Kentucky Basketball Previews Tennessee
UK ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS & PR
MEN’S BASKETBALL
TENNESSEE at UK PREGAME MEDIA
FEB. 6, 2021
JOE CRAFT CENTER – LEXINGTON, KY.
ASSISTANT COACH JAI LUCAS
On how many things the staff has tried to help the team improve in the game’s final four minutes …
“Well, you keep trying. We’ve tried a lot and we’ll keep chipping away. I think a big part of this game is we fouled a lot against Mizzou and that was a big, big, big reason why we lost that last four up there. But, you know, you just keep chipping away with it. We’re close. I know we keep saying we’re close, but it’s just little things that keep happening like that. You can’t have four fouls, five fouls when they’re in the bonus in the last five minutes and then three turnovers. No matter who you are, that’s going to come back and bite you. So, it’s just something that you keep working on and we keep attacking.”
On not having a “go-to player” down the stretch …
“Well, it’s something that is always a security blanket. When you can go to somebody and you can throw them the ball or kind of spread the floor and let them drive, create, get fouled. Especially like you were saying, that last four minutes of the game, that’s really when it’s the biggest. Ours right now is a game-by-game thing. It may be Olivier (Sarr) one game when he’s got it going. It may be Davion (Mintz) when he’s making jump shots or in a few games it may be Keion (Brooks Jr.). It’s just kind of a feel thing. I think that’s kind of what Coach Cal was saying. We just don’t have that one definite that we know we can go to, but dependent on how that game’s going that person can be anybody.”
On is it as simple as making a couple of buckets that would help build the team’s confidence down the stretch …
“It’s that simple. I wish I had a more educated answer for you, but it is that simple. Or it’s as simple as what Mizzou did, which is being able to get fouled and make free throws. It just changes the pressure, changes the momentum of the game. You have to have a little bit of luck. Some of those shots that you get at the end of the shot clock that is a somewhat clean look, you just need one of those to go in. I think that’s just been a big thing the whole year. Watching other games, it’s something that you see, especially with younger teams that it’s a problem on both ends.”
On why Rick Barnes is so successful and what his are emotions playing against him tomorrow night …
“Like you said, he’s one of the very best coaches. I think the one thing about him, and it’s something that’s very similar with Coach Cal, is that they hold you to a high level of accountability within the program, on the court and what you’re doing. I think that’s the first thing, especially when you’re dealing with young kids who are 18 to 22. You have to have a certain level and hold them to a level of accountability, and I think they both do a good job. I think with Coach Barnes, it’s just goes to show how good of a coach he is. It’s the programs at Clemson, Texas, at Tennessee what he’s doing now. It just goes to show that the proof is in the pudding. I’m excited to see him. He’s one of the few people I still talk to. I talked to him last when everything came out with the COVID stuff and he’s actually the person I called when I was asking about making this transition. So, he’s somebody close to me and gave me my start in coaching.”
On Barnes offering advice to come to Kentucky …
“Yeah, I did. He kind of just told me, you know, it’s a once-in-a-life opportunity, and I already knew that. That was something he expressed to me and he talked really high of Coach Cal and the city of Lexington. He’s somebody whose opinion I hold very, very close to my heart. So, I know he wouldn’t lead me in the wrong direction or anything like that. He was very, very, very–spoke very highly of everything.”
On balancing offensive and defensive personnel …
“It’s very delicate because you can have shooting in the game, but if they’re not making shots then they’re not helping you on one end and then they’re not helping you on the other end as well. So, it’s kind of a dance you have to have to kind of balance it out. Like I was saying earlier, especially with us, it’s just game-by-game. Sometimes you have to be able to give a little to get a little. You know what I mean? So, if you’re exchanging 3s for 2s, you may be fine for a little moment in the game and then when the game gets tight you get closer and then it becomes more of a defensive struggle. It’s harder to kind of leave the shooting out there if you can’t do substitutions for offense to defense and stuff like that. It’s just kind of a tricky spot.”
On what goes in to determining the lineup in late-game situations …
“We are doing everything. It’s the coaching staff’s suggestion, it’s analytics, it’s everything. It’s a feel with how the game is going. It’s kind of like what we talked about earlier, like all of the questions that have been asked, sometimes not having a per say go-to player that comes into effect. Then shooting comes into effect. Then offense-defense. So, with us, we’re just trying anything and trying to find whatever is working. Like I was saying earlier, with being how our team is structured, with how the year is going, it’s really a game-by-game. It’s kind of a feel thing because we’re just trying to find whatever will work at that time.”
On if Coach Calipari seeks opinions from the staff …
“It’s both (being proactive and reactive). It’s both. He’s asking for our opinion and we’ll give him our suggestions as well. Ultimately he’s the head coach and he’s going to make the decision, but he does do a good job of at least including us and asking us what we think, what we think we should do, who should be in, matchups, stuff like that. So, I will say that it’s a collective thing.”
On Devin Askew …
“He’s a freshman. I mean that’s the best way to put it and that’s what he looks like. He’s got a million things coming at him and he’s just trying to figure it out. He’s just getting thrown into the fire. There’s not really, with Terrence (Clarke) being out, we don’t have another per se point guard that you can throw out there and play. We have Davion (Mintz), who is doing a little bit of weaving. Devin got hurt in practice before the Missouri game. We didn’t even think he was going to play, so then we had BJ (Boston) out there trying to play point guard for a little bit. So, he’s just getting the short end of the stick of having to really just learn through mistakes and everything. Sometimes it doesn’t look great, but he’s doing a great job of at least keeping his head up, attacking and trying to do what we’re asking him.”
On how much this year will help Askew’s long-term development …
“Because it will build. It’s just like he has to get battle scars. He’s not one of those kids–he’s very strong willed, very strong-minded. He’s not one of those kids who is going to crumble – at least I don’t think being around him. He’s not one of those guys and this is just going to build his confidence. You can’t really, especially for Devin, especially playing the point guard position, which is, and I might be biased, the hardest position on the court. For him, it’s just he’s going to have to know that he’s seen the depths, he’s seen the darks, and knowing that, like, ‘I can’t do this. I’ve learned that this doesn’t work. I have to adjust. I have to change my game.’ And that’s where he is right now. He’s having to change his game. We’re talking about a kid who came to college a year early too. To throw that on top of it and then it be the COVID year where he didn’t get a summer. He didn’t get a preseason and the biggest thing for freshmen are those early buy games. It’s to build their confidence. He’s just getting the short end of the stick all the way around. But I think he will be better by it.”
On how much this year has challenged him and the team …
“Well, I’m a little surprised just because I didn’t know what to expect. You didn’t know what to expect, so you’re thinking that you’ll have this four week, six weeks because of something that’s never been. It’s something that I’ve never experienced, not having a summer, not having buy games and stuff like that. So, you kind of figured that things would work naturally and then as the games comes and as they’re played, you understand. ‘Ah. I understand. This is some of the stuff that you need to have successful teams especially when you’re young and you have 10 new guys.’ There’s certain things that have to happen. If you look at a lot of the rankings and those top-five, top-10 teams like Baylor, Gonzaga, I mean, those are old teams. Even Texas, who I had before, those are old teams. So, it benefits them because they’ve been in the program for three or four years seeing stuff that they understand and been through that they don’t have to experience. Now, we have 10 new guys at a new place with a new coach. They’re experiencing things in the season that should have been done in September. So, I think that’s what I didn’t account for is that kind of gap, that kind of mesh. I think that’s why your best teams in college basketball are older this year. It’s not as much. They might not be the most talented team, but they are the best team because they have some type of continuity.”
On Brandon Boston Jr. at point guard …
“Well, it was a spur-of-the-moment type thing, so it wasn’t something he expected. Nobody expected it. It just kind of happened. You know, you’re always excited as a player when you get to have the ball in your hands more. So, I think that was his first initial thought. But, then some of the pressures would come with having to make the right plays and do the right things and then he was like, ‘OK, I understand. I’ll go back over here on the wing.’ So, it was kind of like that. It was just something that we had to be ready for.”
On Tennessee’s defense …
“One thing, like all of Coach Barnes’ teams, they play extremely hard and they really focus on defense. They have probably one of the best defenders in the country in the big kid, (Yves) Pons. He does a good job, and they have big size with their guards and athleticism. You can just tell that it’s something that they take pride in and I think that’s the one thing that you’ve got to kind of figure out how you can attack them and what you can do to kind of expose some of the stuff. But it’s not easy. They’re really good defensively and I think early on that was their calling card. Now, they’ve started to try and figure that out again.”
UK ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS & PR
MEN’S BASKETBALL
TENNESSEE at KENTUCKY PREGAME MEDIA
FEB. 5, 2021
JOE CRAFT CENTER – LEXINGTON, KY.
#12 Keion Brooks Jr., F, So.
On both Kentucky and Tennessee having inconsistencies at the guard positions …
“First of all, I think our guards have been doing a great job with what Coach has been asking them to do. They’ve been doing what they can to make plays for us. They’ve been getting the ball to the right people. It’s a team effort. We all have to get in the lane and make shots for everybody. And as far as guarding their whole team, I just feel like we have to lock into the game plan. Give them a couple different coverages; not give them a steady diet of what we are doing the whole game and try to keep them off balance.”
On why they keep coming up short in the last four minutes of games …
“I think it’s a mixture of we’ve got a little bit of bad luck, a little bit of we’re turning the ball over, and we also don’t get the best shot we can get late, down the stretch. But we’re getting at it. It’s just something we’ve got to continue to work at, keep pushing through, and hopefully this weekend we can play better the last four minutes and come out with a W.”
On how much harder it is the last four minutes to close out a game without a ‘go-to guy’ …
“I mean, we’ve just got to get it done by committee. Even when a team has a go-to-guy, their other teammates still step up and make plays and do what they can to help him out. So, everybody has to step up and play their role, play their part and do what they have to do to help us win.”
On if the last four minutes are a confidence thing and if something going right can help things go in the other direction …
“Yeah, definitely. If we go out in the last four minutes and make some plays, we can always have that to fall back on and that will help us boost our confidence knowing that we’ve done it before and knowing that we can execute, get stops and get a couple of baskets late, down the stretch. But we’re going to keep pushing at it. Coach has been putting us in great stuff to help us build our confidence, to make us feel more comfortable down the stretch. Like I said before, we’re going to keep pushing at it and working at it every day.”
On what the difference was in the second half at Missouri where they shot it better than they had been …
“It was a combination of, we got good, open looks, and also we made shots. I think a lot of times we do get some good looks and we do get quality shots, but sometimes they just don’t go down for us. I feel like last game, when we did get those looks, we made those shots. We capitalized on what the defense gave us.”
On how Tennessee having the top-ranked defense in the country going against Kentucky’s struggling offense plays on his mind …
“I mean, it doesn’t really play on my mind at all. It’s a basketball game. They’re trying to stop us; we’re trying to score on them and vice versa. It’s going to be a battle. It’s going to be won down there in the trenches. Whatever team is tougher will come out with a win.”
On if trying to mix and match so many different lineups plays a factor in some of the inconsistencies …
“No. We just got to get it done. Like, we practice together all the time. We practice with those mixed-match lineups to get a different feel for each of your teammates. We’ve just got to go out and execute and make plays really. At the end of the day, we’re basketball players and we can hoop. We just got to make plays and be hoopers and execute. That’s really what it comes down to.”
On how he tries to pick his teammates’ spirits up and keep it fun during a tough season …
“Losing is never fun, but you’ve got to do everything you can to keep the spirits up and keep the belief in the team. We have great players on this team, we have a great coaching staff, and as long as we keep believing and buying in to one another, it makes it easier. We come into practice every day with a great attitude and a great willing to listen to our coaches and willing to work hard every day. In that aspect I don’t have to do too much leading because the guys that we have, they’re not giving up and they work their butt off every day. So as far as that goes, I don’t have to do too much in that area.”
On what he sees on film when he watches the team play …
“We look like a team that can’t get it done in the last four minutes of the game. Too many breakdowns, mental errors, too many times we don’t come up with a very crucial ball. Stuff like that. It sucks because I know we’re capable of doing it. We’ve done it a couple times this year. We’ve just lacked consistency and being able to close people out in close games. Watching the film, it shows what we’re not doing and we’ve got to go out there and correct it.”
On what version of Tennessee they prepare for …
“The one that looks really good. That’s what you’re supposed to do. You’re expecting every team’s best shot.”
On why this team hasn’t been as good on the fast break …
“I think we didn’t put enough emphasis on getting out and getting early baskets in transition. Coach has been doing some stuff lately to really get us out and running, which has really helped us, especially last game. Coach has been really specific on what he wants certain players to do, what positions and what lanes we want guys to run. That really helped us last game. That’s just something we’ve got to build on going forward.”
