Kentucky Basketball Previews SEC Tournament
UK ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS & PR
MEN’S BASKETBALL
UK vs. MISSISSIPPI STATE PREGAME MEDIA
SEC TOURNAMENT
NASVHILLE, TENN.
MARCH 10, 2021
HEAD COACH JOHN CALIPARI
On what he tells his team about winning four games in four days and if he uses other teams’ success as a way to prove it can be done …
“No, I’m staying focused on this team. I gave them all that kind of stuff about a week ago, a week and a half, before the South Carolina game. That whatever you guys want to do, you’re going to be capable of doing it. But you’ve got to do it together. You can’t worry about how you’re playing for you; it’s how you’re playing for us. I keep after–Even in practice yesterday, We passed up two open shots and what did they lead to? Turnovers and a layup down at the other end. You just keep testing the water and mainly because, ‘I’ve missed three in a row, four in a row and I don’t want to shoot another one.’ ‘You have to. It’s the best chance we have. Maybe you’ll bank it in, and if you miss another one and we rebound, be happy. Not into you.’ Just continue to talk to them, you know, about being connected. The things that they’ve gone through that have prepared them for this moment. So, it’s a little different but it isn’t–This is, this time of year you leave nothing on the table. I’ll give you an example: The great thing about the last game is that I got Lance (Ware) in there. I got Cam (Fletcher) in there. Dontaie (Allen) was in even though he missed a bunch of shots, he was in there. So, now all of a sudden you have this full team. I’ll let everybody know: The training staff, the medical staff came to me about Terrence (Clarke) last week. I said, ‘If he can get through individual work, two days without limping. If he’s limping, I’m not even –I don’t care what you tell me – He’s not playing.’ So, he did, and I said, ‘OK, now we’re going to through him into some of the scrimmaging.’ Does he pick us up or take us back? If he takes us back, he can’t be in right now. So, he’s had a couple of good days. The great thing is for us and for him, one, first one on the floor, first one on the bus. He wants to do this for the team, he understands their game. He may not play again. Maybe he does. Maybe he doesn’t. He wants to do it for the team. He understands he’s not going to make up. He hasn’t played since Christmas. You’re not going to make everything up. But if it gives us one more body, one more opportunity with a player, because at this time say you go in and you just look awful, well, maybe it’s not your day. Let somebody else play because it’s all about advancing. So, he’s been–it’s all about team for him. He just said whatever this team needs from me, ‘I’m here. If I don’t play, I’m fine. If you want to put me in, fine. I’m ready to go.’ Now, I won’t change the rotation or what we’re doing, but there may be a point where I say let’s give him a shot. Let’s see how he’s doing.”
On the mentality of being the hunter instead of the hunted …
“I think it helps this team because now their focus is chasing. You know, one of the things that I’m going to have to do, I mentioned that you want to have a full roster because you don’t know what’s going to happen. You want them all prepared to play, and I think we have a bunch now. But the second piece of that is this team has really been affected by runs by the other team. Normally you guys know what I do, I let the team figure it out and work it out and then call a timeout. Well, with this team I’m not sure I can do that, so can’t go home with timeouts. I might have to use them early. A guy passes up an open shot, turnover, comes down alright, we hurry. You can see we’re panicked. Timeout. Let’s settle. Come on guys, we’re fine. We get a big lead and all of a sudden a guy goes crazy and tries to make a home run play and turns it over, they shoot it, we miss it, they throw it ahead another 3. Bang. Timeout. So, it’s a little different with every team I coach. You’re trying to be what they need me to be. We need Keion (Brooks Jr.). He’s got to come with great energy. I don’t care if he’s making shots. Look, you know what they said to him today? If you get the ball in the middle of the lane and I said, ‘If he gets the ball in there how many shots do you want him to take in there?’ One of the guys said 100. Shoot 100. Just that’s your shot. So, they’re really and the team was encouraging Terrence. Like, there was no–I mean, BJ (Boston Jr) better. The guys were talking to Isaiah (Jackson) about–you can’t tell a golfer don’t hook it now. ‘Don’t hook it. Don’t hook it. Don’t hook it.’ Because he’s going to hook it. Well, you also can’t tell a player, ‘Don’t foul. Don’t foul. Don’t foul.’ Because you end up fouling. And all we’re saying is play the guy before he catches it. If you get caught in a bad position, give up a basket. If you’re in a pick-and-roll defense don’t you reach. Don’t even think about it. We need you on the court. Be aggressive, go block shots, stay down, you can block it late. Play the man before he catches it and you’re not going to have issues. So, there are different things that we’ve been talking through and it’s some of this stuff is the same all year and it still pops up in practice. Like, are you kidding me? What did you just do? I mean, why would you do that? We’ve been talking three months about this. But it’s in there. They have habits that, you know, we’re trying to create new habits. But those others are still in there.”
On what his feelings would be if this team could win the SEC Tournament …
“Let me just say this to you, Kyle (Tucker): If we can win tomorrow at 11 (a.m. CT), if we can win that game, I’m going to be dancing. Just that game. Forget about four. Let’s just worry about the first game. If we can win the first game. This team, again, they’ve never been here. Now, you guys look and say, ‘Well, Cal your record and all of your years and tournament play.’ They weren’t on those teams. This is a–Keion did not get to play in it last year. I don’t know what to expect. What I’m hoping is they fight, they play fast, they take open shots and they’re connected defensively. That’s what I’m hoping. But we don’t know. We don’t know. These guys, they haven’t played in this stuff.”
On former staffer Preston Spradlin leading Morehead State to the NCAA Tournament and what he saw in him as a staff member at UK …
“Yeah, but he also was running the camps and involved in all of our meetings, our staff meetings, was video, really bright basketball guy. Really a level-headed. As a matter-of-fact, if I remember right, I put him in practices because he could still play. I mean, he was a really good shooter. But you know, he and Dom Lombardi. We talked yesterday on the bus ride up and one of the things he said was, ‘Coach, Dom has done unbelievable work. He has been just an absolute giant.’ And that’s what he’s about. I mean, pushing the guys around him, not worrying about himself. And I told him, he said, ‘My team was tough, Coach. They were tough.’ So, when you look at it you know, and I know that’s how you win. I told him you should go into this thing, ‘Look it doesn’t matter.’ No one is going to want to play them. You’ve got some teams out there that are mid-major teams that you’re like saying, ‘Sheesh.’ Who wants to play them?’ Our case? We’re worried about a game tomorrow at 11. But, I’m happy that those guys have done what they’ve done and they’re in the NCAA Tournament and they won their league. It’s just been good.”
On appearing as if he is more energized this week than he has been …
“I would say I have been positive about this team when we started getting it going. The problem is they revert. And then they start again. And then they revert. And they start again. And most of it is has been based on the way you have to play winning basketball, one, is really hard. Like, it’s hard. It’s physically hard. It’s mentally hard. It’s tough. ‘I would rather not have to do that.’ It also means you have to share. You’ve got to be more about your teammates than yourself. ‘That sounds good, Coach, but I want to get mine, and everybody that is calling me is saying I’ve got to shoot the ball and I’m the best player and why don’t you shoot more. I’m hearing all that.’ And the other thing is, again, you’ve got to take the plays that are there for our team. ‘Yeah, but when I miss, I’d rather do something else because I’m embarrassed I missed three wide-open shots.’ And then we revert. And then when they figure out we can’t win this way they go back. But, I haven’t budged on this. I haven’t cracked. I feel good coaching them. Today I was great. When I’m on the court teaching and coaching, it reminds me why I do this. Going through the tough sledding, ‘Why am I doing this?’ But when I’m on the court and I’m coaching and teaching, it’s like, ‘This is why I do this.’ When I see guys getting better, when I know the impact of the program. It’s funny, it was Leon Rose’s birthday yesterday. He and I talked and he talked about Immanuel Quickley and what you guys do and how they learn to fight and make their way. He said, ‘Cal, I’ve got to tell you, game ended last week in Madison Square Garden. He played OK. Played pretty good. And I’m walking out of the building and he’s in Madison Square Garden getting up shots for another 40 minutes.’ That’s what this is, man. You are responsible for you. You have to master your craft. This isn’t showtime AAU. This about learning to fight.”
On if he knew during their shootaround last season that there wasn’t going to be a tournament and what that was like to tell the team it wasn’t happening …
“Yeah, I kind of got word what the NBA had done and I said, ‘Well, then it’s done.’ I said, ‘There’s no way we’re doing this.’ And then within 10 or 15 minutes they shut it down. It was devastating. We won the league by three games. Do you remember what we looked like when we were in Vegas? Utah beat us. Ohio State beat us. We looked out of whack, out of sync. We came back, we weren’t good. And then all of a sudden we’re one of the best teams in the country with a chance to win the national title. And it was all jerked away from these kids. It’s kind of like I said with Davion (Mintz). I said, ‘Davion, when you made those shots, bang, bang, bang, bang, you have no idea what Rupp Arena would have done. It would have erupted. It would have taken the roof off. You would have been 60 years from now laying on your death bed. The last thoughts in your head would have been those shots and that fan base going crazy. You didn’t get to experience that.’ Well, guess what? They didn’t get to experience the NCAA Tournament and making a run to win a national title. It was just unfair, but it was unfair to everybody. Think about what we’ve been through here. And for this program, not having summer, not having the fall and the ridiculous preseason schedule, which put us on our heels. If you have two or three more wins, we’re not in this position right now. You have teams that played the kind of schedule that gave them the wins that got them going a little bit. It’s just been all crazy. My focus though hasn’t changed. It’s all been how do I let these kids know I’m with you and I’m not budging. Now, I’ll say this: I’m holding them accountable if you’re watching me coach. This isn’t like, ‘Hey, go do what you want.’ No. We’re playing and I’m holding them accountable, but they know I’m for them. They know it, and that’s what I want it to be about. Now, if we’re to make a run, if we’re to win tomorrow, it will be because they want to. That’s what it will be. My hope is—today was a great day for them. My hope is they get up, they feel refreshed, we have a team full of guys playing for each other, being responsible for themselves and what they have to do, but being about their teammates.”
On if they want to push the pace more in the postseason ….
“We’ve wanted them to play fast all year and we knew from the beginning that you can still play fast and post the ball. We’ve worked on it. My thing is, if you have an open shot, shoot it. I don’t care if you’re 0 for 7. I don’t care if the last few games you’re 0 for 12. You must shoot open shots. The other stuff leads to turnovers. We’re a team that we’re going to shoot more 3s than a normal team I’ve coached. Why? Because we’re not real good layup shooters. Like, if there’s bump and grind, that’s when you see shots that you say, ‘Did he just do that?’ We’re better off shooting jumpers than that, but we’re good in the post. Our three guys that we throw it to are you shooting a really high percentage in there, so let’s throw it to them. Every team is a little bit different. I’m hoping that if we had to we could shoot low percentage and still win games. You think of the Florida game. We’re up one with three minutes to go. We’re 4 for 20 from the 3 and we’re up one with three minutes to go. Those are the teams that I’ve historically had. If it’s slower, we win. If it’s faster, we’re fine. Would we rather play faster? Yes. What if you make us play slow? Well, we’ll beat you that way. This team, again, we can say 0-12 (when we don’t score 71 or more), and if you look at those 12 you could say, ‘Holy cow, with a minute to go, 10 of those 12 could have gone either way.’ And they didn’t go for us. But let me say this: How about we’ve been through that, they haven’t been able to experience any of the good about being at Kentucky, and they’re still standing they’re still swinging and saying, ‘Bring it, let’s go.’ That’s a heck of a thing. And I’m proud of them because of that. Now, let’s see if we get through tomorrow and see what happens, but tomorrow is going to be hard. I mean, it was a double-overtime game. It took Dontaie (Allen) making seven 3s, two of them banked in, and it took us to double (overtime) to get them. Their guard play is good. Their big men are good. They’re a better team at this point, but so are we. And we’re different. We’re not playing the same way we did then.”
On how he uses his depth with potentially four games in four days …
“You’re just trying to win this game and then we’ll worry about the next one later. We’re going into this; if I need to use the entire roster, there will be no pitchers left. I’m using every pitcher I can. The knuckleballer, the curveballer, the fast pitch, the middle reliever, the last-inning (guy). I’m throwing everybody. Now, what if the pitcher that we start the game with is really in a groove? Then we won’t go to the bullpen. We won’t. We’ll just go with who we have. This is not about, OK, it’s a 10-piont game, let’s get us some subs. No, we’re playing to win a game. Everything you’re doing, your mentality is let’s go, leave nothing on the table, including timeouts. You do whatever you have to (in order) to get through. And it’s going to be a hard game. I told them, ‘Guys, every game we play in this tournament, there’s not going to be any 20-point blowouts. This thing is going to come down to the wire and we’ve got to be tougher and fight and throw daggers more than they do, or your season ends.’ So, that’s what it will be about.’ “
UK ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS & PR
MEN’S BASKETBALL
UK vs. MISSISSIPPI STATE PREGAME MEDIA
JOE CRAFT CENTER – LEXINGTON, KY.
MARCH 5, 2021
#12 Keion Brooks Jr., F, So.
On what he remembers from last year’s tournament when the postseason was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic …
“The night before it was canceled, we all had a pretty good feeling we were going to get shut down. We went to our scheduled shootaround the next morning. I officially knew it was over once we went to shootaround and Cal didn’t say nothing for the whole hour we had on the court. He just let us shoot around and do whatever. He called us in and said, ‘They’re canceling the tournament. Possibly going to cancel the NCAA Tournament as well.’ That’s how that went down. It was sad. We didn’t really have a chance to make a run, but unfortunate things happen sometimes.”
On if John Calipari’s success in the SEC Tournament gives them confidence …
“It does. The head man, when he’s been through it before and went through these tournaments and won plenty of games and won the tournament multiple times, you know the man who is leading you through the fire knows what he’s doing. That gives us extreme confidence going into it.”
On how well Dontaie Allen shot the ball in practice on Monday as Calipari said on his radio show Monday night …
“Dontaie shot the ball extremely well. That’s what we need Dontaie to do. We’ve all had his back all year. We get mad at Dontaie when he doesn’t shoot the ball because we know how good of a shooter he is. He brings a different element to our team. Yesterday Dontaie shot the lights out.”
On why he is reluctant to shoot it sometimes …
“I don’t know. That is a question you would have to ask Dontaie. All I can say is, like I said before, anytime he has an inch of daylight to get it off, we want him to put it up.”
On if Allen has pressure as home-state player and a fan favorite that weighs on his mind …
“Once again, that’s something you would have to speak to Dontaie about. I don’t have the ability to jump inside his mind, but our whole team is backing him and all we want is to see him do well. If he is feeling pressure, I hope that he knows that we’re with him no matter what.”
On the postseason being new to him since he didn’t get to play in one last season …
“We’ve just got to be ready for war every single time we step out on that court. We know what position we’re in and we know what we have to do to get it done. It’s not going to be easy. We know it’s going to be difficult. But our coaching staff has put together game plans to help us succeed and help us be the best on the court. We have to go out there and execute, go out there, and fight and go out there and give it all we’ve got.”
On what he is looking forward to with the path they have ahead …
“I look forward to seeing what we’re really made of. We have a tough task ahead of us, but I really believe it’s something we can do. Let’s go out there and see what we can really do.”
On what he learned from the disappointment of last season’s tournament getting canceled and then missing the first part of this season with an injury …
“It made me put things in perspective and try not to take things for granted. It’s easy to just think that every day I can get up and play basketball with no worries, but once the tournament was taken away from us and then me dealing with the injury, the game was taken away from me for a while. It’s difficult, but God puts things in your way that you can handle, testing your strength. I got through it and now have another challenge ahead with four games in four days, if we can do it. So, let’s go make it happen.”
On how not playing in front of a full crowd this season has affected them this season and how that might affect them at an event this week that is usually dominated by Kentucky fans …
“I think it plays a role, especially home games. Even away games because our fans do travel really well, and when you go on runs and you get to hear your fans cheering “Go Big Blue!” or just out there showing extreme support, that could probably stifle the other teams at times and get in there head a little bit. But we’ve got to play with the cards we’re dealt and we’ve got to go out there – whether our fans are able to be there or not – we’ve got to go out there and compete.”
On what is the most important thing this team will have to do well to win the tournament this week …
“It comes down to, did we fight or not? Four games in four days is tough. If you want to do that, you’ve got to go out there and fight every single possession of every single game. If we do that, we’ve got a really good chance of, like you said, be dancing in that confetti when it’s all over.”
On what he remembers about the first game vs. Mississippi State …
“I didn’t play that game, but from what I can remember, they’ve got two really good guards that can make shots. They’ve got some big guys in the interior that can really rough it up and make it difficult for you around the rim. And then also Coach was thrown out that game and Dontaie came in and played extremely well, shot the ball well. We wouldn’t have won that game without Dontaie. That’s really all I can tell you because I was sitting on the sideline watching.”
On what it’s like not being able to be sequestered due to safety protocols during the postseason run …
“It’s a business trip. I don’t know where we would be going out to anyway if we were allowed to leave. We’re out here to win four games in four days. I don’t see what other attraction or anything else you would want to go when we’ve got the task in front of us that we do.”
#30 Olivier Sarr, F, Sr.
On Dontaie Allen’s performance in practice on Monday …
“He shot it really well. We scrimmaged a little bit and he was shooting really well.”
On the impact a 3-point threat has on the team’s offense …
“Well, I mean, that helps us rely on somebody offensively and also spaces the court for everybody else. So, that’s great for us and that’s always been great for us.”
On where he was a year ago when all of the conference tournaments were being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic …
“So, at that time last year we, Wake (Forest), we played our first ACC (Tournament) game. We lost the game, so our season was over, but we were still waiting for the other games in the tournament. We were on the bus going back to campus and everything happened really quick and we saw every conference canceling every tournament. It was crazy.”
On how grateful he is to have a postseason opportunity considering what happened last season …
“A lot more, a lot more. I think we all, everybody saw how fragile all of that went last year when everything happened with the pandemic, and I think we are all grateful to be out there playing the game that we love.”
On when the season began if he had doubts he would be able to even get to a postseason …
“Yeah, I mean, I think all of us had some questions about it. We didn’t really know how the year would go, and lucky enough, we get a postseason. We get a chance to compete, so that’s pretty amazing.”
On what Saturday’s win can do for the team going into the tournament …
“Just the way we played, the intensity, the way we shared the ball, the way we had fun, the way we had fun and enjoyed playing, and just how everybody competed and how we played together as a team.”
On the team’s sense of urgency and how much the last month has prepared the team for what lies ahead …
“I think we all had in mind that we would have to do big things, you know, one game at a time starting in postseason. So, we knew that as it was getting closer and closer we would have to focus and get ready for every game, and it doesn’t matter the outcome. That’s what Coach told us. It would be important just to learn from that. Just being able to play winning basketball and then it will take care of the rest. I think that’s what we try and do every game for the past month like you said. Hopefully it will keep going on a run for the postseason.”
On his prior performance against Mississippi State giving him confidence entering Thursday’s rematch …
“I mean, you know, it’s one game. You can’t just base yourself off of that one game. It was in January. But I think we are prepared. It’s a team that we’ve faced already, and we’ve watched a lot of film. We’re doing a great job getting ready for that game, and hopefully we’ll be ready when the time comes.”
On if the team believes it can win four games in a row to win the SEC Tournament …
“I don’t think we care about being realistic or anything. We just care about winning games, and we’re going to have to win games. That’s all it is. That’s the only way we have, and that’s the only way we’re thinking. We’re not thinking about–it’s not about a dream or reality or whatever. It is what it is. So, we’re going to go out there game by game and take it one game at a time and then we’ll see.”
On if Allen feels pressure to perform as an instate player …
“I think he has some pressure, like we all do. But I can only imagine being from Kentucky and having all of these expectations. I think he has his times sometimes, but we all do.”
On why the team believes it can win four games in a row when it hasn’t all season …
“Because we’ve shown that we had all of these teams, you know, really close. Either we won or we lost by less than five points or something like that. So, I think it’s something that like you said, we haven’t done yet, but we’ve showed that we’re the team that can do it. So, we all believe in ourselves.”
On Calipari providing the team confidence based on his success at the SEC Tournament …
“I mean, yeah. That’s great numbers and I mean Coach is ready. I know that he will get us prepared and I know that we will be prepared to go out there and compete.”
On Terrence Clarke’s chances of playing this week …
“Well, like Coach said, I think that’s something that you’ll have to ask the coach. I’m not in position to answer anything about that. But we’ll see.”
On the team being an underdog this week …
“I don’t think we want to prove anything to anybody. We just rely on whoever is in the locker room. That’s all we got and we’ve just got to go out there and go on a run. At that point, it’s just what it is.”
On his chemistry with Isaiah Jackson …
“I think it’s just, you know, we’re a new team so all of these connections they kind of clicked later in the season. I think that’s what happened. It’s just being out there and getting to play together all of the time, game after game, and I think a lot of things clicked and I think that’s what you mean and that’s what it is.”
