SUPER BOWL 2012

UK Coach John Calipari previews Tuesday's UK-Mississippi State game on ESPN at 9PM. Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com


Pre-Mississippi State Media Opportunity - Feb. 20, 2012

Head Coach John Calipari

On the rivalry with Mississippi State …
“They have been exciting games. Even our game here last year where it looks like the game is over, we miss three front-end one-and-ones up six and give them a chance. They have played inspired and we expect that they will play inspired this game.”

On Arnett Moultrie seeing the matchup with Anthony Davis as a chance to prove himself …
“I think all players, like I tell them, they aren’t only playing against the name on the front of the shirt, they are playing against the name on the back of the shirt and that is what makes this unique and different. I don’t care that we start three freshmen, they aren’t looking at it that way. They are looking at it, ‘hey they are saying this guy is all that.’ It’s not just Mississippi Sate it is every team we play. They play against us because of the name on the front but they are also playing against that name on the back. No (Anthony does not get that more than others). Every guy, our point guard, Doron Lamb, Terrence Jones, I mean every guy that we have on our team, Darius Miller, they are all saying I’m going after this guy, I’m going to show I’m better than him. That’s why this isn’t for everybody, every game you walk out there somebody is trying to make a name at your expense. Someone is trying to make their team’s season at our expense; every game we walk into is that way.”

On the defensive challenge of Dee Bost for Marquis Teague …
“It’s hard, but they put him in a lot of pick-and-rolls and he’s been pretty good in pick-and-roll defense. You can’t go under, the kid will pull up and shoot the shot, you have to fight over the top. He’s pretty good at going to the basket but Marquis has done fine, he’ll be fine.”

On playing at Humphrey Coliseum …
“Well they are in to the game. The arena is fine, it’s a great little college town. The whole town shuts down for this game, they have been talking about it for months, they can’t wait. I wish I was in the t-shirt business down there, I heard they had a white-out or something. It’s going to be cowbells and all the other stuff going on, it’s exciting down there. We’ve had some unbelievable rivalries at different schools but with this one, obviously they get up for us and we better get up for them or we don’t win the game. If you don’t play well against them we’ll lose, if we don’t play well we will come back with an L.”

On where Kentucky got better against Ole Miss …
“I thought we did some things defensively that we hadn’t done, they made some shots that kind of surprised me. Our press has got to get better if we are going to use it, it stinks right now and that’s not their fault I really haven’t broken it down. We’re going to do some stuff today; I don’t think they have a mental picture of what I’m looking for because they aren’t very good in it. The zone offense, I think we are getting better but we have a long way to go. I would predict this team will play us zone 60 pct. of the time, they are not going to want to bring their big people out in the pick-and-rolls. It’s all good though, we’ve got to get prepared to go in a tournament game and somebody play us forty minutes of zone and us be prepared to play against it.”

On having many options being a relief to players …
“There are two things in that. One, it is good for your team but it’s good when you are running plays at the end of the game it isn’t for one guy, everybody gets a look on that set. Whether we need a 3, everyone will get a look, here it is, not there, look there, look here, alright you have to take it. I think it’s important that they understand that we just want you to play their best, play to win and if we don’t we move on to the next game. I don’t want them focused on winning and losing, I just want them focused on playing harder than the opponent and let’s just try to get better every game, we are just trying to get better.”

On what Coach Calipari is looking for at this point in the season …
“Well we want fresh legs and fresh minds. Probably three weeks ago, we backed up. Look, there are 100 ways of doing this. I’m not meaning this towards anybody else, but there are a hundred ways to do this. There are guys who go three and a half hours right now, and that’s what they do and they’re doing it now. And, they win and they do fine. There are coaches that go live right now and they go at each other the whole game, not worried because, ‘This is who we are.’ There are other guys that back up. There are some guys that do nothing live right now. Everything is conditioning and being sharp and dummying up. There are 1000 ways to do this. We back up right now. We do go live some, but I try to keep as little body to body as I can. I’m coaching their minds right now. I’ve coached their bodies two, three weeks ago like conditioning and toughness and now we’re coaching minds. We’re trying to get them into a frame of mind as they go in, as an individual and as a team. I’m talking about swagger right now. As I said, there is only one place to develop swagger and that’s in that building. You walk out knowing you’re going to play well. Doesn’t matter how well you play the beginning of the game. You know over the course of the game, ‘I’m going to play well because I deserve to and I’ve worked at it and I’m prepared to play well.’ The swagger is developed in there. Ego is, ‘Well we just beat this team by a ton. They’re not ranked, we should beat them. I’m just hungry, what time is the meal?’ And then you get beat. So, we’re working on that. And again, we could all say, ‘Well we’re really that good.’ They’re all freshmen and sophomores. They have no idea. I don’t know what they’re going to do down here. I don’t know how they’re going to play. I hope they play well. I think we’re prepared to play well but they’re all young kids. You just don’t know.”

On whether it was Larry Brown’s influence that gave him the idea of backing up at this point …
“Being that he is a mentor and a dear friend, we talk all of the time and his thing is, you have to be their cheerleader at the end. You have to back up and that’s his thing to me all the time at the end of the year. ‘You be the cheerleader, man. You know you’re not changing them now. They are what they are. Cheer them on.’ But the stuff, I’ve always done it this way and I think historically my teams have played well in March and in April but we’ve backed up this time of the year. Now, I’m going to say it again. There are all kinds of ways of doing this. Someone is more comfortable doing it a different way and they win, you know. We do well winning it this way and that’s how we do it.”

On how much of coaching is psychological …
“It’s a big part of it. You can beat guys down. You can blame them every time they lose. Or, you can take responsibility so they just let it fly and don’t feel that, ‘if I lose, I’m going to get blamed.’ If we lose, I’m just going to try to do everything I can to win. The other thing is, letting them feel good about each other. We do a lot of talking right now and I keep telling them, ‘You want to feel joy? Wake up every morning and feel grateful, grateful that you’re having an opportunity to be with this team, these guys. There are a lot of teams right now that have turmoil. There are a lot of teams that have all kinds of issues. You guys are enjoying each other. That’s great joy. The second way you feel joy is you think about, what am I going to do for somebody else today? Doesn’t even have to be for a guy on this team. You want to feel joy? You start thinking about other people instead of thinking about yourself and you start to feel joy.’ So there is a lot of stuff you are trying to get through. I told Michael [Kidd-Gilchrist], ‘you’re too hard on yourself kid.’ When guys look at me when they missed a shot, I will say, ‘What are you looking at? Why are you looking at me? Just play.’ I’m just trying to continue to coach to get them to think right. It doesn’t guarantee anything. It just gives you your best chance. Your team plays its best. If that’s not good enough, you go on, it’s next game. Sometimes it’s the next season.”

After losing to Kentucky 78-58 at Rupp Arena on Feb. 7, 2012, Florida coach Billy Donovan spoke about the Wildcats basketball team and who he feels they stack up to other teams in the Top 10 and to past UK squads. Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com

UK Coach John Calipari speaks after defeating No. 7 Florida 78-58 in Rupp Arena. Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com

Posters of Anthony Davis will be placed on every seat in Rupp Arena before Tuesday’s game against Florida, head coach John Calipari tweeted Monday.

The posters bill Davis as a “national defensive player of the year candidate” and feature the 6-10 forward with his long arms outstretched.

Lwcat
Administrator

Kentucky vs Florida….2/7/12 Tuesday 7PMEST/6PMCST (ESPN)
Kentucky leads the series 90-33

Location: Gainsville
Enrollment: 52,271
Arena: 12,000

Florida

Head Coach: Billy Donovan

Career Record: 395-167 (70.3%) 17 seasons
At Florida: 360-147 (71.0%) 15 seasons

2010-11 Record: 29-8
2010-11 SEC Record: 13-3
2010-11 Postseason: 3-1 (Lost in NCAA Elite 8)

2011-12 Record: 19-4
2011-12 SEC Record: 7-1

Florida 99 Jackson St. 59
Ohio St. 81 Florida 74
Florida 91 North Florida 55
Florida 78 Wright St. 65
Florida 96 Stetson 70
Syracuse 72 Florida 68
Florida 78 Arizona 72 (OT)
Florida 90 Rider 69
Florida 84 Texas A&M 64
Florida 82 Mississippi Valley St. 54
Florida 82 Florida St. 64
Rutgers 85 Florida 83 (OT)
Florida 90 Yale 70
Florida 79 UAB 61
Tennessee 67 Florida 56
Florida 70 Georgia 48
Florida 79 South Carolina 65
Florida 76 LSU 64
Florida 64 Ole Miss 60
Florida 69 Mississippi St. 57
Florida 74 South Carolina 66
Florida 73 Vanderbilt 65

Florida Stats

PPG-80.1
FG%-47.2%
3 PT%-40.2% (10.5 PG)
FT%-68.4%
RPG-36.6 (+3.0)
APG-16.3
TO’s-11.0
SPG-7.2
BPG-3.5

UK Stats

PPG-78.2
FG%-48.6%
3 PT%-36.9% (5.5 PG)
FT%-71.6%
RPG-39.9% (+7.8)
APG-13.3
TO’s-12.1
SPG-6.7
BPG-9.4

Probable Starting Lineup

Patric Young-F/C 6’9” Soph……………………….10.7 PPG
Erik Murphy-C 6’10” Jr…………………………….10.2 PPG
Kenny Boynton-G 6’2” Jr…………………………..17.6 PPG
Bradley Beal-G 6’3” Fr……………………………..14.3 PPG
Erving Walker-G 5’8” Sr……………………………12.6 PPG

Other Key Players

Will Yeguete-F 6’7” Soph………………………….4.7 PPG
Mike Rosario-G 6’3” Jr…………………………….8.2 PPG

The Florida Gators arrive in Lexington with a solid 19-4 record overall and 7-1 in the SEC. The Gators have not lost at home all season and two of their 4 losses were to top 5 ranked teams….losing to Ohio St. and Syracuse. Make no mistake, this is a very talented Gator team that shoots the ball very well…..especially from the perimeter….where they are hitting 40.2%. In fact, there is no question that Florida is a perimeter oriented team as they average 26 long range shots PG and averages nearly 11 made 3 point shots PG. The Gators are hard to guard from the perimeter because they have several players who shoot very well from long range….Murphy shoots 46.1%…..Boynton shoots 43.8%…..Walker shoots 39.3%…..Rosario, transfer from Rutgers, shoots 39.0%……and Beal hits 34.5%.

Florida is led in scoring by their three very talented guards….Boynton….Beal….and Walker. However, the Gators also get good scoring from their two starting big men with Young and Murphy averaging in double figures. Patric Young, a 6’9” very athletic sophomore, is a force in the paint and leads in rebounds….but, he gets help from several Gators on the boards….and surprisingly, 6’3” Bradley Beal is a terrific rebounder.
Walker leads in team assists with 118 or 5.1 PG.

The Gators arrive in Lexington after an important win over Vandy and have won 9 out of their last 10 games with only a bad loss to Tennessee at Knoxville.

UK has taken a huge step forward in their last 3 games in their overall play….both offensively and defensively….with very impressive wins over LSU, Tennessee and South Carolina. Unquestionably, Teague has significantly improved his running of the Cats offense by finding open players and shooting less….plus Teague is making less TO’s with better decision making. Also, importantly, Terrence Jones has taken his overall player to a much higher level….both offensively and defensively.

UK’s defense has been solid through most of the year, but has now taken their defense to a higher level. However, Florida will present a challenge to the Cat’s perimeter defense because the Gators have so many good perimeter shooters. The Gators will be among the most talented teams that UK has faced all season.

I see UK’s height and length presenting problems for Florida’s small guards in finding open shots….and Davis and Jones controlling the paint….to give the Cats an important advantage over Florida. Still, this should be a very competitive game, but I see UK prevailing over the Gators by 8 points. GO CATS!

UK Coach Calipari and freshman Kidd-Gilchrist on UK's 65-62 win at Tennessee. Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com.

UK freshman Anthony Davis on UK's 65-62 win at Tennessee. Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com.

UK Coach John Calipari and UK players Doron Lamb, Anthony Davis, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist talk about the upcoming SEC game in Knoxville against the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday Jan. 14,2012 on ESPN at 12:00PM-EST/11:00AM-CST. Video's courtesy of uknationofblue.

Lwcat
WT Administrator

Kentucky vs Tennessee 1/14/12 Saturday-12pm-EST/11am-CST (ESPN)
Kentucky leads the series 146-66.

Tennessee Vols

Location: Knoxville, Tenn
Enrollment: 27,523
Arena: 21,678

Head Coach: Cuonzo Martin
Career Record: 61-41 (59.8%) 3 seasons
At Tennessee-First season

2010-11 Record: 19-15
2010-11 SEC Record: 8-8
Postseason: 0-1 NCAA

2011-12 Record: 8-8
2011-12 SEC Record: 1-1

Tennessee 92 UNC Greensboro 63
Tennessee 85 Louisiana Monroe 62
Duke 77 Tennessee 67
Memphis 99 Tennessee 97
Tennessee 86 Chaminade 60
Oakland 89 Tennessee 81
Pittsburgh 61 Tennessee 56
Austin Peay 74 Tennessee 70
College of Charleston 71 Tennessee 65
Tennessee 72 UNC Ashville 68
Tennessee 66 ESTU 63
Tennessee 86 Citadel 55
Tennessee 76 Chattanooga 63
Memphis 69 Tennessee 51
Tennessee 67 Florida 56
Mississippi St. 62 Tennessee 58

Tennessee Stats

PPG-73.4
FG%-46.2%
3 PT%-38.0% (8.1PG)
FT%-69.8%
RPG-36.2 (+3.2)
APG-14.3
TO’s-13.1
SPG-5.9
BPG-4.9

Probable Starting Lineup

Trae Golden-G 6’1” Soph………………………….14.9 PPG
Jeronne Maymon-F 6’7” Jr……………………..….11.3 PPG
Jordan McRae-F 6’5” Soph…………………….….10.4 PPG
Cameron Tatum-GG 6’7” Sr…………………….….8.9 PPG
Kenny Hall-F 6’9” Jr…………………………….....….7.3 PPG

Other Key Players

Sylar McBee-G 6’3” Jr……………………………….....6.3 PPG
Renaldo Woodridge-F 6’9” Sr…………………..….6.1 PPG
Josh Richardson-G 6’6” Fr…………………………...3.0 PPG

Tennessee now has a new coach in Cuonzo Martin after Bruce Pearl was fired. Martin played at Purdue from 91-95 under Gene Keady….Martin was then an assistant under both Keady and Matt Painter from 2000-2008 so he garnered great experience from two very good coaches. For the past 3 years, Martin has been a successful coach at Missouri St where he greatly improved their program.

Coach Martin inherited a Tennessee team that lost 4 solid starters in Scotty Hopson, Tobias Harris, Melvin Goins and John Fields plus 4 other players including Brian Williams. Despite those losses, Martin has the Vols playing much better than anyone expected. While Pearl’s Vols were more upbeat offensively, Martin has focused on playing tough hardnose defense….which was evident in the Vols recent win over Florida.
Frankly, despite losing much of their scoring, this year’s Vols team is playing pretty solid offensively and shooting very well from the perimeter hitting 37.5% and averaging 8 perimeter shots PG.

Cameron Tatum leads the team from the perimeter hitting 41%. Trae Golden runs the point and leads in assists with 81…… Jeronne Maymon leads the team in rebounds while Kenny Hall leads in blocks.

The Vols just had a tough loss at Mississippi St. 62-58. UT had an opportunity to tie or win in the final seconds, but turned the ball over. This Tennessee team will be a very competitive team in the SEC this season.

Kentucky arrives in Knoxville off a hard fought game against Auburn on the road. The Cats found out that coach Cal was right on target when he warned them that opposing SEC teams will fill their arenas and often play their very best against UK….Auburn did just that. Auburn utilized an effective zone defense which many UK opponents will also likely use this SEC season. The Cats pulled away toward the end of the game, but missed shots and poor rebounding kept the Tigers in the game.

Last season, UK lost 6 road SEC games and this season could be as bad if the young Cats don’t come to play for 40 minutes on the road. UK will find a tough Tennessee opponent Saturday in Knoxville and they must play tough defense, rebound better, and make shots.

It’s not rocket science, but winning on the road demands that the Cats bring a high level of energy and match the passion of their opponents. I see a tough game in Knoxville with UK pulling out a 7 point win. GO CATS!

Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari speaks following the Wildcats' 69-62 victory over the Louisville Cardinals. Dec. 31, 2011. Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com

Anthony Davis on Cats' win over Cards. Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com

More from Michael Kidd-Gilchrist about his game after beating Louisville. Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com

Calipari has no beef with Pitino. Video courtesy of WTVQ.com

UK Coach John Calipari previews UK-UL 2011. Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com

Doron Lamb previews UK-UL 2011. Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com

Darius Miller previews UK-UL 2011. Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com