Love the way Coach Payne lays it out
Kenny Payne: “So are we content? Not at all.”
by Larry Vaught
Quade Green (Vicky Graff Photo)
By LARRY VAUGHT
Winning is always good, but Kentucky assistant coach Kenny Payne knew Tuesday's dramatic overtime win over Vanderbilt was not one filled with happy thoughts for UK.
"I'm not happy at all. I'm sure Coach Calipari is not happy at all. We are thankful we won the game, but the coaching staff's not happy because we're trying to trend in a direction," Payne said.
"We're trying to build this team up to play a certain way to be ready for SEC Tournament play, to be ready for an NCAA run and to be honest with you, the way we played that first half, tentative, not aggressive, not communicating on defense.
"Defensive lapses, you're going to get beat if you're playing tournament basketball like that. So are we content? Not at all. Will we be harder on the players? Believe me, we will. "
Kentucky has now overcome second-half deficits of 17 and 14 points to win its last two games against West Virginia and Vanderbilt. That has shown Payne the team has a "will to win" but that doesn't mean wins should be this hard to get.
"I would like for us as a team -- and I'm sure Cal's the same -- to play those last five or six minutes, play the game like that and let's see how good we are. Let's all 12 guys or 14 guys that suited up in the jersey, you step on that floor, all of you guys are playing 40 minutes of basketball the way you ended that game, the way you ended the five minutes at West Virginia, and let's see how good we are," Payne said. "If we can figure that out, man, we're going to be tough to beat. "
AlohaCat
Kenny Payne: “So are we content? Not at all.”
by Larry Vaught
Quade Green (Vicky Graff Photo)
By LARRY VAUGHT
Winning is always good, but Kentucky assistant coach Kenny Payne knew Tuesday's dramatic overtime win over Vanderbilt was not one filled with happy thoughts for UK.
"I'm not happy at all. I'm sure Coach Calipari is not happy at all. We are thankful we won the game, but the coaching staff's not happy because we're trying to trend in a direction," Payne said.
"We're trying to build this team up to play a certain way to be ready for SEC Tournament play, to be ready for an NCAA run and to be honest with you, the way we played that first half, tentative, not aggressive, not communicating on defense.
"Defensive lapses, you're going to get beat if you're playing tournament basketball like that. So are we content? Not at all. Will we be harder on the players? Believe me, we will. "
Kentucky has now overcome second-half deficits of 17 and 14 points to win its last two games against West Virginia and Vanderbilt. That has shown Payne the team has a "will to win" but that doesn't mean wins should be this hard to get.
"I would like for us as a team -- and I'm sure Cal's the same -- to play those last five or six minutes, play the game like that and let's see how good we are. Let's all 12 guys or 14 guys that suited up in the jersey, you step on that floor, all of you guys are playing 40 minutes of basketball the way you ended that game, the way you ended the five minutes at West Virginia, and let's see how good we are," Payne said. "If we can figure that out, man, we're going to be tough to beat. "
AlohaCat
