Kentucky Basketball Previews Arkansas
UK MEDIA RELATIONS
MEN’S BASKETBALL
UK-ARKANSAS PREGAME MEDIA
FEB. 19, 2018
JOE CRAFT CENTER | LEXINGTON, KY.
Joel Justus
On what UK’s style is as a team this year …
“I think that we’ve always been, since Coach (Calipari) has been here, a transition team. And then also we’ve always had the ability to grind it out, as he might say. If it needs to be a low-possession game, especially as we’re tip toeing here towards March, the possessions are going to decrease in all games. Each possession becomes more important. I think we’re preparing for March, as Cal would say, with his eyes set on that and how we’re going to teach and how we’re going to play. I think we’re a team obviously that can play in transition but also be comfortable playing in a half-court game.”
On if UK had an extra edge in practices leading up to the Alabama game last Saturday …
“I think our guys are embracing how tough this league is night in, night out. There’s no game that you can just kind of roll out and play. I think they understand, and especially on Saturday with Alabama partly just because they played probably against Collin Sexton. They played with him at some USA Basketball stuff. They understood who he was. They’d also played against John Petty on some of the circuit stuff. These guys understand the quality now of everybody in our league; not just the guys that are their age. And that will be extremely important tomorrow night just because of the age difference in some of Arkansas’ players and some of ours.”
On having multiple players who can carry the scoring load when other scorers go out …
“Yeah, I mean Quade (Green) is a tremendous scorer. That’s what we need out of him is to be ready, to be engaged on offense. We’re asking him to do a lot. A lot of these guys are being asked to do a lot. He’s a guy that has always been ready. I think he’s put some extra time in over the last couple of weeks and has earned his success like he was on Saturday. Happy for Quade, but also know that now there’s a responsibility to be ready to do that every game.
On Arkansas freshman forward Daniel Gafford …
“I think he’s extremely active. The guys that are really, really talented, similar to some of the ones that we’ve had here – he can fly up and down the court on both sides. Can impact the game when he doesn’t have the ball, but then when he does have it I think he’s got a tremendous package of offensive moves. But I think before we go into any of that, he just plays really, really hard. That’s something that young guys across the landscape of college basketball struggle to do consistently. He’s been a guy that from, what we’ve seen and from what I’ve seen personally, seems to play hard every single play.”
On Arkansas’ seniors vs. Kentucky’s freshmen …
“Well, I think it has to do with who those guys are in jerseys – the blue ones and the white ones tomorrow night. I don’t know that when the ball is thrown up anyone says this freshman or that senior is doing this or does that. I think it’s how they’re prepared in the days, practices leading up to the game and how they’ve gone into it. What their approach is and what our approach is. That’s what I guess is the most concerning thing for us at this point. OK, what are we doing? What are our guys doing to best be prepared for tomorrow night?”
On what was the best thing the team did on Saturday …
“We won. I think the guys had fun. I think they were excited to be back at home. They were into the preparation. They were into the process that we have now become aware of as young guys of what is necessary to be successful in this league. I think also during the game our guys are now are much more equipped to handle all different, I guess, situations. We’ve been through a lot. We’ve been up. We’ve been down. We’ve been up and blitzed like we did at (Texas) A&M. We’ve not shot the ball well. We’ve made shots. We’ve made shots early. We’ve made shots late. We’ve had different guys play well during different times of the game. I think it’s more just a comfort level with our guys that we’re starting to see, and they are comfortable with whatever happens. I think what you’ve seen early in the year is this happened. That’s a first. That happened. That’s a first. For our guys, I think now we’re experienced. We’re still freshmen. We’re still inexperienced sophomores at times, but for them there’s a comfort level for them that is definitely starting to show in their play.”
On if there is a sense of awakening now that they’ve won …
“I think they were excited. They were thrilled to win. I think they knew that it was a big win. I think they knew that Alabama was a very good opponent, I think from playing against some of those guys growing up. I think that through our preparation they were able to see how good Alabama had played. They know that they had had a couple of wins recently against some teams that we had recently lost to. So, I think for our guys understanding how good everybody is and how hard everybody plays – and it’s going to be the same thing again tomorrow night. We’re going to Bud Walton Arena and it’s going to be loud, and you’re going to have a group of guys that have not beaten Kentucky since they’ve been there at Bud Walton Arena. That’s something that I think our guys now understand what is on the front of their jersey and what that means to folks. I think they also understand what the name on the back of the jersey means to certain folks, too. And this is an opportunity for us to play well against said player. This guy is a freshman, this guy is this, this guy is that, like so many guys that play at Kentucky have been used to in the past with the individual awards and accomplishments. There’s a responsibility for the name on the front as well as the name on the back.”
On if they talked about winning streaks or losing speaks before the Alabama game …
“No. Nah, I mean, we talk about just preparing for each game an controlling the things that you can control. And that’s your preparation, that’s your sleep, that’s your habits that you’re building, that’s your eating, that’s your lifting – and get yourself ready. That’s what we talk about. We’re going to go play another game tomorrow night (and0 how they prepare is going to be paramount for what we believe is going to be a big-time atmosphere against an experienced backcourt with a tremendous frontcourt player. We just have to be ready to play each possession and then be ready to play possessions for 40 minutes.”
On what the challenges that Arkansas presents …
“First of all, when they play at home, they play with a great pace. They play with, you know, a fever on defense. They’re a team that really tries to get after you and put pressure on you on both offense and defense. So we have to first be ready for transition. I think that’s always something that’s important down there. And then you’ve got to be alert, and that’s something that, especially our guards, are not always alert off the ball. We’ve got to be ready to play for the entire shot clock.”
On Kevin Knox and PJ Washington having successful second halves against Alabama and if that’s a big step forward after having some trouble in the first half …
“Yeah, I think with this time of the year all of our guys are taking steps forward. You could say that kind of what I just said: off the ball defense is something that we talk with some of our guys about, and, you know, Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) has two big steals down the stretch the other night against Alabama. It’s something that our guys have to understand the next play, and I think with young people that’s what we’re working towards is them moving toward the next play. So yes, I think they were big steps and I think those guys understanding, ‘OK, what’s happened has happened, but there’s going to be plenty of more possessions, plenty more plays to be made and be ready to go and make them.’ “
On Jaylen Barford and Daryl Macon’s play …
“Yeah, absolutely, I think their entire backcourt is very different. They are all unique. But they are three guys who can give you fits at different points in the game, you know, throughout each possession. You know you are going to get hit with all three of them so you gotta be ready, gotta be engaged on the ball, gotta be engaged off the ball. You’ve got to be ready to play fast but then you’ve also got to be ready to play the possession out as well.”
On how the SEC has improved since he has been at Kentucky …
“I think it’s deeper, both individually and with the teams. I think there are really good players, you know, one through eight, one through nine on each team. That’s impressive to me. I think its experience as well. I think you have some guys that have been through the battles of the SEC. And the league has just improved each year. So then those players are getting better. And then flip that back, I think those guys get better by playing against good players, similar to what we talk about here. So I think that is the No. 1 reason why the league is better: the players. The players are what make anybody go. And this is in no disrespect to anyone that was here when I got here but I think you’ve got some really good coaches that have come into the league in the last couple years, and I think that is head coaches and assistant coaches. I think you look across the benches in this league and, you know, are very similar to ours. You have a guy like Kenny Payne who is an assistant coach here. You have a guy like Tony Barbee that is on our staff that has been through the entire walk of college basketball. I think you can find that, maybe not as good as the staff that we have, in my opinion, with those two guys especially, but, you know, across the benches in our league I think you have some very, very good coaches.”
On protecting the ball against Arkansas …
“I think it is the No. 1 thing for us. I think Cal even said that on the teleconference today. You know you can’t have live ball turnovers, you can’t have unforced turnovers where you don’t have an opportunity to set your defense. That is a big part for us in any game. When we have a chance to set our defense, use our length, use our athleticism, we are much better than if we turn the ball over and we are playing at a disadvantage and we allow that team to tilt the court and run downhill at you and you’re going uphill. So its something that is going to be very important for us to take care of the basketball early in the possession and also make sure we get as many quality shots as possible.”
Kentucky Players
#32, Wenyen Gabriel, So., F
On whether younger guys are figuring out what it takes to win …
“Yeah, definitely. We’re just committing. We’re getting locked in. Nobody likes losing. Sometimes taking those losses helps you go through different experiences. You get in the gym and you just want to get better. You just hope that continues to go on.”
On whether their struggles brought them closer …
“It definitely has. You just see we’re starting to come together off the court too, but on the court especially. After hours, like (Coach) Cal said earlier, we’ve been in the gym getting in extra shots. We’ve done workout sessions after and then our focus is just different in the locker room and when it comes to game time. We’re just happy our goal is getting closer.”
On whether the losing streak was weighing on them …
“It was definitely weighing on you. We haven’t been through that type of adversity, especially as a group. After every loss, you could feel that even in the locker room, the energy in the air. Those losses hurt and I feel like that bonded us together even more, making us more prepared for March.”
On whether they are still getting in extra work …
“Yeah, definitely. Definitely. We have to make sure we’re getting in the gym, keep getting our work in. We remember how the losses feel. You don’t want to experience that again, but we learn from them. We just want to keep getting better because at the end of the day it’s about March and that’s what we’re getting ready for.”
On what it will take to win at Arkansas …
“It’s important. I think what’s really important is our energy when we start the game and our focus. We gotta come out with that same type of energy we had last game just to continue to build on that. Any team in the league can beat you if you go out there and play lackadaisically. I just think you need to come in with focus every game.”
On whether they are building trust …
“Yeah. When guys step up and follow through with what’s being asked of them, the trust definitely builds up. You get more confidence in your teammates, more confidence in the coach and at the end of the day you get more confidence in yourself.”
On why they had more fun against Alabama …
“We were having fun. I think one of the main things Cal said before the game was just go out there and try to play harder than the guy on the other side. That’s gotta be the main goal when you’re going out there, then you can have fun. So we were just out there, we were playing hard and we started winning the game. It just felt good to be up and the end of the game, we fought through, we won the game and then after in the locker room just that feeling of a win really changed the morale of the team.”
#4, Nick Richards, Fr., F
On whether he still feels like a freshman …
“I feel like a college basketball player. That’s the only thing I have to say.”
On whether they are building trust …
“Yeah. Guys are trusting each other more on and off the court. We’ve had a couple meetings about talking to each other and we’re hanging out more with each other off the court, so you can see that is really helping us on the court.”
On whether losing was in the back of their minds during the losing streak …
“I wouldn’t say it’s in the back of our heads. Just get a win. Coach Cal always talks about you either win or you get a learning experience. We take every loss as a learning experience.”
On why spending time together off the court is important …
“It actually helps us build chemistry with each other. We can ask each other what we like to do on the court, what we don’t like to do on the court and each guy will know what this guy’s about to do, what the other person’s about to do. It’s actually really helping us.”
