Johnson, Herro Respond to Calipari’s Challenge
Neither Keldon Johnson nor Tyler Herro are accustomed to failure, but they both had to deal with it over the last few days on the heels of a loss at Tennessee.
Their reactions, independently, were to approach their coach and apologize for their failings.
In turn, John Calipari had a message for the two freshman wings.
“When you’re a child, you act like a child,” Coach Cal said. “When you’re a man, you leave all those child things behind. Now, you’re either a man or you’re a child. How do you respond to this stuff?”
Pretty well, it turns out. Johnson and Herro combined to score 42 points as No. 6 Kentucky (25-5, 14-3 SEC) won its final road of the season against a quality Ole Miss (19-11, 9-8 SEC) squad, 80-76.
Particularly in the first half, Johnson and Herro played very much like men.
Kentucky has four double-figure scorers. For most of the first 20 minutes, one was on the bench with foul trouble and the other next to him wearing street clothes. Without PJ Washington and Reid Travis, Tyler Herro and Keldon Johnson were the last scorers standing.
All they did was come within a couple fractions of their combined per-game scoring average in the first 20 minutes, and it wasn’t a 3-point barrage that did it for them. Instead, Johnson and Herro attacked early and often, making 11 shots inside the arc in the first half alone.
“It feels pretty good,” Johnson said. “I haven’t been really doing well in the last few games, but I just came in with a fresh mindset and ready to attack. I’m just glad I have teammates that believe in me.”
Johnson and Herro have a coach who believes them as well, though television cameras captured Calipari getting after Herro in a huddle during that loss to Tennessee. The tongue-lashing clearly didn’t faze Herro. In fact, he says it’s part of the reason why he came to Kentucky.
“I came for a reason,” Herro said. “Coach Cal, one of the best coaches of all time. Whatever he says for me to do, I look up to him and I just listen to what he says. I know he wants to get me to the next level, so I just listen.”
Thanks to Herro and Johnson, UK was able to withstand Washington’s foul trouble and staying within a point of an Ole Miss team hungry for a résumé-boosting win. After the break, there wasn’t a whole lot of mystery about Kentucky’s game plan.
“I told (Washington) at halftime, ‘We’re throwing it to you every time. So you be who you’re supposed to be,’ ” Calipari said. “And he was.”
Washington scored all 13 of his points after halftime and UK grabbed a lead it would never relinquish on a basket by the sophomore forward with 11:22 left. He did his damage in new ways Tuesday night, as UK moved Washington off the low block and all over the floor.
“That’s what we did,” Calipari said. “So he got it on the post, he got it on the right post, left post and the high post. He got it everywhere and he made all the right plays. He also passed it out for some assists and 3s.”
It was Washington’s most productive half of the last three games, all played without Travis. UK now has three wins in four tries without the graduate transfer big man, whose status for the regular-season finale and Senior Day against Florida is uncertain.
Travis might rejoin his teammates Saturday and he might not. What Calipari is certain of is he’s proud to have taken down the Rebels.
“To go on the road in this league and win,” Calipari said. “To go on the road and have your best player out the first half just like last game. And then to have Reid out and to be able to win, believe me, I’m happy.”
