Kentucky Faces Utah in Las Vegas on Wednesday
Tyrese Maxey has scored at will for as long as he can remember.
It’s no surprise, then, that his memory doesn’t include a single 1-for-17 shooting slump like the one in which he’s mired right now.
“Nope,” Maxey said, “but it’s one time for everything and, like I said, I’m still happy.”
Maxey is happy because he’s coming off a game in which he was challenged to guard Georgia Tech’s Michael Devoe and he held one of the nation’s top scorers to a mere five points. Maxey might have scored only six points himself (all on free throws to go with his seven rebounds and six assists) and missed all nine of his field goals, but it was his team that scored a 67-53 win, its sixth straight.
“He was proud of himself,” John Calipari said. “He came in, ‘I may not have played well, but I know I guarded that dude.’ He was proud of himself. That’s when you start seeing the change.”
Kentucky vs. Utah | ||
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Wed., Dec. 18 – 11 p.m. ET | ||
Coverage | ||
TV: ESPN2 | ||
UK | Stats | UU |
8-1 | Record | 8-2 |
0-0 | Conference Record | 0-0 |
76.4 | PPG | 83.0 |
59.2 | Opp PPG | 68.6 |
.475 | FG% | .498 |
.363 | Opp FG% | .403 |
39.6 | RPG | 41.0 |
.294 | 3PT FG% | .342 |
.289 | Opp 3PT FG% | .335 |
.798 | FT% | .749 |
15.6 | APG | 16.3 |
5.1 | SPG | 5.1 |
4.6 | BPG | 3.0 |
Maxey is going to keep shooting and likely will start making sooner rather than later, but he’s blessed to be on a team that doesn’t always need him to score like he did against Michigan State.
“We have a lot of guys on our team that are going to be able to score, so I don’t need to score every single night,” Maxey said. “I just want to help my teammates win, whatever I need to do. Rebounds, assists, play defense. It was my night to stop the best player and that’s what I did.”
That sort of approach takes a lot of hard-earned discipline. Like Maxey, Keion Brooks is starting to find it. Unlike Maxey, Brooks has scored 25 points over his last two games, but he’s succeeding because he’s not dwelling on his scoring.
“It’s hard because of the clutter,” Calipari said. “The clutter is the only way you get your name in the newspaper when you’re in high school, in grade school, in junior high—score points. So, go out there and score points. At this point, none of that matters.”
With Maxey and Brooks trending in the right direction, Calipari has shifted his focus to his next potential breakout candidate, Kahlil Whitney. Whitney’s talent is beyond question, but he has yet to find his feet in his first college season.
“Don’t be afraid to be Tyrese,” Calipari said, recalling his advice to Whitney. “Go guard their best player, shut him out, go 0 for 9. Don’t be afraid to be Tyrese. Then they say you’re player of the game (and) you were 0 for 9. You were the player of the game. Don’t be afraid to be that. Then the other stuff will happen.’ “
Calipari knows Whitney needs reps to improve, but he also knows the Wildcats need to win games. Balancing those priorities – which at times compete – is Calipari’s job. Making the most of the opportunities they do get is the domain of his players.
“Coaches coach, players play,” Calipari said. “I choose how much you play. You choose how you play and what kind of effort you play with. If you want more, you play better and whatever you get. Coaches coach, players play. You want to play at that next level? Great. You’re not playing a whole lot. Your family is going to walk in and talk to the coach? Players play, coaches coach.’ We have talented guys that are learning how to fight.”
To survive this upcoming stretch, the No. 6/6 Cats (8-1) won’t have any choice but to step it up in the fight department. UK’s three remaining games before the New Year are all tough ones, beginning with a two-game trip to Las Vegas to face Utah and No. 5/4 Ohio State. The Utes (8-2) are up first, with tipoff on Wednesday at 11 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
“The tapes that I’ve watched of Utah, they play, and they play different,” Calipari said. “Their bigs step out to shoot. So, you’ve gotta play stuff a little different. The great thing with these guys, we had to change up a little bit of what we did against Georgia Tech, how we guarded elbows, how we guarded out-of-bounds plays. We did it within a day and a half and these guys got it, and they did exactly what we wanted them to do. I’ve got a smart team.”
Smart as they may be, Calipari knows better than to assume anything about what will happen in Vegas. Coaches will coach, players will play and results will follow.
“We’ve got two hard games in Vegas. Both of them,” Calipari said. “We could lose both and go home at Christmas and not be a very good Christmas, but you almost have to surrender to that so we can just play. So, I surrender to it. That could happen to us. I walk into every game and say the same thing. Whatever happens, I’ll deal with. Win or lose, I’ll deal with whatever happens so that I can just coach the game. Now, I’m trying to get these guys in the same frame of mind.”
Wildcats Banged Up
Kentucky’s depth has been tested by a number of injuries this season with Nate Sestina’s recent left wrist fracture continuing a rash of misfortune. Nine Wildcats this season have dealt with injuries or are still rehabbing old ones.
The Wildcats had only nine full-time basketball scholarship players available in three games thus far. Against Utah Valley, with EJ Montgomery (right ankle) and Immanuel Quickley (chest) out, just seven full-time basketball scholarship players were available. That included Ashton Hagans, who was dealing with right leg soreness.
• Dontaie Allen (left knee) – return: undetermined | Torn ACL from his senior season of high school; participated in strength and conditioning programs over the summer and continues to progress with rehabilitation program, including participating in his first practice last week
• Ashton Hagans (lower right leg) – available | Dealt with a lower right leg injury early in the season but has not missed a game
• Ben Jordan (head injury) – available | Sustained a head injury in practice and was unavailable for the Fairleigh Dickinson game
• EJ Montgomery (right ankle) – available | Sustained a right ankle sprain in the first half of the Michigan State game; missed the next three games and returned vs. Mount St. Mary’s
• Zan Payne (right knee) – return: undetermined | Continuing to rehab from a knee injury from his senior season of high school; underwent a rigorous rehab program over the summer and participated in his first practice last week
• Nick Richards (left ankle) – status: available | Sprained his left ankle during the Georgetown College exhibition games and missed the final exhibition vs. Kentucky State
• Nate Sestina (left wrist) – out approximately four weeks from injury | Fractured his left wrist on Nov. 26 and underwent surgery on Nov. 27
• Immanuel Quickley (chest contusion) – available | Suffered a chest contusion in practice prior to the Utah Valley game and did not play vs. the Wolverines. Returned the following game
• Kahlil Whitney (left hand) – available | Dislocated his left pinky finger near the end of the Utah Valley game but has not missed a game
Time to Hone In
After a fast and furious start to open the season, the game schedule eases up in December, giving way to an important opportunity for more time on the practice court.
After playing six games in 20 days to begin the season, the Wildcats are in a stretch where they are playing just six games in a 40-day period.
What does that all mean? More practice opportunities and more time for John Calipari to really get his hands on this team. This is usually the time of the season when Calipari’s teams make the biggest development because Calipari particularly enjoys being able to work in practice for a week, play a game, evaluate, and then return to practice for a week to continue to build.
“We have time now,” Calipari said after the Lamar game. “… 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.”
Learning will be at its peak near the end of December with the start of what Calipari likes to call “Camp Cal.” During this time period, when there are no restrictions on practice hours and the players are free of academic responsibilities, the Wildcats often practice two times a day and sometimes even three if one includes a workout session with strength and conditioning coach Robert Harris. With no responsibilities outside of practice, Calipari likes the team to be together focusing on basketball for as much of the break as possible.
In between practices, Calipari will sometimes have the players over to his house to eat and rest. In the evenings, the team will go out together to eat most nights. The team will basically eat, sleep and drink basketball during Camp Cal.
That will begin once finals end the week of Dec. 16 and the team returns from its trip to Las Vegas and a few days at home for the holidays.
The season-ending results clearly show the improvement of Calipari’s teams in December. As successful as Calipari’s teams have been in the nonconference portion of their schedule every season, UK has won five regular-season Southeastern Conference titles in 10 seasons under Calipari and another six SEC Tournament championships.