University of Kentucky Basketball Media Conference
Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021
Lexington, Ky.
Head Coach John Calipari
Press Conference
Kentucky 95, Western Kentucky 60
Q. Cal, how much when Kellan Grady is shooting like he has the last two weeks just kind of open up things for everybody in your offense?
JOHN CALIPARI: Well, when you — again, we’re not a team — we only took 20 threes. You know, “You should be taking 40 threes.” No, no. You’re trying to win at the highest level. There are games you’re going to take 20, 15, maybe 22. Any time my team has taken 30 threes we’ve lost. Now, maybe it’s the way I coach, I don’t know. But what we did today was we continued to pass to each other. We had one guy that drove some passes that he could have made that led to turnovers that led to (Western Kentucky) getting back in before the half. But the reality is we had 27 assists. That’s how you play basketball and that’s how you create for each other.
Q. You put Oscar (Tshiebwe) back in there. Did you want to let him chase some more? Was he going for 30, and what did you make of just…
JOHN CALIPARI: I got mad because we had some guys, your minutes, and if you’re not going to play you’re out. I’ll put the guys back in. I’m not settling for that. There is a high standard here. Then a minute later I put them back in. But I think you got to hold kids to a standard and hold them accountable, so I took them out and then I put them back in. They wanted me to leave (Tshiebwe) in to go get 30 rebounds and I just didn’t want to do it. I said 28 is enough. Leave them alone.
Q. What did you think of that effort (by Oscar Tshiebwe)? Twenty-eight (rebounds) is the (Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center) record.
JOHN CALIPARI: Well, in the first half — and we told (Tshiebwe), you know, you better shoot it quick on (Western Kentucky center Jamarion Sharp) because if you try to bounce it and move he’s just seven foot, he doesn’t move. The kid blocked the shot and made it hard. When he was able to catch it and go right to the basket he scored, but in the first half they outrebounded us. (Western Kentucky head coach) Rick (Stansbury) went to that 1-3-1 (defense). It confused us a little bit. We were able to talk about it at halftime. I said at halftime, They’re either going to do one of two things: They’re either going to go man-to-man or they are going to 1-3-1, and they went man-to-man. And so we were trying to run some of your grinded stuff to create opportunities, and the kids did well. How about Kellan Grady? How about Jacob Toppin? And it’s not his skill. It’s just energy, you know, getting after it. Now, he had some breakdowns. There were some rebounds he needed to go get. But his energy was terrific. Or speed with Sahvir (Wheeler) and TyTy (Washington Jr.). Kellan flies. I was happy to see Davion (Mintz) make a shot or two. You know, look, we’re a good team. I always say is it your opinion or your hope? We’re a good team. When we pass the ball and play this way, we’re a good team. And so like I said, it’s a great way to go to Christmas, you know, back-to-back two really good games and unbelievable energy. You know, it’s good to go to Christmas. I mean, I told them, you know, how many of you guys — this morning at the shootaround, how many of you guys are ready to go for Christmas? Who was the first person to raise their hand? Me. Me, I’m ready. They all laughed and they said, “We’re all ready.” Well let’s have a great game so we could have a good Christmas. A great game means we’re going to be the best defensive team and play extremely hard, harder than the guy we are playing, and they did it.
Q. Just a few games ago Kellan (Grady) was struggling with his shooting. What you did think made the difference there?
JOHN CALIPARI: You know, he and I went to the gym and I worked with him. I took him out at North Carolina. He passed up on two shots, you’re out. I won’t pass them up again. How many has he passed up to step out of bounds in the corner? Now, the other thing was the reason you’re having to pass up a shot, you’re catching it like it’s H-O-R-S-E game and you’re dropping it before — now he does it. When he’s open wherever he catches it, he shoots it from there. Well now you’re going to get it off.
I’m trying to get Davion (Mintz) to do the same thing, because he drives by jump shots, and now you put yourself in jeopardy. And those turnovers end up being breakouts, so just shoot it. In the second half Davion put the shot at the top of the key. He missed it, but we rebounded it. Kicked it out and Keion (Brooks Jr.) ended up getting the three points. Now, he could have driven it and turned it over and breakout. That’s why I’m saying shoot balls.
Q. The other question I wanted to ask, you had 27 assists (as a team). How does that number play on your mind?
JOHN CALIPARI: Well, we’re trying to get 18 (assists) a game. 20 would be better, but 18. And part of it is you got to make the baskets. So it’s hard to get assists when you go 2-for-19 or you can miss a jump shot or you miss and stick back easy baskets. It’s hard, so you got to make baskets. How about this? You got to make the pass, and the only way we’ll he’ll get open is if you’re not trying to make the play yourself. You’re just giving it up and moving it. We got ball movement. We then drive, and all of a sudden the guys that collapsed on the weak side, we get a good shot on a good pass.
Q. Can you just look at TyTy (Washington Jr.)’s stat sheet and tell me what you see there and is that just kind of the efficient game you expect from him?
JOHN CALIPARI: Yep. That’s who he is. He’s a terrific player. You know what else he is? A good defender. He’s a good rebounder, and he’s comfortable in his own skin.
Q. Is Dontaie (Allen) injured or something else going on there?
JOHN CALIPARI: Yeah, he hurt himself in practice. I went to stick Lance (Ware) in and Lance said, “Coach, I’m not feeling right. You know, I’m not loose or whatever.” I’m fine with it. I mean, because I was going to Lance and said let Daimion (Collins) play.
So that’s what happened. And I asked Dontaie before the game, how are you feeling? “Eh, I’m a little shaky.”
Q. Cal, this is two straight really, really good performances for you guys coming on not necessarily a short week, but short notice on the opponent and having to scramble on who you’re playing. Is there something about that team that when it’s a challenge like this maybe they respond?
JOHN CALIPARI: I’ve got a very, very smart basketball team. And this is crazy, I’ve got some older guys that understand how to be engaged, how to be laser focused. They know because they play. I got some young guys that are still learning, but I got a veteran group.
Q. I wanted to ask about the tornado relief. I think they said 4.6 million (dollars raised), and I wondered what you though when the governor was introduced at halftime. There were boos, audible boos. What do you think of that?
JOHN CALIPARI: Well, because you’re telling me, (Lexington Herald-Leader reporter Jerry Tipton), there may have been six people booing and you’ll say there were boos. I will tell you that I don’t — that doesn’t bother me. It’s all what our government, our state government is doing to help our people. We raised 4.7 million (dollars). I think they gave 100,000 to the game, to the American Red Cross, and so now the whole point is, where are we putting this money? We got to get money in people’s pockets, like money, money, but we’re going to have to do something about housing. It’s got to be long term. How are we rebuilding downtowns?
You know, we went down and, again, we did some shoots, which are immediate stuff. We raised $5 million, so now it becomes a chore of the government, and it’s got to be public, private, there is no question. But today — and let me thank all the fans. I know the fans know it wasn’t our fault that we had to play Western (Kentucky). I’m so happy for Western and Rick (Stansbury) that they were able to join us in this, and then have people see a good game. Like we played well. That’s — we are — it’s not that they didn’t — they beat Louisville by 10; could have been more. They beat Mississippi. They played, whether it was Memphis on the road — this team, his team is good. That’s an NCAA Tournament team. They’ll be in their league championship race and the tournament championship race, and we beat them pretty good. But I will tell you that, you know, all of it from our are governor to our legislature, it’s all hands on deck. How about this? Federal government, FEMA, let’s go. It’s got to happen now. I will go back to Mayfield, Dawson Springs. I talked to the high school coach. He’s bringing up his team to watch us practice. I mean, if they call me to come down, I will be down first thing I can be there. If there is any way any of us, and I know that’s all of our coaches. That’s (Kentucky Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart). What Mitch did today to say we’re giving money to this, that’s a big deal, and just appreciate what he’s doing.
Q. You talk a lot about not letting go of the rope over the years. Both these games this week it was looking like it is going to get close at halftime and then your guys turned it into a blowout after that. What does that say about this team’s progression?
JOHN CALIPARI: I think conditioning-wise that the other guys know, Holy cow, these guys don’t stop. Again, free throws. I’m going to say it again: They shot more than us. They did. But I’m telling you, those floaters, and you saw them, the inside out stuff, Oscar (Tshiebwe) next to the basket, the one good thing is we ended up shooting — does that say 56%? I can’t see it. But the game doesn’t stop. Here we come. We are, pressing, we’re running, it doesn’t stop, and that’s the way we want the game. Now, we’re going to be playing teams that are going to try to shorten the game, so I got to figure out ways when they’re trying to throw 15, 20 passes before they play, what are we going to do? How do we say, you’re not playing that way? Well, I’ve coached teams and had to do different things like that, and I got some time over Christmas that I’ll look at some things, if they’re trying to hold it, what are we going to do, how are we going to play? But I’m happy that these guys get to go home for Christmas. And again, I’ll say it: If anybody wants to know about Ohio State and how they play, I watched about five, six hours. If you want to know about Louisville and how they play, I watched about five, six hours of that tape. So you’re right, it was a quick turnaround to play North Carolina and this team. Tells you really sharp, smart players who are engaged and really focused on how we got to do this to win.
UK Student-Athletes
#31, Kellan Grady, Gr. Guard
On the difference in his shooting abilities from this game and earlier this season …
“At Davidson, we were a three-point shooting team, but there were some shots where we would rather use the shot clock. I realized quickly in the first half against Carolina that if I’m open, regardless of whether it’s 26 on the shot clock or six on the shot clock, I’m supposed to shoot it. So that was really all I needed to hear. I guess I kind of should have known that already, but it’s great to have a coach that believes in you and wants you to shoot.”
On Oscars Tshiebwe’s rebound record …
“It’s hard to put into words frankly, and that’s the honest truth. CJ [Fredrick] and I were sitting on the bench towards the end of the game and we were just both like, I’ve just never seen anything like this. I realized that he was getting most of the rebounds. Apparently, he out-rebounded Western, just himself. He out-rebounded the whole team. They only had 27 rebounds. But it’s incredible. I mean, just his will and his motor, and his effort and his heart. It just becomes contagious. When you see how hard Oscar plays, we end up playing that hard. And he was plus-35 today. So, he gives us 28 rebounds and he’s 35 points better on the court. We’ll take that.”
On the difference in energy the last few games …
“I think we’ve had an added chip on our shoulder. I think the Notre Dame game, I think when the season’s over and we look back at that game, we’ll be filled with gratitude. We didn’t play great. They played well enough to win. And we did some things, and it exposed some things that we just need to work on, and some of our weaknesses. We have responded and it’s frankly been a maturation process for us. I’m really proud to be a part of this team and to see the way we’ve responded. The biggest thing is the ball is flying around the court and we’re playing really fast. I think we had 27 assists today. That’s just incredible. I’m not sure the exact number against Carolina, but the ball was moving. As evidenced by today and against Carolina, it just leads to great shots and a lot of fun. You can see the joy that we’re playing with. So, a combination of all those factors have led to our success the last two games.”
#34, Oscar Tshiebwe, Jr., Forward
On setting the rebound record …
“First of all, that’s crazy. It is crazy. For me, when I go out there, I just go to fight. When I stop fighting is when the time is up. The game is over. That’s when I stop fighting. It’s about fighting. When I came here, I told everybody, I told the coach: I don’t care about points. I am going to get my points, but I just want to go out and grab every rebound and fight to get the rebound. When I get 20 rebounds, I give more positions. It might seem that it is helping us to win again. That’s one thing I did the best today, and we got a victory. For me, it’s all about victory. That’s what I am there for.”
On the locker room celebration with his teammates …
“That was amazing. Something like that has never happened in my life. It was amazing to see my teammates celebrate and pour water on me like that. I think you can call me a beast for a little bit. I don’t think I qualify as a machine yet. If Coach Cal let me go for those two rebounds, then if I go out with 30, maybe you can call me a machine. Right now, probably call me a beast.”
On the reason for being a successful rebounder …
“I am not the tallest guy, but I have big heart. When you need something, it does not matter how big you are. My god said everything is possible. He did not say for certain people, he said to everybody. When you go for it, you’re going to get it. If you don’t go for it, they’re not going to bring it to you. For me, I just go for it and fight for it. That’s what I do: Fight. When you go to fight, you are waiting, and you always turn, you’re going to come out with something good. But when you stop fighting, that’s where you cannot get what you’re looking for. I never stop fighting. I am always fighting until the time is up. And I am so blessed. God has been so good to me because I run better, and I move better. And I have morals. I give thanks to God for about every single day in my life for everything that God has blessed me with. So, I will keep doing the best I can to glorify his name and to thank him for everything. And I got to do the things I got to do to help this team.
Western Kentucky Head Coach Rick Stansbury
Opening statement …
“First off, I’ll say this again, give Kentucky a lot of credit for their willingness to play this game. They didn’t have to play it. Their willingness to donate money to our community in the state of Kentucky. So, I told Cal, they had nothing to gain but playing the game, he knows and that’s why he hadn’t played it, but give him credit. Today, we had no answers. Sometimes, you just got to say the other team was better, and they were better in every area. Again, I don’t have answers for anything they did. I just know when they play like that, they were the best team in America today. And again, they come out of a game last Saturday they beat North Carolina by 30 on a neutral court. So, it’s kind of not new that they did it on their own court today, but they were, their speed was quicker than we anticipated. Now, you’ve got to score some so you can get back and play zone. We weren’t able to score enough. We ended up playing more man we wanted to, but the speed of Wheeler changed the game in transition. It wore us out so, then they made shots. And you count that with what seemed like every rebound that was 50/50, they get every one of them. Oscar gets whatever it was, 28 anyways, so he got everyone, no matter what it was. Again, whatever things we didn’t do very well, it was because of Kentucky. We had no answers for everything they did today. I’ll repeat this: nobody would have beat them today.”
On Jamarion Sharp’s status after being apparently injured during the game …
“No real update. We think it’s just a sprained ankle, but we’re not going to make no excuses, him being out the game, for sure. They already made that run back on us. We cut it to four in the second half. First, probably two minutes the second half, goes from nine to four. But at that point, we had maybe three broken plays. Broken play, we turned it over, [they] come down, hit a three, Jamar[ion Sharp] shot a 15-footer, that’s not his strength. Led to another 3-pointer. And we missed two free throws. So, it goes from four to 12 in about a minute and a half. At that point, we never could keep it for long enough to tighten them up a little bit. Give us a little bit more confidence. But it did last for about last about a minute and a half, it was nine, and they’d did whatever they did. Whatever we did wasn’t right, what they did was right for the next 13, 14 minutes, whatever it was, 15 minutes.”
On getting the lead down to four, but what Kentucky did to get back with a comfortable lead…
“[Kellan] Grady, [TyTy] Washington, choose whatever it was. There was no things we could take advantage of out there today, in any way. Even in zone, in the first half, I thought we gave up too many baskets around the rim, something we hadn’t been doing a lot in 20 [minutes], in zone, they were scoring around that rim. And again, Oscar [Tshiebwe] is a big, long athletic guy in there. [Daimion] Collins, [Keion] Brooks, those guys are long and athletic. It didn’t help we got Jairus [Hamilton] in foul trouble to start the game, that didn’t help. And, we had short bench as it was. That just made it shorter. He was no factor all day long, didn’t get a rebound, so that messed with him too. But through all these things we talked about, make sure everyone understands: Kentucky was just better. They were better in every area. Again, today. I’ll repeat myself: they were the best team in the country today, and nobody would have beat them in here.”
On how Oscar Tshiebwe is able to go get so many rebounds…
“It’s really tough. It’s really easy, this is what he’s always been about. I thought this when I saw him as a high school guy. Rebounding is about half ability, and that other half is about will, the will, that motor. He did that in high school. One thing to separate him from every other big guy in the country, was his motor on the offensive boards. He just has always done that. Then naturally now, Cal’s got him scoring a little bit. So, when you score a little bit, too, that just gives you more energy. He’s got a lot better offensively. We played him last year, when he was at West Virginia. He’s not even close to the player offensively he was, so give their staff a lot of credit, they’ve done a good job developing him. But, he’s got a motor. He’s got a motor, takes a lot of pride in rebounding, that’s why he’s the best in the country at it. 28 rebounds? I’ve never had anybody go get 28 rebounds.”
On what the last couple games have meant to him…
“It was special to beat Louisville and it was a great opportunity for us to come up here. But they played well, very well. What our guys have done in the last two weeks since the tornadoes has been really special.”
On how they were playing before one of their guys got hurt at the end…
“He was good, considering what he was going up against. He’s going up against multiple big guys, but I think the fatigue really got to him. It’s easy to get fatigued though, with all those large bodies going up against you. Wheeler’s ability to kick it out to the big guys really took a toll on us.”
On his confidence going into conference play…
“I like where our team’s at, I mean it stinks that we lost today but it does not reflect my confidence in our team. I like the way we’ve been playing and I like where we’re at, I like our chemistry and our rhythm, so I’m not going to let anything about today dampen anything about our team.”
On if he would like to see themselves play more competitive teams…
“Competition is always good. Tonight proved that people do come out for a good, in-state opponent. Whether it’s Louisville or Kentucky, it always brings a little bit of spice to it when it’s an in-state school.”
Western Kentucky Student-Athletes
#55, Cameron Justice, Gr., Guard
On not having Jaylen Butz and Isaiah Cozart able to play …
“It was definitely big. Isaiah’s experience and ability to rebound, we missed, and having JB and Isaiah would’ve been big.”
On UK’s defense …
“I think that they just pressed up into us a little bit and got us out of our flow. They really disrupted our offense a little bit the first half. It didn’t help that we weren’t knocking down shots that I thought were pretty good looks, so that impacted the game a little bit as well.”
On UK’s assists …
“One thing they were really good at was getting the ball out after misses and makes and pushing people up the floor. They were resilient in getting the ball to the paint. I didn’t even know that until you said that. They got the ball where they wanted to and made the pass to the open player.”
#4, Josh Anderson, Gr., Guard
On if Oscar Tshiebwe surprises him …
“He’s a big, strong dude. He’s a big boy. He knows how to get his body in position.”
On the score being as close as four points …
“I think that it was big that we brought the game to within four points. As far as UK, I think that they were prepared for a moment like that. For us going forward, when we’re in a battle like this, we just have to come together. But we had a nice run and got it down to four. For a moment like that we just have to push through and get the lead.”
On not having some key players …
“That was definitely big. I feel like JB [Jaylen Butz] would have helped us a lot just with his experience and ability to rebound. Of course, this is Darrius [Miles]’s first-ever time playing in college, so I feel like having JB and Isaiah [Cozart] would have been big.”
