Q&A: UK assistant Rohrssen previews Columbia

Here's everything Kentucky assistant Barry "Slice" Rohrssen said this afternoon about the No. 1 Wildcats (9-0) and their game against Columbia (5-2) tomorrow night at Rupp Arena. Like assistant John Robic after the last game, Rohrssen filled in at the podium for an under-the-weather John Calipari.

BARRY "SLICE" ROHRSSEN

On Karl-Anthony Towns deciding not to smile in games: "Is that what he said? He's got a very nice smile. He really does. To see somebody with that much talent and is such a nice person is so rare. But if that's his demeanor, if that's what's going to propel him to play like he did in our last game on Sunday, then so be it."

On how much he knew about Towns as a high school recruit: "Karl has always been on the radar screen. Kentucky did a great job of recognizing early on in the process and to Karl's credit, he felt very comfortable here, wanted to play for Coach Cal and (former assistant) Coach Antigua. And again, Kentucky sells itself. He was on board very early in the recruiting process."

On Towns saying his favorite player growing up was Len Bias – that he watched old tapes of him and not only liked his game but also him as an example of staying on a path: "Karl is a bit different, in a good way – in a very good way. His priorities always seem in order. Again, he isn't just a good player. He's a wonderful person. He's so well-liked in this building, among his teammates, on campus, in the community here. Throughout many of the events that we've done, Karl has always gone above and beyond even what you ask him to do. Even down when we were in the Bahamas, he as much as anybody wanted to go over and do the Samaritan's Feet (charity) event. He is just a wonderful and caring person."

On what he knows about Columbia: "Columbia is a very good team, presently 5-2 coming in here off a 23-point win – home win – against Bucknell. Their point guard is the guy that makes them go, their leading scorer. It's a ball-control team. They like to have control of the basketball. They'll test your patience defensively with their style of play."

On if it's good to play a team like that to prepare them for that down the road: "It's good to play a lot of different types of teams. Some teams are gonna get up and pressure, and you'll see another team a week later or a month later somewhere down the road (that does the same thing). This is a good example and another test for us to see how we're gonna play, and again, how we want to play, the style that we have to play to be successful."

On if there's any concern about their perimeter shooting: "You know what? One of the things you find out in coaching: the three best shots in coaching are a layup, a free throw and an open three. As coaches, that's what you preach to your team. Those are the shots that you want to get. So the three-point shot is important, but it needs to be within the framework of your offense. You don't just want to take one to take one. You want it to come from within the framework of your offense. And again, as long as you keep getting layups and dunks, as long as you get to the free-throw line – which is a sign of being aggressive – when you have an open three, that's what you look for."

On Tyler Ulis: "He's OK. Day-to-day."

On if he's back in practice: "Tomorrow's another day. Today's another day. We'll see what happens. Day to day."

On Devin Booker wearing a knee sleeve the second half against EKU and if he's OK: "You know what? He's going through what a lot of players go through, especially a lot of freshmen. When they come in, they're playing at a higher level against better competition. The games in time actually increase. You go from playing a 32-minute game in high school to a 40-minute game. There's maybe some extra additional minutes on you that you log, but Devin will be fine."

On how often he has recruited against Ivy League schools: "Uh, they're generally looking for certain things. Myself, we're looking for different board scores: they're looking for high SATs and as well as that I'm looking for high rebounding. Different board scores, so try to recruit the ones that get 15-plus a game."

On how hard it is to stay focused after big games like Kansas and Texas or before a game like North Carolina: "Well, you know what? Some of our schedule right now has felt almost like an NBA schedule. We've got games back to back to back to back. It seems like these four games, the next four games – the past two games and the next two coming up – are just going to fly. Fortunately for us, not just do we have talent but we have depth. Anybody here that wants to think about it or do the research, we've played nine games, which may be the most in the country, but when you think about it we've had eight guys lead us in scoring in nine games.

"It's like what other program or team in the country has had eight different people lead them in scoring in nine games? Probably had six guys, six different guys lead us in assists in nine games. One of whom who did a great job the other day was (Dominique Hawkins). Dom worked himself into a platoon and he comes out of the game tied for high in assists. So there's a lot of guys here that have to be ready to play, and they are ready to play. And they do as good a job in there in practice as they do out in the games."

On how tough it is for a guy like Hawkins to come in and contribute after not playing in a couple of games: "You know what? We're very fortunate. I know Coach Cal has said it: these kids allow you to do this. Dom is just a wonderful guy. He comes in, he works hard and he's ready for his chance. A lot of people, when you think of him, you see how good of defense he plays, but the other day to see him get those six assists is good. Again, he's part of a very successful equation right now. And Derek (Willis), it will be the same thing when he gets on the court."

* For instant updates on the Wildcats, follow me on Twitter @KyleTucker_CJ. Email me at ktucker@courier-journal.com.