UK ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS & PR
MEN’S BASKETBALL
SEC COACHES’ TELECONFERENCE
JAN. 23, 2020
JOE CRAFT CENTER – LEXINGTON, KY.
John Calipari
Opening statement on Saturday’s game against Texas Tech …
“I’m really impressed with what they do and how they play. They play different. They play the post different, how they trap. They pick-and-roll different. They do different things on the baseline out of bounds. They throw some presses at you, some passive and some aggressive. They just start running and trapping and doing stuff, and so offensively they’re eighth in the country – maybe higher – on assisted baskets, which means he’s (Chris Beard) got them defending and playing as a team. And they’ve lost a couple games, but they’re games that, if you watch, they had a chance to win all of those games. So, you’re talking a new team and doing what he is doing, I’m really impressed. Really impressed.”
On how important the game Saturday is for the league’s NCAA Tournament hopes and how the SEC has fared this season …
“I think you’re looking around the country–and at the end of the day, this is for all of us, the next game on our schedule. Some of us are on the road, some of us are at home. It’s the next game. There’s one or two leagues that, in my mind, are maybe really only one league (that’s separated themselves), and then there’s two of three of us in the next wave and then two or three below us. So, I think how we all finish together, playing against each other, and I think other leagues will be the same. I don’t think there’s any league that just, ‘Well, they’re in good shape.’ My guess would be we get anywhere from six to eight in and a couple teams are going to have to do some things every year for all the leagues.”
On Johnny Juzang’s play and what lies ahead for him …
“Well he–I told you, the best play at South Carolina, I liked that when we were down three he didn’t have a second thought. He shot it, which meant he has courage. He’s not afraid to make plays. He’s not afraid of doing what he thinks he’s capable of doing. The issue had been that he hadn’t made a jump shot since November 28. You get minutes out there, you’ve gotta make some shots. Well, he’s doing that now. The kid has a nose for the ball. He seems to be in the right places. He knows how to get himself where he can get the ball with opportunities to score. He’s active. He’s trying. He’s fighting. He’s getting an opportunity. Now, let me say this: We’ve got three really good guards in front of him, and if any of those guys struggle or have foul trouble, I’m not afraid to put Johnny in there and let him go. But those three in front of him are pretty good players.”
On balancing the remainder of the season and the minutes for the three lead guards …
“I’m not so worried because they’re in good shape. The question becomes do I continue to try and make sure that we have a lot of room for error? In other words, let’s keep building these guys on the bench. I think Keion (Brooks Jr.) has gotten so much better. We’ve got to get Nate (Sestina) back to where he was. He’s kind of taken a step back. He’s not playing bad, but he’s not (at the) level. It doesn’t seem as though he’s as confident and sure of himself as he was three weeks ago. We’re trying to figure that out. Then we’ve got to get Kahlil (Whitney) going. He’s got to get in there and do some things, get that feel going of what he has to do for our team to get in there and play.”
On his thoughts on the number of upsets and changing No. 1 teams this season in college basketball …
“Well, there’s just so much parity right now. The players, the teams, the leagues – there’s just parity. There were times I could remember being on phone calls and saying, ‘Look, guys, rhere’s eight teams that have a chance to win the national title and there’s 20 that have a chance to get to the Final Four.’ I’d tell you right now that there may be 25 teams that could win the national title (this year). There may be 60, 70 teams that could get to a Final Four. You’re talking leagues that have some teams that people are watching and saying, ‘They have a terrific guard that can bust it and shoot balls, but they’ve also got a couple big guys.’ I talked to Bob Huggins not long ago and I told him, ‘Jeez you’ve got rebounding, your toughness, your defense, your scoring.’ I said, ‘Bob. You guys can do this.’ I mean, it’s crazy. There’s not many years like that, and that’s why I keep coming back to what I have on my wall big as day: Coach your team. None of the other stuff matters. It makes no bearing on what we need to do here. We’ve got a tough game. I mean, going in, that will be one of the best environments we’ll play in. Now, the good news is the Arkansas environment, the Georgia environment, the South Carolina environment–I mean, everywhere we go is that way. But this may be on top of that. This is what we need as a team. I’m trying to empower them. Now it’ll be a rough team; a team that plays hard and if someone’s not giving it, as a team they’ve got to come to me and say, ‘You’ve got to get him out, Coach.’ That’s when I know, instead of me having to drive doing these kinds of situations, they’re doing it themselves.”
