentality helps during a close stretch of game …
“The only issue is they’re three teams, these are not going to be teams that play bad and win. You’re going to have to play fair. You don’t have to play perfect games because we’re not going to for a while. We may never this season. You’re going to play and be right 30 percent of the time. Now you just have to fight through it and cover for each other and scramble and dive and attack and play off your instincts. That’s what the game is going to be for a while. But we’re going to play teams with veteran guards. We’re going to play teams with veteran players that aren’t going to get rattled. You’re not going to press them into submission or get them to turnover four straight times. You’re not going to do it. You’re going to have to play basketball. But, I think the kids are ready to let’s start playing somebody else. Yesterday I probably went a half hour shorter than we had been going. Today we’ll probably go an hour shorter, maybe an hour and a half shorter, than we’ve been going. Because we’ve got these games, they’re bang, bang, bang, and you’ve got to travel.”
On playing tough basketball …
“Playing winning basketball is you are trying to play to your strengths, trying on offense, every time down we get a great look at the basket and we try to rebound a miss. And then on defense you are never out of position. You give them one tough shot. You rebound with five guys like crazy. You be a great team going from offense to defense. They don’t get lay ups. You be a great team going from defense to offense. You try to get some easy baskets. That’s the basic thing of how we play and then how you do that, whether you’re pressing and zoning, but what I just said, teaching them that winning basketball. Now, I will give you an example. So, you just take a shot because you feel like shooting, a shot that we can’t rebound. No. That is not winning basketball. A guy has a better shot than you but you shoot it anyways. No. You force it, to drive it. It is absolutely not there. One more pass, we have something. No. It is not winning basketball. You jog back on defense because you missed a shot. You don’t talk on defense to help each other to cover. You give them open baskets because you are trying to deny and play all over the court, which is not how we play. You don’t worry about rebounding. You are hoping your teammate rebounds. You cannot win playing that way. So, you are trying to get it down to, we are going to get a great look every time down. Do what you do best. If you are a driver, drive. If you are a shooter, shoot. Do what you do best. We are going to be great going from that offense to defense. We are going to attempt to rebound on it and then when we get back on defense, we are going to give them one tough shot and then we are going to rebound like crazy. We are not spacing. We’re not denying. It is not how we play. So, it takes time for them to get ingrained in that when they have played different. Now, I have had them for three months, four months now, 28 practices. Twenty-seven practices, I’ve had them. So, those habits, which are how you become successful, you create good habits. We will see how ingrained they are right now.”
On foul trouble …
“Same deal. You negate any hustle by fouling. We are not trying to stop them from scoring. You are trying to make it a tough shot. Again, winning basketball. You are going to shoot balls. We are just going to make them tough. It is going to be hard for you to get a basket. You are going to get some anyways. When was the last shut out in college basketball? Has there been one? Probably not. So, you are not going to shut them out. But, you don’t want to get in foul trouble because that is how you lose games. Again, winning basketball. You are making this tough. I am not leaving my feet. I am not trying to steal because then I will foul. Then, I get two of those or three, I’m out and we lose. Why did you do that? Because I thought I could get it. Well, we don’t play that way. We play that winning basketball. “
On Jarred Vanderbilt …
“Probably start practicing at the end of the month.”
On having numerous guards on the floor …
“I like it because we’ve played with three point guards in the last few years and what has been amazing to this point, this team has, we are not playing with a whole lot of point guards out there. We haven’t been a big turnover team. We are not turning it over 25 times and it doesn’t matter who you play. If you are a turnover team, you are going to turn it over. So, we have been pretty good with that and let’s hope going forward. Again, you are a low turnover team when you are trying to make easy plays and ready? Do what you do best as a player. You don’t turn it over as much. Well, I am going to try this. Wait until you see this. I saw it. Unfortunately, we all saw it. So, those are again, things that they are learning and going to. I am going to tell you, great group of guys. These kids are great kids. They want to win. They know they need each other and I think they kind of know where they are right now.”
On Utah Valley playing Kentucky and then traveling to Duke …
“Well, I think DeWayne (Peevy) set that up if they wanted to do both. It was their option. Talked to Duke and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got a team coming in if you want to play them.’ Again, I think Duke was trying to give themselves more time for that third game, which is why they went Friday-Saturday. We are playing Friday and Sunday afternoon. But, the team we are paying is not playing. So, when we play Sunday afternoon, that is their first game, which will make it even tougher.”
On advisement to players if they decided they did not want to play postseason, similar to NCAA football player foregoing their bowl games …
“I would talk to them and ask them about it. But, I think the difference between that and what we do in basketball is, if you’re not in the playoffs, you don’t have a chance to win the national championship. I think with us and the NCAA Tournament, you have a chance to win the national title. So, I’m not sure that that would happen. But, if they weren’t in that championship game, I doubt their is anyone in that championship game that would step away. I don’t think so. “
On whether or not a player would do that if their team is in the NIT …
“Would I want to coach in it you mean?”
On how he would advise a player like Karl Towns playing in the NIT …
“If I had Karl-Towns and we were in the NIT…”
Kentucky Players
#0, Quade Green, Fr., G
On the season opener …
“I’m very excited to see what we’re about in the real games.”
On what happened under his eye …
“I got elbowed.”
On whether Nick Richards elbowed him …
“No. Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander). His long arms, he elbowed me.”
On whether he’s the first person to get hurt by someone other than Richards …
“I don’t think so. I think everybody got a little bit.”
On when it happened …
“This happened like two days ago, I believe. I forgot already. Happened like two days ago.”
On whether the cut is an indication of practices being tough …
“It was getting intense in there. Just happened. Playing defense, swinging his arm, elbowed my face. Still was practicing. Taped it up and everything.”
On what practices have been like …
“It makes everybody better, really. Not just myself. Just everybody. Because when you get to the next level, everybody’s going to be playing intense because it’s just a job now. You gotta treat it like your job now.”
On starting with three games in five days …
“We’ve been ready for this, though, since we were in 11th grade, 12th grade. Everybody’s ready for this type of environment right now.”
On the progress they have made and need to make …
“We’ve made a lot of progress throughout the preseason practices. So by the time we play the games, we should be good. Coach Cal’s going to get us right.”
On the biggest thing he’s learned from Cal …
“Giving the ball up early because I have other talent around me. That’s really the main key instead of holding the ball like high school. I’d hold the ball too much. Now I give it up, wait and get it back.”
On why he used to hold the ball longer …
“I just didn’t have the players I have now that I had on my team in high school. I was the main ball handler. Everybody can dribble now.”
On how difficult that adjustment was …
“It was real tough. Real tough. I’m still going through the process, actually. Sometimes I dribble way too much when I don’t need to. He yells at me, so next time, give it up, get it back, shoot, give it up, get it back. I’m still working on it.”
On whether he is still counting his dribbles …
“Yeah, I’m still trying to count. Sometimes it’s hard though, when you’re going through the playing motions and you got a guy like Shai guarding you and you got other people pressuring you too. It’s just crazy.”
On how his good shooting in exhibition helps his confidence …
“My confidence is always super high. It doesn’t matter exhibition, road game. I’m going to still shoot the ball. If I miss, I miss. If I make it, I make it. I’m still going to shoot.”
On playing with Shai in games …
“In practice we never played on the same team, but in games it’s easier. You got another point guard on your team, so it’s easier to me.”
On why it’s easier …
“We both can score. We both can dribble. So if he gets the rebound or somebody else gets the rebound and he’s in front, he’s getting it. Or if I’m in front, I get it. It doesn’t matter. Same thing with Hamidou. If he’s in front, he gets it. If I’m in front, I get it. And we just go.”
On their progress over the last week …
“We’ve made a crazy—elevating very good on defense right now. After that game, Cal got on us. So we’ve been playing way better defense than we usually do.”
On intense practices …
“Running, running. I think we ran the practice before our last exhibition. It was crazy. So now we just got our minds right, got our bodies right. We’re still running and still fighting through the elevation that he wants us to make.”
#5, Kevin Knox, Fr., F
On how he feels going into his first collegiate game …
“I think we’re ready. We’re not where we want to be right now, but I think we’re definitely ready for the first game. We’ve had some real good practices the last two days. A lot of guys stepped up and showed that they’ve improved. They showed they’re ready for Friday. So, I’m pretty confident in the next few weeks.”
On if he has any butterflies knowing it’s the season opener …
“Oh yeah, I’m going to definitely have butterflies. I know other people will. They probably won’t admit it, but I’m a person to admit my butterflies. My first real college game, first packed game, my parents are going to be here, my grandparents. I’m definitely going to have the butterflies. I’m just really looking forward to it. Once that first basket goes in I’ll be good.”
On if they’re finally in the right shape that Coach Cal wants …
“No, he’ll never be happy. We’ve been running a lot lately, getting us up and down and then going into our defensive stuff when we’re tired. But I think we’re definitely – we’re a little bit better than we were in the Blue-White (Game) when he was yelling at us. We’re definitely way better than that.”
On Utah Valley playing at Kentucky on Friday and at Duke on Saturday …
“That’s a crazy back-to-back games right there. I was looking at that the other day and just praying for them. That’s a tough two days going against two top teams with a lot of talent. I really hope them the best, but I know it’s going to be rough on them Friday and Saturday.”
On how big these two games are for Kentucky before facing Kansas …
“I think these two games right here are really good for us to see where we’re at the first two games. Vermont is a really good team. They have everyone coming back from last year. They won 20-some games last year so they know how to win. That’ll definitely be a good game for us. Utah Valley is just a good fundamental team, run the plays, good defense and everything. Real sound. So, these two games will be a test for us for Tuesday. I think it’s two real good teams we’ll have to face before we have to face a good team in Kansas.”
On how different Quade Green and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are as point guards …
“They play totally different. Shai is a little bit faster than Quade as far as fast pace. Quade has played slow his whole life, but we kind of got that to change when he got here. Quade, offensively, is really good. Shai is a really good passer – they’re both really good passers. But offensively, Quade is a really good shooter. Shai can get in the lane really well. Passing is about equal. Defensively, we’re working on Quade’s defense because he’s a little bit smaller and a little bit slower, so we have to be able to keep him in front of them. Shai is really good defensively. He’s 6-(foot)-6 with a 7-foot wingspan, you get a lot of deflections and stuff like that. So, that’s really good. But they’re two different players.”
On how it is playing with two players so different at a key position …
“It’s kind of good for us, because we know Quade – when Quade is in the game – he likes to throw alley-oops, he likes to get the ball and shoot 3s. So, we can kind of play off of that. Then we know Shai likes to get in the lane, come off pick-and-rolls – that’s something he really likes to do is come off pick-and-rolls. When both of them are in the game you just have to be able to know who’s in and what to do when they’re in.”
On what he’s learned already in his time at Kentucky …
“Just being able to push through adversity. The first couple practices I wasn’t in basketball shape, or the shape they wanted me in, so I had to keep pushing. On offense, Cal wants me to do a lot of different things I’m used to. I just have to be able to push through that. There’s a of times I’m tired. Defensively, I have to play with a little more intensity than I did in high school. In high school, I didn’t really play like Cal’s taught me here. I just gotta make that transition. It’s a little tougher than I thought, but just being able to push through adversity is something that was big for me when I first got here. Cal pushed me outside my comfort zone. He pushed me to the top of my limit. He wants me to play hard the whole time I’m in the game. I wasn’t really used to that in high school because I didn’t have to. Definitely college basketball is a little bit different than high school basketball. Just being able to push through adversity, get through rough times, be able to move on to the next play.”
On his performances in the exhibition games …
“I thought overall I played really well. There were a couple games I thought I could have played better defensively and rebounded better. Like Cal said, he really wants me to score the basketball, put the ball in the basket, be a leader. Defensively, be able to block shots, rebound and stuff like that. If I can keep that up I think I’ll have a really good season. I think overall the exhibition games were really good for me. My first three real college games. It was good. Now I’m ready for the real stuff.”
On having three games in five days …
“It’s good. I’m not really used to it. In high school, you only play like two a week. Now we have three in five days. It’s definitely crazy, but we’re ready for it. We’ve had some real hard practices the last couple days. We had an off-day on Monday, so Tuesday, Wednesday and today we’ll have a really good practice. So, getting conditioned, getting ready for those games, making sure we’re mentally ready for those. And I think we’ll be able to go out and show people what we’re made of.”
On Coach Cal’s tough practices lately …
“It was crazy. What Cal really told us was you play kind of three- to four-minute stretch in the games, so in practices he had us play three to four minutes straight just to see who would be able to go that long and not get winded. Then there were times he’d put the rims up where the ball wouldn’t go in so we had to rebound. So, no shot would go in, even if it was a good shot, layups missed, everything. You had to rebound everything just to get that conditioning. Make people go up and back and be able to push through that. It was really tough practices. Every drill we did we ran a 17 before just to get tired so we’re mentally ready for that type in the game. It was definitely intense practices before that last exhibition game. But it’s definitely paying off for a lot of us.”
