Kentucky-Bellarmine Postgame Quotes

University of Kentucky Basketball Media Conference

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Lexington, Kentucky, USA

John Calipari

Press Conference

Kentucky – 60, Bellarmine – 41

JOHN CALIPARI: Let me start by saying that’s a hard game to play. We’ve got guys cramping up in there. We had, I think, 31 out of 48 stops. We had shot clock violations. But you had to play the whole clock.

We worked three days on how we finish a game. First half, 10 turnovers. Not enough movement. So we went to our grind-it stuff. Which we have worked on now. So, you saw that we were grinding it out. Which, there are some games you’ve got to do it.

So that was what was good about the last three days. We were able to do some stuff. Didn’t do it in the first half.

In the second half I just said, Look, guys, we’re going to have to grind it with them. If we have something easy, take it. If not, we’ll grind it out. Which there are some games you got to do it. So that was what was good about the last three days.

Let me just say this. Scottie’s done a great job with that program, we all know. What’s disappointing is that, if they win their league tournament again, they can’t get in. Here’s what I would say, and I’ve said this many, many times. If you do things for the kids, you’re never wrong. If you’re doing stuff based on, well, that’s the rule, well, we had a rule that they changed because a player went on TV and said, ‘I’m starving and I don’t have money to buy a hamburger,’ and all of a sudden all the rules changed. Within a week they all changed.

I understand, well, there’s a rule that Bellarmine’s got to wait eight years, whatever it is. Change it. It’s not right for the kids. It’s not right for the kids. They should be able to be in that tournament if they do what they did. They’re well coached. They’re great kids. I hope people will reconsider — change the rule. You changed that rule. You know what happens if it comes back to them, it’s on me. I’ll change the rule. We’re going to do something. Well, wait a minute. This is on those kids.

So hopefully this will be reconsidered. They’re tied with us at halftime and we’re supposed to be one of those teams. Well, shoot.

Yes, questions.

You mentioned on the radio last night and when we talked to Bruiser yesterday the importance of defensive discipline tonight, given such a distinct offensive style that Bellarmine plays. So, from your vantage point, how did you like it?

JOHN CALIPARI: Really good. Really good. Oscar broke down, but he never has to play out on the floor like this. So, he broke down. We had about three other breakdowns, but when you think about it, like we were all over it, and it’s hard because we’re running and playing too, and then you’re on defense for 30 seconds. They all were laughing in there, like that was the hardest thing to guard. Well, we needed to show some discipline. We also needed to grind it out. We had three days.

Now, we’re traveling tomorrow and getting over there, and we’re going to have a couple more days of practice before we play. But I’m happy with what we got in with my whole team. Like, we got a whole team now. So that stuff was good. I love Chris. Again, I got to figure out how to get him in. Chris Livingston. Did you see him go get balls? Until then we weren’t getting any balls. The way we started the game, I loved it when I went to those other five, and all of a sudden, it changed. Now we became the aggressor. I looked at the guys on the bench and I’m like, ‘Why should you go back in?’ And I think that led the rest of us to do it.

But I like what we did the second half, three turnovers, playing fast, grinding it out. The other thing is, I thought we passed up shots in the first half. Can’t play that way. You’re going to play, every team that plays us, you ready? They have nothing to lose. Everybody. They have nothing to lose. Well, you got to play that way. You got to play like you have nothing to lose, or you’re at a disadvantage every game you play.

What is keeping you from playing Chris more minutes?

JOHN CALIPARI: Having to get some other guys, whether it be Cason, Antonio, C.J., someone’s going to have to take less minutes, or could I play him at four, which I was going to do today.

But he’s going to get more. I was just, I’m so proud of him. He made one, he got tired. He went to sub himself. First time in his life maybe that he said, ‘Sub me.’ And I left him in through the timeout because I thought the timeout, very next play he tried to steal it, and then he let the guy run for a layup, and I knew it. That’s on me. I should have had him out. But he’s going to get more and more time. He will.

All the good stuff that you saw defensively, some of the grind it out stuff, what offensively in terms of what you want to see night after night that hasn’t happened yet, what is it that you’re not seeing that you’re trying to get them to do that’s not happening?

JOHN CALIPARI: Well, this team plays different, and then you got to play a little different because of how they play. I think our offensive efficiency, even with a couple games where we didn’t play well, was in the top ten.

Now flying is the best way for to us play. But we’ve got to realize, if you don’t have something, it’s hard to post Oscar from the wing. I keep telling them, you’ve got to post him from the middle third of the floor. If you post him from the wing, everybody’s off and they’re, you know. He missed some shots today, I was really surprised, some lefties.

And then it’s important because of how we’re playing, and because of Oscar, that you’ve got to shoot open threes, especially if you’re one of those three. We need probably more aggressive play from Jacob going to the rim in the first half. He missed three two-footers. Threw them. Second half, he drove and he made baskets. But you’ve got to do that when they’re being physical. We’ve got to get some easy baskets that way.

To follow up on that, there was a stretch there towards, in the second half where Jacob, it seemed like the light bulb went off a little bit and he was attacking the basket, finishing inside. Is there a secret there to unlocking him? You saw even the end of the Gonzaga game where he was hesitant early and then kind of letting it fly late.

JOHN CALIPARI: Well, you know, my whole thing is I think his mid-level game and his ability and his athleticism to go to the basket, but it takes a grit to want to go in there and know you’re going to get bumped and pushed, and that’s where, the only way you can get comfortable doing it is doing it.

He’s got to just go in there, and there’s going to be some car crashes. But he is so much a better player. But the grit is between him being special. You want to be special? Be that guy, where they got to play you on pull ups. They’re not going to try to muscle you because it doesn’t matter. It becomes a foul, and you’re a good free throw shooter.

Again, we were trying to figure out in that first half, they were packed in so bad, and then we missed some shots, and then guys wouldn’t take shots, and that kind of adds up, which is why we came out and said, ‘All right, we’re grinding a little bit.’ So you don’t score as many. I don’t know what we scored. It’s one of our lowest-scoring games in a while.

How much a game like this against a team like Bellarmine is a growing up part for a team because you can’t get frustrated, you can’t get impatient, you have to be mentally tough to play it out like you had to play tonight.

JOHN CALIPARI: Look, the thing I would say is, it took unbelievable discipline to play the way we played it. They’re a team, anytime you breakdown, which happened in our other couple games, the good teams, when you breakdown, they make you pay. So, it takes unbelievable discipline throughout the possession for 40 minutes. When you’re tired, come out, because we’re trying to win. This is not you just trying to play. And so that’s what was good about this.

And, like I said, you get a couple guys that cramped up. So it was, it’s what we needed. I hate, I told the guys today, I told the staff, this is like going to the dentist. That’s what it’s like.

If you’re going to play Chris at the four, obviously that maybe pushes somebody else out. Is there a scenario where Jacob can be a small ball five and he can be your four?

JOHN CALIPARI: He wanted to guard 42 today and did a great job. Basically, when he got on him, he didn’t make another three. When those other two were on him he was making one after another. Could we do it with Chris and maybe Cason? I mean, you’re going to be really small. Could we play that way? Yeah. I almost went zone today, and the staff was, ‘Are you nuts?’ We’re defending. Leave it alone. And you could go a big zone because they were just going, running crazy.

My guess is if you played them in zone, they would do exactly the same thing and run around like crazy, but you don’t have to follow them as much. But I just, I thought about maybe going with a bigger lineup and just saying, let’s get big and play some zone just to do it.

But the good news is we have it in. Only worked on it a couple days, but it’s not a hard zone to play.

Tomorrow I’m going to go to Governor Brown’s service. I’m going to go a little bit early because I want to see the family. I couldn’t get up there today. I would imagine there were tons of people up there. Special man, a great friend and supporter and a mentor, promoter. Called me when things were, you struggle, he would call. When things are going good, he would call. He came over to practice when he was healthy. Just became a great friend. So I want to make sure that I pay respects and that I get up there tomorrow. And I really want to spend time with his family, so I’m trying to get out of here.

The Reeves/Fredrick lineup with them on the floor together, it seemed like that gave you that jump start in the second half, and then when Sahvir came in for Reeves, that’s when Fredrick hit those two threes. So that Reeves/Fredrick lineup, what does that give you?

JOHN CALIPARI: Well, if they’re shooting balls and they’re able to defend and rebound, you just can’t exchange baskets. But like I said, you saw Cason come up with balls and do stuff and I was running a play — this is how great a kid he is. Late in the game we were doing something, and I had Antonio somewhere and I had him getting a back screen. He said, Let Antonio. He’s just made three shots. Let him run that and we’ll run it for him.

Now think about that. You think about that. He’s the only guy on this team that would say that. ‘Oh, you’re getting me a shot?’ Like, so he’s important to this team too. That’s why I was saying, with Chris, how do we, you know, we just got to figure it out because, again, he went in and got two great rebounds. He’s able to do it. He’s not afraid of the contact. So maybe we play him at the four. Let him get in there and you play small ball with him at four.

I know it’s been a few years in the making, now it got postponed, but the Michigan, the London trip, why did you want to do this?

JOHN CALIPARI: You know, you’re trying to get matchups that we could have at home. Next year Gonzaga and Michigan are coming here. Juwan, I’ve known him for a long time, really like him. I said, you know, if you want to do something. And then the Hall of Fame called us about playing in London for the Hall of Fame. I said, well, maybe that will be a third game.

So, you know, we’re going over. It will be a great experience for these kids, really hard game. We better not play how we started this game. They’re really, they’re well coached and they’re a good team, so it will be a hard game.

But it will be a great experience. When you’re doing what I’m doing, you’re trying to put these kids in different situations where they learn and grow. I took a team in ’94 to France when I was at UMass. We flew to France and played in the season. Went up the Eiffel Tower. Imagine none of them will ever do it again. Maybe. But maybe not. Made them eat escargot because they didn’t know what it was. So they took them out of the shells and I had them all taste them. No, well, it’s not bad, and then I showed them the shell that it came out of, and they were spitting it out.

So you want to put them in — you know doing this stuff at Salvation Army. The Lundergan family gave away 700 meals that day. We helped with some, but many were delivered. To put them in all kind of situations before they leave here, the events we play in. So this is just one of them. It’s the first college game in that venue. Which they say is the No. 1 venue in the world.

We’re staying right in London. So, you know, not going to do a whole lot of sightseeing, but we will the first day we’re there and maybe the second day and try to get out. Because of where we’re staying there’s things they can walk to.

But, you know, we’re asked to play in a lot of events. We are. I just want to make sure whatever we play in benefits us the most. So as we go forward with some of this — they talked about this ACC Challenge being now. Okay, then the Gonzaga game probably happens in January or February in the middle of our season.

I’ve done it before. Played Louisville. When I was at UMass. In February we played Louisville. So, I’ve done this before that way.

It should be — you know we will make it a great trip. But we’re getting better. Happy we had the days that, the two-a-days that we had to get the structure that we need. The sequence that we need to play with. The grind it out that we got to have in our arsenal. Can’t just try to run and shoot when the other team’s holding the ball. So thanks, folks.

KENTUCKY BASKETBALL POSTGAME QUOTES
KENTUCKY VS. BELLARMINE
RUPP ARENA – LEXINGTON, KY.
November 29, 2022

UK Student-Athletes

#12, Antonio Reeves

On how he can build a/er his great performance…
“When the shots start going down man, it just built all of our team confidence. When one person hits, it just like goes off another. We just look for each other and make sure we execute.”

On how difficult it is to prepare against a team like Bellarmine…
“Man, it’s difficult. They move the ball pretty well, they cut the ball pretty well, you know they do dribble handoffs too, so we just need to focus in on what they do offensively and just execute.”

On what caused the large run…
“Sahvir Wheeler definitely brought us confidence into the second half, he definitely showed leadership. Just the energy level you know that we have, we needed to pick it up and we said that in the locker room for sure. Like you know, our energy is kind of low and just keep competing out there.”

#1, CJ Fredrick, G

On the difference in the offense when you’re on the floor with Antonio …
“There’s for sure a positive difference. When we were starting to hit some in the second half, our lead started to increase, and we put a lot of pressure on them to come down and have to get a bucket. I definitely think that opened up the game and helped us offensively.”

On what the team is doing well and what needs to improve after the first few weeks …
“Our defense has been a lot better which has been a huge emphasis today. I think our late game connectiveness has been a huge emphasis and it was good tonight. It’s still a long season. Still a lot of things to improve on. We just continue to grind every day and come to work every day.”

On the best way to get into a shooting rhythm …
“If I’m open, I just let it fly. I think in transition when I’m getting momentum that’s when I feel like it has a great shot at going in. Or when the ball is swinging side to side and my defender turns his head or something I can get a shot fake up. So, I would say moving into the shot as opposed to [being] stationary.”

#0, Jacob Toppin, F

On the value of having to “grind it out” and show some toughness…
“It shows who we are and it shows what type of team we are. There’s going to be games like this and we’ve got to find ways to win and we did today. The first half was a little sluggish but we came back in the second half and grinded out the game and we just knew that was the kind of game it was going to be, it was going to be a fast paced game, and we figured out ways where we could get easy buckets and easy plays so we could win the game.”

On being chosen to take free throws in place of Sahvir…
“Oh yeah, I know my percentage is bad right now but I’m a good free throw shooter. Honestly, I was wiping my hands and saw that he was going to pick somebody on the court to shoot the free throws so I threw the towel and I walked onto the court so he could see me. I was kind of excited that he picked me.”

On the preparation for Bellarmine…
“The preparation that we had, our scout team did a really good job simulating their offense and we just spent the past couple of days really working on what they did. Honestly, yes it helped prepare us, but in a game situation it’s a different intensity, so it was definitely a hard game for us to play. It was definitely a good win for us.”

KENTUCKY BASKETBALL POSTGAME QUOTES
KENTUCKY VS. BELLARMINE
RUPP ARENA – LEXINGTON, KY.
November 29, 2022

Bellarmine Head Coach Scott Davenport

Opening Statement …
“First of all, I want to thank coach (Calipari). Word has already gotten to me, how he started [the press conference]. He knows how much I appreciate him doing this. He didn’t have to do it. That’s what makes people extraordinary. Caring is an incredible talent, and we can all learn that. Are people sick of me talking about it? Yes. You watch our team play, if they quit with three minutes to go, what would that locker room be like? I am not going to quit on them. Can’t do it. There’s merciless legislation with it. And I appreciate him doing that. To have us here? This is incredible, those young men, I will let JB (Juston Betz) talk. They’ll never forget that experience for the rest of their life. Pauley (Pavilion), Cameron (Indoor Stadium), Rupp Arena, that’s Bellarmine University. People say why, I said, ‘I believe that’s what a program is about.’ I don’t use the word culture. I use the word program because that means you have a plan. Playing at the lights at Cameron and UCLA and Rupp Arena, that is a key component in playing because it puts your players first.”

On how his team made things difficult for Kentucky on defense …
“Everybody talks about our passing. Well, passing is a sign of playing well together. We’re going to play well together on offense but what we stress is to play team defense. If it’s five one on one games, we’re not winning. But we’re going to try to play amazing team defense. That’s how we have to play. That’s how we teach.”

On how they were able to keep Kentucky out of transition for most of the game …
“Well good offense. You know good offense.”

On what the team will take away from its early season games …
“If I could bring Coach Pitino (Rick), Coach Cronin, Roy Williams and Coach K and said, ‘Okay, we have practice Thursday at 11 o’clock. Will you help us make a practice plan?’ I could bring all four of them. I could bring in Coach Knight. There’s no way they can make a practice plan to simulate what we just went through. Impossible. So, what do smart people do, they wear people out. After we lost to UCLA, we made a great run, we vowed, it was a 10-point game with just over eight (minutes). We missed a free throw and two wide open threes and my message to the locker (room) was nobody’s going to use the word “if”. We’re not going say ‘if’ we’re going to say next time. How do you get better next time? Practice. The biggest detriment of their schedule was a lack of practice. I mean, we just haven’t had the opportunity to practice plus the health issues.”

Bellarmine Student-Athlete

#1, Juston Betz, G

On how these elite programs have reacted to Bellarmine’s play style…
“The response from the teams and coaches has been that we are very hard and frustrating to guard and that is exactly what we are trying to do on offense. We want to take up all 30 seconds of the shot clock and make them guard the entire time, and they are great teams and we are at a disadvantage athletically against teams like this, but it does prove to us our offense can work against them as well. We just have to have faith in our ability as players and we are going to continue to improve on our shooting. We haven’t really had a game where we shot the ball really well yet. Whenever that happens, our offense is even better because it spreads the court and opens up more cuts and more drives, but there have been some points in each game where our offense is really efficient. There has also been some times where it hasn’t been as good, and that is what we have to learn from. We have a lot of young guys this year as opposed to the last two years and they’re in the rotation more and they are doing great. We have had a lot of guys step up offensively especially. It is cool because like coach said, we cannot simulate their size and their athleticism, and a lot of teams cannot see how we play offense so it takes them time to adjust. That is something that we will have to carry over into conference season for teams that have seen us and won. It gives us a lot of confidence that our offense can be successful.”

On what lessons they have learned that they can use later in the season…
“We learned times where we need to attack. Guys that are coming into bigger roles are learning where to get to their shots and how to communicate better on defense and, honestly, I think we have really improved on the backboards the past three or four games. I think at halftime Kentucky had 10 offensive rebounds and at the end of the game had 13. So, in the second half we did a good job keeping them off the glass. Playing through fatigue as well because there has been a lot of traveling, not an excuse in anyway, it has taught us to play fatigued. Both teams are tired, and we did a good job pushing through that.”

On why the history and tradition behind the programs they have played is so important…
“The last nine days have been a privilege in every way possible, from Duke to UCLA and then here at Rupp. We have definitely taken the history into account. At UCLA they have a hallway and coach took us through it and it has all of their NBA players and their history. John Wooden’s pyramid of success is something we can all learn from and something we are striving to achieve in our program. It is an honor not only to play at these places but to play against the teams we’ve played because they have amazing players and amazing coaches, it is all first class. Our goal is to get better everyday as a program and as a university. There is no better way to do that than learn from Duke, UCLA and Kentucky.”