Kentucky Basketball Previews South Carolina
UK MEDIA RELATIONS
MEN’S BASKETBALL
PRE-SOUTH CAROLINA MEDIA OPPORTUNITY
JAN. 15, 2018
JOE CRAFT CENTER – LEXINGTON, KY.
Kenny Payne
On how significant the “little plays” are that Wenyen Gabriel is making …
“I’m happy you brought his name up first. We just had a staff meeting, and I said to Cal, ‘His energy, his effort and what he’s giving us on the floor, just the fight of it, is an example of what we need every player to do.’ This kid came here with a bunch of expectations, and it’s easy to get lost in what you are and who you are as a player. He’s finally getting back to being the player that he is: an energy guy, a tough guy, a rebounding guy. Obviously we’d like him to make better decisions handling the ball – he has some unforced turnovers at times – but his energy and his fight and his determination to play winning basketball is really good right now.”
On how important qualities like Gabriel’s will be against a team like South Carolina …
“One of the things that we’re trying to do, we’re trying to be a great road team – a team that can go on the road and fight and get a win. And that starts with guys like Wenyen – that kind of fight. That kind of determination to fight for a rebound. That kind of determination to block a shot at a pivotal time in the game. Take a charge. Dive on the loose ball. When you’re playing road games, every little situation on the court, every possession matters. We need that from more than Wenyen, but he’s an example of why we show film and show the players, the younger guys especially, ‘Look at what he’s done. Look at how he fought to get this offensive rebound and he was outside of the 3-point line.’ “
On what Nick Richards needs to do to get back on track …
“Nick Richards is a very good basketball player who has made the pivotal mistake that all young players make and all players that struggle make: They begin to process. They begin to think too much. They begin to have self-doubt. In this game – this is an instinctive game – you have to play off your instincts. He is prepared. He is well-trained – more than I can ever tell you. He’s in unbelievable shape. He just has to go out and react, know who he is, know what he is. The common denominator, the basic and the foundation of what Nick Richards is he has to be a shot-blocker. He has to be a guy that can set a ball screen and dive to the rim and catch lobs above the rim – above the square even. He has to able to guard multiple positions. He has to be able to rebound the ball above the rim. And in order to do that, you have to be the aggressor. You have to be the guy that makes first contact and attack that basketball. Once he gets back to that and reacting and doing that in games, he’s going to be fine. We have not lost any faith in him. We believe in him. We just can’t afford to leave him out there and try to figure it out and he continues to make the same mistakes.”
On Kevin Knox’s post-game comments about Richards during the Vanderbilt game …
“Kevin Knox, great point you brought up. Yesterday, I spent most of the day watching film with the guys while Coach (Calipari) and Coach Barbee were on the road. And I happened to read some of Kevin’s remarks about Nick and what he said is so true. He is the hardest working player on this team and he just has to make it translate to games. Once he does that, we are going to be a much better team.”
On what he has seen from Jarred Vanderbilt in team practices …
“It’s hard because you see him a lot in high school and you don’t know what is going to translate and what is not, but since he has been practicing his speed is unbelievable. At 6’9″ and whatever he weighs, he can really move. His ball handling is exceptional, like an exceptional ball handler. And his ability to make plays for other people is really, really good. He is literally like a point forward. He’s tough. He’s strong. He’s quick. He’s good defensively. He rebounds the ball. He’s going to add a dimension to this team that is going to enhance what we do when he is ready to play.”
On when Vanderbilt will be ready to play …
“We are leaving it up to him.”
On what it means to leave the decision up to Vanderbilt …
“First of all, I think when you talk about a kid that’s coming off an injury and getting healthy there is a mental thing there that he has to get over. It’s been a long time since he has played basketball, and he’s going to have some aches and pains. He has to be able to practice and get through those aches and pains and feel comfortable. He’s getting to that point. I don’t know if he is there yet. Coach Cal doesn’t know if he is there yet, but I do know that he is getting to the point where he is feeling more comfortable. Hopefully it is soon. It’s wrong for adults to force a kid to do anything when they don’t feel like they are ready yet. I mean Coach Cal is never going to do that to a kid. That’s not what we do here.”
On having Vanderbilt’s first game be at home versus on the road …
“I think that depends on Jarred and where he is mentally. I think that depends on how he feels. As he says, ‘I’m a goon’ which means I’m a tough dude. I’m a fighter. I’m a warrior. Then it doesn’t matter where I start at. That’s out of his mouth.”
On reports that he should take over the Louisville basketball program …
“You won’t believe this. The players – our players – didn’t even know that I went to Louisville, and when they did find out, they thought I was a football player. But seriously – you know, Louisville changed my life. As a young kid coming from Mississippi, to be able to be on a national championship team and learn basketball from a Hall-of-Fame coach (Denny Crum), I have love for Louisville. But, I have an obligation and love for the University of Kentucky and the guys sitting in this locker room. It’s unfair for Coach Padgett, who’s doing an unbelievable job at that university in a tough situation, really tough. There’s veteran coaches who can’t do what he’s doing right now. To put together and get that group to believe, and there’s going to be some adversity. There are some ups and downs in every season. He’s done a great job. It’s unfair to have any coach mentioned or any situation mentioned other than do the best job for that school right now. They should stay in the moment and try to win as many games as they can. That’s the best answer I can give you.”
On if he ever wants to become a head coach …
“Of course. Definitely. But I have a great job. I’m not in a rush. I’m not taking a bad job. I love what I do. I’ve been blessed to be working with a coach like Coach Cal, who’s a good man. I’ve been blessed to be working with young men that are exceptional young men, that are similar to me: dream chasers. That are out trying to do something special and I don’t take that lightly. So when the right time comes, hopefully it does. If it doesn’t, I can live with it.”
On how he can prepare the freshmen to play against a physical South Carolina defense …
“First of all, I think you hit on something there. They’re really physical. They’re going to try to rough us up. They’re going to try to make it hard for guys like Kevin Knox because Kevin has shown a tendency to shy away from contact. Well, every day in practice that’s why we’ve got Jarred Vanderbilt guarding Kevin Knox. Jarred, as much as you can, push him. Bump him. Be as physical as you can with him because when he gets that. And the greatest thing for Kevin Knox is the way he finished that game against Vandy, that’s the way he should start every game. That’s the way he should play every minute he’s on the floor and then we’ll see how good he is. For me personally with Kevin, I like the fact that he missed every 3-point shot that he taken. I like that because he had 17 points from the free-throw line and from tough 2’s. If you can do that and then you figure out later I’m gonna make a couple of 3’s, you’re going to see 20-point games from him.”
On telling every player to take it to the goal …
“It’s funny you bring that up. Winning basketball for Kentucky. At another school, it may be shoot 3’s. Shoot as many 3’s and when they go in, great. When they don’t go in we lose. Here at Kentucky, we believe in putting pressure on the defense. Cal has done an unbelievable job of teaching, in our opinion, winning basketball. Winning basketball is putting unbelievable pressure on that defense – making them foul, getting tough 2’s, posting up, they trap us and we make decisions and put the defense in rotations. That’s winning basketball for us. So it may not be pretty. It may not be 30 3’s in a game, but I’ll tell you what, at the end of the day, we win a whole lot of games by being attacking, tough players in a tough offensive team. When I look at the NBA, I look at players – you say you want to be any NBA player? The best players are not just living on 3’s. They’re attacking.”
On Sacha Killeya-Jones’ recent play …
“Sacha’s been really, really good. He’s grown up a lot. He’s bringing us unbelievable energy. He’s becoming more secure and not just looking for the ball. Want him to be a jump shot shooter and Coach Cal has a great motto for him. ‘Every time you look for shots, you miss every shot that you look for. Every time you just play within the offense and set great screens and dive, the ball finds you and you put the ball in the basket.’ He has to embrace that more, and the more he does it the more success he’ll have.”
On Quade Green’s recovery …
“He has not practiced yet. I think he’s any day now. I don’t even know if he’s going to practice today, but I know he’s getting close. He’s been watching and observing. Hopefully he’s seen a different side of the game that he didn’t see from playing that he can watch and see exactly what we’re trying to get our guards to do. Just how intense it is, and how tough you have to be defensively. Last game we had 12 straight-line drives and turndowns on ball screens. So that was 12 situations where you’re standing in front of an offensive player and he straight-line drives you for a basket. It’s tough to win that way. We have to be a tough defensive team that’s fighting you for space. That’s playing between you and the offensive player and the basket. And make you make tough 2’s. He’s learning that.”
On playing a physical team on the road …
“First of all on rebounding, who’s hitting who first? Are they hitting you? Are they attacking you? Are they pushing you under the basket? Well, if that’s happening then they’re going to get offensive rebounds. Second thing is defensively, they’re going to try to take you out of offense. They’re going to try to rough you up off screens. They’re going to try to get up inside of you when you’re handling the ball. They’re going to deny passes. They’re going to play physical. You have to meet every pass. You have to step over the defender. You have to come to the pass. Catch it, be strong with the ball and make good decisions. They’re going to collapse on drives and we better be ready to find their players on the perimeter and make them pass it.”
On having Green late in games …
“I think he’s done a good job at the end of games of making big shots and making free throws, but to be honest with you the way Shai (Gilgeous-) Alexander is playing right now, I mean the kid has been unbelievable. He’s been great. He’s been our best player by far. He’s putting unbelievable pressure on the defense. He’s living in the lanes, he’s making free throws, he’s defending, he’s filling up the stat sheet. Can’t argue with that.”
On Calipari being thrown out of some past games at South Carolina …
“Cal told the team after the last game that ‘Kenny coached the team, and we won by 30.’ He gave all the credit to Tyler Ulis. I yelled out to him, I said, ‘Cal, don’t put me out there with puppies. Don’t put me out there with these puppies.'”
Kentucky Players
#32, Wenyen Gabriel, So., F
On Kenny Payne praising him …
“He was just bragging about me? He was working us really, really, really hard yesterday, so he better say something good.”
On how intense the workout was …
“I just think he’s just showing that he’s believing in us and he’s proud of the progress we’ve made. He’s seeing the work we’ve put in and just for us to see it be out on the court, I think that’s making him happy for us. It’s going to continue to push us, push our team to where we need it to be.”
On how he rediscovered his identity as an energy player …
“I think a lot of it, even with SEC play has helped me out a lot too. Just going in there knowing that all you have to do is fight, let the game come to you, everything else comes to you. I just go out there, play my heart out. It’s been working out for me today and I think I got the formula back.”
On how much his changed body helps him go all out …
“Definitely allows you to do that. You don’t get tired as quickly. You feel you’re stronger on the court. You have more confidence in your defense and you go get rebounds, defend better. I still kept that emphasis on my body.”
On whether his second-half block at Vandy was his best defensive play ever …
“Maybe the best one here, but not ever. I think that was a good play.”
On the box score not reflecting his contribution …
“I think a lot of what I do is not on the box score. The box score, that’s great, but I know people who really watch the game (notice his contributions), and that’s what I do. I’m out there playing the game. I don’t think about numbers while I’m playing. I just go out there, play with my energy. That’s just not the player I am, just straight numbers. I do different things on the floor. I bring energy, I talk, I try to help my teammates out.”
On how much different his energy and communication is from last year …
“I was doing it last year, but I’m doing it more so this year. I think I have more of a role this year, more opportunity for me to do that here on this team. I have the younger guys looking up to me here too, so I feel like I have some type of responsibility when I’m out on the court.”
On being the veteran presence on this team …
“It’s not that strange. I know that’s kind of how it goes here at Kentucky, but this team’s awfully, really, really young. When the season ended last year, I knew I had this coming up. So in the summer, planned for this, focused on my body and how I’m going to do this year.”
On whether he paid more attention to stats last year …
“Definitely freshman year, you get a little concerned with that. But you start playing the game—here at Kentucky, I feel like I don’t believe it’s about numbers here, when you play at Kentucky. We’re on the biggest stage, so everyone, you’re watching the games anyway, so you just go out there and play your game. You don’t have to worry about the numbers.”
On how much it helps knowing success isn’t defined by numbers at UK …
“It definitely takes off a whole lot of pressure of you mentally thinking about it. It’s not all about numbers when you’re out on the court, so you can focus on playing the game and showing your strengths while you’re out there.”
On South Carolina’s reputation for toughness …
“I remember they definitely swarmed the paint when we were playing them. So you drive to the paint and there’s a lot of help defenders running in. I feel like we’re going to have to exploit that and use that to our advantage. They’re definitely physical. They try to bulldoze you and different things like that, being aggressive on defense. But this team, that’s what you need in the SEC play anyway, that type of competition. We’re going to have to feed off of that this game. I think that competitors, you respond to that type of environment.”
On whether he and PJ Washington go into this game with an increased focus on toughness …
“You gotta go into every game like that, but definitely games like this, you have to start that off early. You gotta bring that energy early, that toughness and it has to leak out to the rest of your teammates early on into the game. That’s how you win games like this. It’s two halves, 40 minutes. You gotta compete the whole 40 minutes.”
On how prepared the freshmen are to respond to that …
“We’ve had a couple tough games coming into it, so they know what it is. We can’t be looking at ourselves as freshmen anymore. We have to go out there and compete like we’re all players on the floor. You gotta get that freshman idea out of your mind and those excuses. So when you go out there, you gotta remember that we’re both men on the court and you gotta compete.”
#1, Sacha Killeya-Jones, So, F
On playing at South Carolina …
“We’re excited to go into another environment that’s going to be hectic and everything. I think we’ve played a couple early good road games (and) I think we know what to expect going in. So, we know we have to talk a lot, we have to play together and we’re going to have to communicate as well.”
On what goes into being “a great road team” …
“It really just comes from being together as a team in general. We have to continue to come together and lean on each other when we go into those environments. It’s hectic and hostile and everything. It’s not going to do anything but make us a better team for those tournament games at the end of the year where they’re in neutral environments. I think we played a lot of games like that so far, so we’re just learning how to do that.”
On if they’re prepared to play a physical team like South Carolina …
“We know that’s how they play. We can be a tough team at times too. That’s something, obviously, we’ve really been focusing on, honing in on lately, is trying to improve our toughness as a team. I think we’ve been doing a good job so far, so this is going to be a good test for us.”
On UK playing well in the last five minutes of each half at Vanderbilt …
“I think that shows a lot about our team. It tells us that when it comes down to it we can play like that, and we can be that team. Like we’ve said all season, it’s just a matter of doing that for 40 minutes at a time for us to be a great team. That’s what we’re trying to do right now. We’re trying to take those five-minute stretches and spread them to 10, 15, 20 minutes a half. That’s what we have to continue to work on.”
On his bucket off the missed free throw by PJ Washington at the end of the first half at Vanderbilt …
“What really happened was, Wenyen and I did a great X. He did a great job of getting across the lane and drawing the attention of both the guys, and I got to fly right behind him and got to the rim uncontested. We executed that really well.”
On how much an “energy guy” like Gabriel helps everyone else …
“Oh man, it helps us 10-fold. He makes us so much of a better team just having his energy, his rebounding, his defense and his talking and everything out there. It brings our energy up, it brings our excitement up and everybody just wants to play in that winning time, not let anything happen, get stops, rebound and everything. He helps us a lot.”
On if it’s tough to leave the floor and immediately go back in …
“I’ve seen the other side of that table, so I know exactly how Nick (Richards) feels. I’ve talked to him (about it). For me, personally, it’s not an issue or anything. You can be tired sometimes, but you gotta do what you gotta do. I’m not going to have an issue with going back in the game. But I’ve talked to Nick about it. I know it can be frustrating, but it’s a learning process and it’s doing what’s best for the team right now. It’ll all work out.”
On what he’s seen of Jarred Vanderbilt in practice …
“He’s a great player. He’s physical and everything. He’s still trying to come back from his injury, so he’s obviously not what he’s even going to be, which is great. But he’s definitely helped us in practice, even lining up the teams. It’s been really competitive. It’s been good.”
On if Vanderbilt has practiced more with the guards or forwards …
“A little bit of both. He’s a really good combo player. He can do a lot. He has a lot of skill and everything. I don’t even, honestly, know what he is. He’s a good player.”
On if it’s good that they don’t know what position Vanderbilt is …
“It’s awesome. It’s good that we don’t know what he is, nobody knows what he is. He doesn’t know what he is. We’re going to see what it is.”
On him letting the game come to him …
“I’ve just been able to, this year, not stress out as much, just try to go out there, hoop and help my team and just do those things. When you’re out there trying to rebound and block shots for your team, other things will – baskets will fall in your lap. I just let that happen and it’s been working.”
