Kentucky Men’s Basketball Post Game Quotes
Kentucky vs. Lamar
Rupp Arena – Lexington, KY
Nov. 24, 2019
Kentucky Head Coach John Calipari
Q. With Tyrese Maxey scoring 21 points, his best performance since the season opener, what do you make out of the way he played tonight?
JOHN CALIPARI: He’s getting better, but again, we need to practice. We—Kahlil (Whitney) needs to practice so that we can coach him and get him to play the way he’s got to play. He did some good stuff today, but he’s still not the comfortable guy he needs to be. Keion (Brooks Jr.) the same. We’ve got to get Nate (Sestina) back to being comfortable and more of a guy that’s, you know, showing who he is; not trying to live up to something because it changes how you play. We didn’t post the ball a ton today. But again, 19 assists: That’s what I’m looking for. Some of the others when we didn’t have big assists, maybe we missed a whole lot of shots – like wide open. We’re starting to make shots. Twenty-two is about what we want to shoot – 20 to 22 3s. We’re playing faster. My teams, to shoot 30 3s, we’re not going to win. You know, getting to the line, we did not post the ball up a ton. Again, offensive rebounding in the second half, we just—the beginning of the second half for 10 or 12 minutes, we just didn’t bring it like we did in the first half. Some of it was we made 3s to stretch out the game, but we also defended. So again, we’ve got a long ways to go. But we have time now. We play next Friday, the following (Saturday). I’ve got practice days. I can get them in there. We can scrimmage and talk through all the things that we’re trying to do on the run. What have we played, five games? Four games? [SID Eric Lindsey: Six.] Oh, six games. We’ve got a lot of games left.
Q. You’re not one to make excuses. How much did the preseason injuries and injuries to EJ Montgomery and so forth set you back?
JOHN CALIPARI: Well, when you’re playing without two veterans in EJ Montgomery and Immanuel Quickley you’re not going to be the same, not with this group, because then you’re playing freshmen who are not ready to be the dominating guys. Even Tyrese Maxey is still learning. You get him in spots on the court where we’re trying to put him, he moves to another spot, and it’s not, you can’t play the way we’re trying to play from that spot. I’m trying to get him to do certain things off pick-and-rolls and he’s not getting it yet. So they go zone, I got to have Ashton Hagans in the game. If I don’t have Ashton in the game against zone, my man, I threw it to him, did you see where we would have thrown it to Ashton? And he took a bounce and just threw it at the rim? He’s learning. Now he made 3s and scored today. He had three assists, I want to see six assists, I don’t want to see three assists. And we put him in position to go do that and he didn’t get it done today. But, you know, guys get injured. We’re not the only team that has injuries and it is what it is. Nick Richards was out for awhile. We were lucky to have Nick against Michigan State. If you remember, I didn’t start him. So we’re healthy now and now it’s time to start taking steps and strides. This may be a little bit early for camp, that we like to call camp. It is a little early, but I’m having that mentality of we’re getting into this, because these kids, they got to be able to fall back on their training or you’re thinking too much. Most of that thinking is stinking thinking. You need to fall back on the training. Well, when you’re playing all these games and you have all these injuries and you’re practicing with six guys, it’s hard to fall back on the training. But I think going forward you’ll see we’ll, we should be better.
Q. I know there was an area early in the second half you weren’t happy with, but you did end up with 10 offensive rebounds after making that a big point two nights ago.
JOHN CALIPARI: We still got guys that aren’t bringing in balls. Like, tipping. You understand, I say two hands. So my man tipped it and tipped it in for them. You tip it from us. You grab the ball with two hands. Offensively, we had a couple down this end and we went to bring them in and they just squirt loose. We have other guys that are so, they’re not reacting to the ball hitting that rim because, again, we haven’t been trained. As the shot is being taken, your mentality is, he’s missing. Not like, I wonder if this will go in so I can go three. No. He’s missing this. And then you’ll react to it. Well, you got to be trained that way. You don’t, they’re not in high school playing that way. They’re playing every minute they can play. If I play bad, so what, I play bad. Now it’s, okay, we got to do this.
I thought Nick did some good stuff. I liked the fact that we blocked shots today. And I told the guys, how are we not blocking shots? We should be one of those teams in our league. But then when you do block a shot, your guards got to get involved because if they block it, you got to come up with the ball, you got to track down on Nick’s man or EJ’s man. So, again, being trained. We’re right now starting to train them on rotations if we get beat on the bounce. Showing them, here’s where you move to. Because they really don’t know. They just all run into the lane and then what happens? 3s. So like I said, look, we played better today. A lot of good stuff today. A lot of good stuff. Of the teams we’ve played, other than Michigan State, this team was as good as any of them, if not better than most of them or all of them. We played better. We had 19 assists, we made shots, we blocked shots. Now, we gave up some baskets that you and I look at and say, oh, man, why? Because, again, it’s one play to my guys. When you’re young, it’s one play. Why is he getting so upset? Okay, now they made another and another. Now it’s an 11-point game instead of 20. Are you good now? Yeah, but it was only one play. That’s the stuff they got to understand. You have to put a premium on every possession. I am playing every possession as though it matters. We’re not there yet. We’re playing, about 60 percent of the possessions we’ll really fight and dig in and play.
Q. When you talk about guys kind of thinking too much right now.
JOHN CALIPARI: Here’s what I liked today. The best thing that happened today. Brad Calipari had 16. But here’s what happened on the 16 he had. He missed two shots, okay? And you know my biggest thing is, I want to see when you miss shots if you can follow it up with a make, because that means you got some mental toughness. He missed two and then he banged the dagger. And believe me, he texted me and says, you know, I missed two before I made that dagger. He knows, that’s the kind of stuff, that’s mental toughness. He had four rebounds too. He played pretty good defense, too, by the way.
Q. On the thinking too much, it seemed like Tyrese Maxey was one of those guys, especially the last few games. Early today, he comes out kind of just letting it fly. You didn’t seem to react frustratedly at all about any of those shots. Did you want him to do that?
JOHN CALIPARI: Here it is. You’re supposed to catch the ball here. That’s why I’m going crazy. Why are you not catching the ball where you’re supposed to? And if you catch it from that spot then dribble back down to that spot. You know, I probably shouldn’t get upset because he doesn’t know. He doesn’t know. And we’re giving — we, I felt really good walking into the game because we had defined roles way better and much earlier than I have. And for awhile we were playing that way. But all of a sudden I look up, it’s 19-19. It was 15-2. How is it 19-19? And again, it’s one play, it’s, okay, what’s the big deal, why? You expect me to make a play on rebound that every time? I do. If we’re going to be that kind of team, it is going to be a grind because each week we go we’re playing better and better teams. That’s how we kind of do this. So I’m not coaching this game against that score. I’m coaching this team to be prepared for what they got going forward.
Q. How well did Nick Richards perform as a rim protector and as a presence around the basket?
JOHN CALIPARI: No, he was good. We didn’t post him that much. The coaches got on me. We’re trying to get us to pass the ball to one another, so I ran a couple things to him, but most of it he didn’t get the shots. But he blocked, he rebounded. When he gets tired it shows. He’ll just kind of let a guy shoot a layup and you’ll sit there and say, why did he let that guy shoot it? Why didn’t he block it? Because he’s exhausted. I’m not going to go, I’m not in that frame yet. And that’s why Nate Sestina has to play better, that’s why EJ has to play better, so we can get a rotation going. Shove Keion (Brooks Jr.) in there and let him go get some balls.
Q. You talked about the guys relying on their training. I know it varies year to year, team to team, but at what point does that usually happen and how do you know that that happens?
JOHN CALIPARI: Usually it happens after the camp stuff we do. Where it’s really in depth and it’s, we’re training. That’s what it is. You’re not playing as many games. You’re training. This, we have a day off, we have three days, and then another game. And then, but then we have a day off and we have four, five days. So we got eight days between, really, two games. So but this team, again, we’re still trying to figure each other out. We still, there’s a, we get undisciplined at times, both on defense and offense. Instead of just grinding it out, we’re not breaking down. We’re giving them one tough shot. We’re blocking out and rebounding. Every shot that we take it’s a miss and you three go get it. And then if we don’t get it, watch, you can’t jog back. Again, you understand, if you run in there to rebound and you don’t get it, and they get it, you’re next to the man you got to run with. And if he sprints, you got to sprint. So maybe I won’t go in. I’ll stay near the top and I get a five-step lead on him, so I can jog back as he runs. The whole mentality of here, I’m coming, knowing if I don’t get this I’m sprinting back. So we’re trying to do stuff in practice to simulate that. Like, you’re saying, well, isn’t that like ninth, tenth? Yeah, it is. We’re simulating that, like, you can do both. I can’t do both. You either go in or you don’t. But, again, this team has gotten better, shooting the ball better, much more confident in what they’re doing. It’s great to see Johnny Juzang make that shot to pull up, because we’re going to need him to make shots.
Q. I wanted to go back to Tyrese Maxey for a minute. When you guys were tied at 19 and then y’all go on that 22-2 run, when he was making those 3s and settling into that rhythm, how much do you feel like everyone else kind of fed off of that energy?
JOHN CALIPARI: Well, it’s what stretched the game out. Like, those baskets like bang, bang, bang. And he knows, if it’s in transition, he can take it. Like, if we throw it ahead and he’s open in transition, don’t drive it, just shoot that ball. What we were saying in the second half, and he started and he had a drive and threw that lob, now that you made shots, you don’t have to foot fake and do anything. All you got to do is catch it and look at the rim and they’re flying at you, now drive in and get somebody a shot, which he started the half doing. This is all, this is new to what he’s trying to do and how he’s playing. But it’s new to all these guys. I mean, everything is, Well, I used to do this. It doesn’t work anymore, that’s not working, you’re not getting the ball in the basket or you’re turning it over. These are your shots right here. Here’s where you’re making these plays. Everybody on the team is different. This guy can do stuff that you can’t do and you do stuff that he can’t do. So why don’t you do what you do well, we’ll all do this together, make this easy for each other. And that’s a challenge year to year. That’s the challenge throughout the year. How do we become an unbelievable team. Great length, quickness, speed, we can shoot it, we have enough of a post-up game, how do we become an unbelievable team defensively and offensively. It takes reps, it takes experience, which means games. How many have we played? We’re six games in. I’m trying to tell them, Don’t panic, don’t worry about how you play, we’re going to get it right, let’s just keep moving forward, next step.
Kentucky Men’s Basketball Post Game Quotes
Kentucky vs. Lamar
Rupp Arena – Lexington, KY
Nov. 24, 2019
UK Student-Athletes
#3, Tyrese Maxey, Fr., G
On playing like you did against Michigan State…
“I mean I just felt comfortable. I felt like coach has been doing a really good job of just making this team gel together, and I think we are getting better every day.”
On coach seems like he yells at you a lot more during timeouts…
“He’s always hard on me, and I’m grateful for it. You know, at the time it doesn’t feel good, but he does love us all and he’s going to coach us really hard and he wants to win just like we do so I’m thankful for it.”
On making 3s…
“it’s nothing different, I just stayed with my training and stayed with getting shots up in the morning and night. I’m confident in myself. I feel like I’m going to make the next one. Doesn’t matter if I miss or make, I put in too much work to have that type of thought process if I miss. Every time I shoot it I think its going to go in.”
#12, Keion Brooks Jr., Fr., F
On how you thought the team played tonight..
“I feel like we were starting to find our groove defensively. Also, getting out in transition and putting up points. Coach preaches how we have to try to get 80 points. Playing up and down, playing fast, and a lot of that had to do with our defense. We started stringing stops together.”
On the difference of making a lot of 3s…
“Definitely. We’re a good shooting team. We just had to find our groove and I feel like we’re headed in the right direction with the way we’re shooting the ball.”
On how much the team fed off the performance of Tyrese Maxey…
“That gave us a lot of energy. Consecutively hitting a bunch of 3s in a row, then us being able to get stops in the end was great. So, that gave us some momentum heading into the half and we picked up on it in the second half.”
On if you’re looking for a slower-paced December…
“Personally, I love to play games, but you know, you get better in practice so I’m looking forward to going to practice and watching some film to see what we can be better at.”
#4, Nick Richards, Jr., C
On if you knew how close you were to a double-double…
“No, people on the bench told me I was close to a double-double. I was trying to press and get two points, and ended up getting it off an offensive rebound, or was it a dunk, I just want to thank my teammates for putting me in the position to be successful like that and to my coaches for calling plays like that, everyone on this team is just trying to get better every game.”
On how you felt on your performance tonight in the shot-blocking category…
“I feel like as a team we did a better job. I think I had seven, KB (Keion Brooks Jr.) had like two or three, EJ (Montgomery) had like two. Even our guards like Tyrese (Maxey) and Ashton (Hagans) had a couple, so I think we just did a better job as a team in that regard.”
On their play during the 22-2 point run and Tyrese Maxey’s spark…
“That just tells you the type of player he is. He just takes over games at any point in time. At one point I thought he had like four 3s in a row, you know, that just tells you the type of player he is and can just take over game at any point in time.”
On if (John) Calipari is satisfied with seven blocks in a game and if he wants more…
“Yeah, him and KP (Kenny Payne), they both got on me, they said I should have had a triple-double, but we are just grateful for the win, you know that just tells you the type of coaches they are, they want me to get better as much as possible, they’re never satisfied they just want me to get better.”
On the difference in his play in terms of less fouling this year…
“I mean the only times we’ve had foul issues against was Evansville, and you can see the results of that, but fouling is one thing that I’m trying to avoid, just trying to protect this team because we don’t have that many bodies on our bench.”
Kentucky Men’s Basketball Post Game Quotes
Kentucky vs. Lamar
Rupp Arena – Lexington, KY
Nov. 24, 2019
Lamar Head Coach Tic Price
Opening statement…
“Y’all were at the game right? So, I do not have to give an opening statement. They were physically much stronger than our guys. We found out we were out massed. They’re much bigger, much stronger, very athletic. They did not take us lightly at all. Coach John Calipari had his guys ready to play. We knew going in, it would be a hard match up. We felt like early in the first half, we went a two-three zone because of match-up issues in hopes that they would miss some shots, but they made the shots. Tyrese Maxey knocked some good 3s. Before we could get out of it, they had increased the lead. So, their transition game is very good. They had those shot blockers right there. Even when we penetrated, our guys had a pink elephant in the back of their mind. They were looking for those big guys back there. It was a tough game for us. Hopefully, we can learn and learn together from it. I am not sure how much it helped the Wildcats. Hopefully it helped Cal find the right combination for his team. But, this we knew would be a tough task. The zone on them ended up not being a good decision, but after they knocked down some shots, that gave them some good momentum and made it difficult for us to stop the bleeding.”
On the improvement of Nick Richards…
“I think he is playing with a lot of confidence. He did what he is supposed to do and had a distinct height and size advantage. You should be a better player than when you were a freshman. There is a maturation process that goes on. For big guys, it takes a little bit longer to come around. But, I do think playing against some quality big guys every day has made him a better player. So, with that being said, I think Nick took advantage of his athleticism, pretty much was a bully in that paint, which is a good thing. It will help him in his confidence and that will help him to knock down some shots. I think he is a better player because of repetition. Playing against some good quality competition every day and obviously, he did what he was supposed to do when you have that kind of size over your opponent. You should be dialing in and they did that tonight.”
On Tyrese Maxey providing momentum…
“Maxey is a good player. He is much bigger than our guards and he was able to just raise up and shoot over the top of them. He is a great one-on-one player. I think he is a rhythm shooter. He knocked down a couple shots and he gets going and he can be a very difficult match up for my guards because he is so much bigger. I think he is going to bring some exciting moments to Kentucky basketball this year.”
On if making 3s is a contagious thing…
“Well, I think it really takes a couple shots to go down, and then you get confidence. I think that was the case. I think I called timeout, I couldn’t wait for that media timeout. I had to call it or it probably could’ve been a lot worse, in hopes that we could stop the momentum. But, when you knock down one or two shots, or maybe two shots, it builds on your confidence. I do think that was the case with Kentucky’s guard play, and we knew going in that we had to contain dribble penetration. But also, there should be shot pressure. But, even with the pressure, they’re just so much bigger than us. We’ve not played against perimeter players that are as big as they are. I think that as this team continues to play together, by the time they get into conference play they’re going to be a good basketball team. They’re a good basketball team now, but I think they’re going to be even better.”
On the outcome of the Kentucky vs. Evansville game…
“Oh yeah, we watched the Evansville game because we tried to find out what they did to beat the Wildcats. But, you’ve got to make shots against Kentucky and Evansville did. We didn’t. The way we played the ball screen was pretty much just open up and let them through. Evansville did the same thing, but the difference is, Evansville did make some shots. We couldn’t duplicate the offensive side of it. Plus, we didn’t have big and strong kids to match up with them physically either. So, you can watch Evansville all you want, but if you don’t have guys to match up with Kentucky, you’re going to have problems.”
On Davion Buster…
“Davion is a kid that is very driven. He hates to lose. He is little, that’s probably why we ended up getting him. If he was 6’4″, he’d probably be at Kentucky he is that good, but because he is so little, a lot of people passed on him. He ended up in high school averaging about 30 points per game. Y’all saw, there isn’t a shot that he doesn’t like, he pretty much has the green light. Again, (Tyrese) Maxey did a good job of wearing him down. Of course, anytime you penetrated… Nick (Richards) made it very tough for our guys to shoot over. So, I think because of his size, he was forced to take more outside shots, you know you can penetrate him, create off the dribble, but even when he took one dribble pull-up shots, there were big guards in his face to shoot over top of that made it difficult for him. But, he’s an exciting player for us. In the whole conference, he’ll be one of the better guards.”
