Q&A: John Calipari previews Kentucky-Kansas
Kentucky coach John Calipari today previewed his top-ranked Wildcats' game against fifth-ranked Kansas tomorrow night in Indianapolis, discussing the platoon system, kinks left to work out and cutting off what he considers unhealthy outside dialogue before it starts. Couple of good Calipari rants in here:
JOHN CALIPARI
On what he's seen from Kansas: "They are running their stuff. They're doing a terrific job of doing what they do. I mean, they play a style and they play it well. They're playing hard, they're pressing, they're denying, they're pushing up on defense. They're trapping randomly at times. They're trapping pick-and-rolls. They're being very, very aggressive."
On complaining in the past about the timing of this event and if this year it's good to get an early test: "Well, we're in a little different position than I've been in the past where you got a brand-new team and you're trying to just get your team together. This team needs to be challenged to see where we are, and this is gonna be one of those kind of games. Kansas, they're always well coached. They're always gonna play hard. They're always gonna be physical and get that ball inside. What they do they do really, really well."
On the caliber of competition Kansas presents as opposed to what UK has seen so far: "Everybody has the same kind of schedules. You play games that you get at home, and then you start playing these kind of games. Some people play them early. I'm hearing Texas is really playing well. I'm hearing UCLA is really good. Obviously Louisville's playing well. North Carolina, Kansas, Providence – we have a tough schedule. So our thing is kind of spread throughout the whole preseason, but this is the next step. They're a top-five team. They're predicted to be in the Final Four. They're that good. And if we play like we did in the first half last game, we'll get smashed. If we play like we did in the second half, we got a chance. Because you're gonna have to fight on every possession."
On if he likes that on a day when UK was flat, it was able to flip the switch and be dominant: "I don't know if it's flat in that we were a little disconnected. We're gonna work on that today. There were some things that I think we can do to get them to better understand things, especially offensively. The energy thing, that's on them. And it's not like they didn't come to play. It's that the other team came like a pack of hungry dogs. Well then you can't just say, 'Well this is good enough.' And we're learning that. When we play with great energy and we match the other team and go beyond the other team, we're long, we're athletic, we're, you know. But if they're blowing us out of the water with their energy, it's gonna look like it did. And it doesn't matter who we play."
On what he means by disconnected: "We just didn't create good shots for each other. That's why we shot such a low percentage. We didn't get easy baskets. Everybody – we were just disconnected. But that's fine. We should be. It's Nov. 16."
On how much of that was product of Buffalo making it a halfcourt game: "No, it was perfect. I wish we played halfcourt the whole game. We would have probably shot a better percentage. Because we executed in the halfcourt. Where we made mistakes were when we played fast and the decision-making we made. Or we just went pick-and-roll. When we ran our halfcourt offense, matter of fact, we were really good. When I watched the tape, I said, 'Shoot, maybe this is a grind-it-out kind of team.' "
On Trey Lyles going home to play in Indianapolis: "If he plays well, he'll be the first player that we've taken home in my career that has played well. So it's possible. He could be the first."
On what he needs from Karl-Anthony Towns that he's not getting through two games: "We got to get him the ball when he is open. He's got to get the ball in a position where he can score. And he's got to play more to the scheming we're doing on offense or defense and he's not. He's kind of breaking things off. Like, he's the odd man out on a lot of stuff, because he hasn't learned that this is five guys playing off of each other the same way. If one guy goes south, it's a basket, it's a dunk. OK, then you show, 'Why did you do this?'
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"But there was a play that I really – this tells a lot about the kid. There was a play that I really, really got on him about. It was an out-of-bounds play. He never said one word. He took it. I mean, I killed him and I killed him for about eight minutes straight. It wasn't him. It was another guy. He never said a word. He never threw the other guy under the bus, until I watched the tape. And I went up to him and said, 'It says a lot about who you are. You took it, and it wasn't you.' He's going to be fine."
On if there is a challenge for a team struggling to find a good rhythm to establishing one in four-minute bursts: "Well the other team had a great rhythm in the second half and score three baskets. (Skeptical look) This thing will be decided on the court. You want more minutes, play better. You don't play as well, you're getting less minutes. You don't deserve to play, you won't play. This is about the players. I'm not doing this to be a genius. I've already told you. They all deserve a chance to show what they are. They're going to. Would I love to do this the whole year? Absolutely. But we may not bet able to. It will be decided on the court. If anybody uses this as an excuse, then you won't play. Just you won't – you will be the guy left out. Anybody enables you to use it as an excuse, you won't play. You know, the USA basketball team played the Olympics and basically (makes in-and-out hand motion), and not one of those players used it as an excuse. They just went out and showed what they could do.
"Look, you guys are supposed to talk about stuff, so you just do. Just talk and say stuff. It ain't even true, but say it anyway. And then what happens is you've got some out there that will say it over and over and over thinking that makes it true. Bottom line is I'm doing this for these players. They will decide how this plays out. My hope is that they all play, and they'll all play because they deserve to all play. If some of these guys really stand out -- But you can't do it game to game. If you did it after one game, I'd say, 'OK, here's the seven.' If you did it after the second game, 'Here are the seven.' You got to let it play out."
On how team is handling the outside clutter: "Good, good. But you know, you except it. I mean, I know what is coming down the pick, and I'm fine with it. Everybody thought, 'Well watch, he won't do it in the second half.' I platooned in the second half the same way. If Karl didn't get in foul trouble we'd have went straight by the line. Now, if someone in goes in there and they're not playing, like they're not going, 'You're out. You just lose your minutes.' So, but it's -- look, I'm enjoying doing it. I'm enjoying it because I know no kid's getting left behind. And I know the easiest thing for me to do is play seven guys."
On if he's more confident for the Champions Classic than he was last year vs. Michigan State because he has some guys who have been there before: "No. No, because they're playing exactly like Michigan State. They're denying wings, they're pressuring the ball, they're trying to steal passes, they're trapping pick-and-rolls and they're going nutty. We could start out 10-nothing the same way, and it wasn't 10-nothing we were up. It was 10-nothing – I had to call two timeouts to get the thing settled down. You know? I would hope that these veterans understand what they're walking into, but look, teams are going to play like their life depends on it. And then we've got to do the same."
On Louisville being awarded a regional in 2016 and if he likes being able to play there in the NCAA Tournament: "When we played it in 2012 it was great. I mean it was super. One, it's good for our state. It's good for a city that drives the state: Louisville. It's good for all the fans that love basketball. So it's a good thing. Our team played well in that building."
On what he wants to see from his players vs. Kansas: "Just that we sustain energy, that we follow schemes, that we're really executing together – more defensively than offensively. And then we're a little more specific offensively. Because here's what's happened: we're like this (holds hands wide apart) so we're disconnected. We're going to narrow it a little bit (moves hands closer), so that they're more connected, so that they understand a little bit better. So you'll know when a guy's stepping away from what we need them to do.
"Doesn't mean I don't want them to have freedom to play, but I want them to know – like we didn't run enough stuff when we could have, we just kept trying to go. It's not there, there's five guys back there. When we did run our stuff on either group we were good. We got the ball wherever we wanted it, we scored, we got great shots, we got fouled, we were in great position to offensive rebound. When we didn't, and just shot quick, contested, they have three guys around the goal, or drive into five guys; we charged, we didn't look the same."
On whether he means more control on the bench: "No, just give them more specifics what they're looking for."
On if he's heard from other coaches about what he's trying to do with the platoon: "Yeah, I talked to guys today. They're all saying the same thing. One guy said, 'I'm playing 10; they're not saying I'm platooning. Why are you getting all the credit,' he said. And you know, he's a coach from one of the better leagues. And he said, 'Look, the bottom line is, they're asking me about my rotations,' and he said, 'The kids decide that.' They do. I mean, they'll decide as this season goes on. We don't even know if this is how we'll defend at the end of the year. I don't know if this is the best way for us offensively to play yet. We don't. Is this the best way for us to practice? We have so many questions to answer. This, what we're doing here, is just – it's unique in that we got a new team every year.
"You can say what you want; this is a totally different team than last year's team, even though we have some guys back. So it's now: OK, what does this team need? What do they need from me? How do we need to play? What gives them the best chance? And by the end of the year, hopefully those questions are answered and it's not as late as last year. Last year was, what, March 1 we answered questions? It took that long. There were five freshmen! 'Oh, but they're really good. You just roll out the balls. They should just win.' Stuff's hard, man. This stuff is hard. Now, I love it. I wouldn't want it any other way. I wouldn't want it any other way for our kids. It'd be easier for me to have the same team back four years and (clap-clap), 'See you guys! It was great. Thanks for all those wins and sold-out buildings and you're the best. Now get out, beat it.' That's not how we do it here. So …"
On Jerry's wife telling him … "Your wife? She talks to you? (Laughing)"
On his wife telling him Cal tried to help fans get some perspective on the radio show after the Buffalo game: "Well, anything that I'm saying out there, if you've known me, is trying to protect these kids against all the stuff that can run. The greatest thing about the social media that we have is I can cut stuff off in the bud. Someone wants to make a statement, if we need to respond, we can do it in 12 seconds. It doesn't run for three days. In the case of knowing that Andrew didn't have one of his better games, knowing Tyler had one of his better games, I knew where the dialogue would go. So I shut it down.
"Knowing that Karl barely could play in the game and Dakari was a double-double, I knew where the dialogue was going. Wait a minute: I knew how well Trey played and how much (Poythress) struggled, and I knew where the dialogue (was going). Stop it. The next game … And then I put it back on me, which was, 'What, do you want to change coaches every time we play poorly?' And I was off the top of my head, just so you know (when he suggested they bring Rick Pitino back). So when I was going through the line of coaches I can say, when I got to Coach Hall, I went back the other way. I'm thinking on my feet, so there was no – I should've thrown Coach Hall under the bus, because I'd like for him to get booed since he jumped off the bandwagon last year."
On whether he expected the clutter: "Oh, yeah. And it's us, and it's me. It's Kentucky. And, you know, I'm not one to speak my mind (grinning). But it's going to get worse. People are waiting. You got people right now on radio silence because there's not enough to write that story. The problem is they've written those stories and gotten burned because we turned it around and they looked like fools, so there's radio silence right now. Because they're not going to do it yet. And even after this game, there will be a couple that just can't help themselves – 'I got 'em!' – and write something like, 'What did you do? Why?' I mean, that's just how it is here. Sometimes it wakes me up in the morning, makes me laugh."
On why playing in the arena and not the dome in Indy: "I don't know. You'd have to – I would've liked to have been in the dome, but I have no idea."
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By Kyle Tucker
The Courier-Journal
LEXINGTON, Ky.
University of Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari likes the idea of a chance to play 70 miles from his campus for a trip to the Final Four in 2016. That became a possibility Monday when it was announced that Louisville and the KFC Yum! Center will host the NCAA Tournament's South Regional next season.
"When we played (there) in 2012, it was great," Calipari said. "Our team played well in that building."
The Wildcats launched their run to the program's eighth national title at the Yum! Center three seasons ago, beating Western Kentucky and Iowa State in the Rounds of 64 and 32 there. The next year, U of L opened its championship run at Rupp Arena in Lexington.
"One, it's good for our state," Calipari said. "It's good for a city that drives the state, Louisville. It's good for all the fans that love basketball in the state. So it's a good thing."
The South Regional in Louisville will be March 24 and 26 – a Thursday and Saturday – in 2016. The winner of that regional, as well as regionals in Anaheim, Chicago and Philadelphia, will advance to the Final Four in Houston.
Kyle Tucker can be reached at (502) 582-4361. Follow him on Twitter @KyleTucker_CJ.