John Calipari just finished speaking to the media here at the Memorial Coliseum, and while I'm eating lunch I'm going to type 10 of the biggest takeaways from what Calipari had to say.
1. Don't ask about Labissiere: It's clear media members were going to ask about UK's star forward Skal Labissiere but after Calipari's initial comment on the Haitian he didn't want to discuss it any further. Calipari initially said the situation will be fine, then said several other players across the country, including maybe a few other UK players, have gone through this and it happens to the best players.
Jerry Tipton asked about Calipari a few more times about Labissiere's situation, but Calipari would have none of it. I'm not sure if I'd say he was bothered, but it certainly seemed as if he was annoyed. Maybe he's sick of talking about it, maybe he's nervous, maybe he knows everything will be fine and can't wait to prove it. I don't know, but he wasn't happy with some of the questions today.
2. Tyler Ulis is the leader: Again, like I said after the NBA Combine, this is clear, but Calipari reiterated this today. What was interesting was that Calipari wants Ulis to be the leader off the court and how he wants him to go about being that leader. He wants Ulis around. He wants him first in the gym and last to leave. He wants him hanging in the dorm, going out to dinner and always around his teammates.
It's clear Ulis is a good kid, but it's also clear that Calipari believes the more Ulis around these guys, on and off the court, will help the team.
3. The team is a ways away: Calipari has said this before, but man he really hammered it in on Wednesday. One of the most concerning things he said was this team isn't very tough. We all know how games in the SEC go, especially on the road. If the Cats can't take punches, they'll likely pick up some losses. But the most troubling part of a soft team is that's hard to teach. Either guys are tough or they aren't in most cases. Maybe Calipari is just trying to pump his team up with that comment but it will be something to watch.
4. Watch Charles Matthews: Seems like Matthews may be the most underrated player on the team. He was the talk of the NBA Combine and he was brought up several times today. Calipari said he is a player that will get better as the season goes on and is a gym-rat. Calipari also mentioned that NBA Scouts asked about Matthews. A player that's as versatile as he will attract attention, but there's no way it'll be this year, right...?
5. Speaking of the NBA: It sounded like Calipari was pitching for Ulis to leave for the NBA Draft after this season. Talked about how good Ulis is, saying he's Kentucky's best player several times, and mentioned how he can't get much better. Calipari said his height and weight won't change, and the only things he can improve on are minor things, like being more consistent with his shot, making better decisions and his passing. I've always been on the "Ulis will be here for at least three years" train, but maybe it's time to strongly consider Ulis leaving early for the draft.
6. Classic Calipari: Yes, Calipari hit on his classic "Jordan Spieth" bit, as we all expected, but he had a new recruiting pitch today that made me laugh. Calipari said that Kentucky was very similar to Hawaii in the sense that everyone wants to visit, but not everyone wants to end up at college there. It's a good point and I wouldn't be surprised if we heard that on Friday. It's almost challenging recruits. "Don't visit here if you don't want to come here," is what I took away from this comment.
7. What to make of Marcus Lee: Calipari had some really good things to say about Marcus Lee, but he also didn't talk him up like he did with other players. Calipari said Marcus Lee has improved on several things, but he's still trying to figure out what player he wants to be. The Cats will need Marcus Lee this year, and they will need him in the role that Calipari plans on using him- shot blocker, energy guy and rebounder. Hopefully Lee can figure that out and make an impact for the Cats.
But I did find it interesting hearing Calipari talk about how Lee is close to positionless player, but not there yet. He talked about how he wants guys that can do a little bit of everything, stretch the floor and be a play-maker. I certainly felt like he was talking about Wenyen Gabriel and maybe Sacha Killeya-Jones when he made that comment.
8. Poythress percentage: Is anyone buying that Poythress is at 75 percent like Calipari said on Wednesday? I saw him practice Sunday and while he's probably not 100 percent, he has to be more than 3/4 of his playing potential. If he is at 75 percent it's a scary thought to think what 100 percent Alex Poythress could be.
9. Hawkins outlook: Hawkins isn't able to practice because of his hand, and that's no surprise because breaking your hand is a pain in, well, your hand, but Calipari had an interesting quote about Hawkins. Yeah, we've heard Calipari talk about Hawkins making an impact and improving, but on Wednesday Calipari said that Hawkins was shooting better than anyone from deep? Chalk me up as not buying that for a second, but we can take something away from that quote. It seems Hawkins has truly improved as a deep-ball shooter and while that's big for UK, it's bigger for him.
Now, on the flip-side, if Hawkins is UK's best three-point shooter it would mean either Hawkins had some sort of Space Jam stealing powers from Ray Allen type moment, or that UK will stink as a three-point shooting team.
Luckily I'm not buying that quote from Calipari and while Hawkins may have improved, the Cats will be fine from the perimeter thanks to Jamal Murray, Tyler Ulis, Mychal Mulder, Isaiah Briscoe (who's improved) and now I guess, Hawkins.
10. Calipari on UofL and NCAA: I asked a question that would allow Calipari to comment on the NCAA and how UK stays on top of things, and Calipari gave a great answer in saying that they meet once a month to talk about the NCAA rules and make sure things are going fine. He also said sometimes Kentucky may make up rules just to be careful. Seems like the Cats are staying on top of things as so many programs are getting in trouble.
But then Tim Sullivan on the Courier-Journal came out firing, directly asking about Rick Pitino. Calipari said he hasn't reached out because he didn't think it'd be appropriate, but said he couldn't imagine a scenario where Pitino knew about this stuff if it's true.
Calipari said he hopes it isn't true because it would be bad for college basketball. A classy response from UK's coach.
1. Don't ask about Labissiere: It's clear media members were going to ask about UK's star forward Skal Labissiere but after Calipari's initial comment on the Haitian he didn't want to discuss it any further. Calipari initially said the situation will be fine, then said several other players across the country, including maybe a few other UK players, have gone through this and it happens to the best players.
Jerry Tipton asked about Calipari a few more times about Labissiere's situation, but Calipari would have none of it. I'm not sure if I'd say he was bothered, but it certainly seemed as if he was annoyed. Maybe he's sick of talking about it, maybe he's nervous, maybe he knows everything will be fine and can't wait to prove it. I don't know, but he wasn't happy with some of the questions today.
2. Tyler Ulis is the leader: Again, like I said after the NBA Combine, this is clear, but Calipari reiterated this today. What was interesting was that Calipari wants Ulis to be the leader off the court and how he wants him to go about being that leader. He wants Ulis around. He wants him first in the gym and last to leave. He wants him hanging in the dorm, going out to dinner and always around his teammates.
It's clear Ulis is a good kid, but it's also clear that Calipari believes the more Ulis around these guys, on and off the court, will help the team.
3. The team is a ways away: Calipari has said this before, but man he really hammered it in on Wednesday. One of the most concerning things he said was this team isn't very tough. We all know how games in the SEC go, especially on the road. If the Cats can't take punches, they'll likely pick up some losses. But the most troubling part of a soft team is that's hard to teach. Either guys are tough or they aren't in most cases. Maybe Calipari is just trying to pump his team up with that comment but it will be something to watch.
4. Watch Charles Matthews: Seems like Matthews may be the most underrated player on the team. He was the talk of the NBA Combine and he was brought up several times today. Calipari said he is a player that will get better as the season goes on and is a gym-rat. Calipari also mentioned that NBA Scouts asked about Matthews. A player that's as versatile as he will attract attention, but there's no way it'll be this year, right...?
5. Speaking of the NBA: It sounded like Calipari was pitching for Ulis to leave for the NBA Draft after this season. Talked about how good Ulis is, saying he's Kentucky's best player several times, and mentioned how he can't get much better. Calipari said his height and weight won't change, and the only things he can improve on are minor things, like being more consistent with his shot, making better decisions and his passing. I've always been on the "Ulis will be here for at least three years" train, but maybe it's time to strongly consider Ulis leaving early for the draft.
6. Classic Calipari: Yes, Calipari hit on his classic "Jordan Spieth" bit, as we all expected, but he had a new recruiting pitch today that made me laugh. Calipari said that Kentucky was very similar to Hawaii in the sense that everyone wants to visit, but not everyone wants to end up at college there. It's a good point and I wouldn't be surprised if we heard that on Friday. It's almost challenging recruits. "Don't visit here if you don't want to come here," is what I took away from this comment.
7. What to make of Marcus Lee: Calipari had some really good things to say about Marcus Lee, but he also didn't talk him up like he did with other players. Calipari said Marcus Lee has improved on several things, but he's still trying to figure out what player he wants to be. The Cats will need Marcus Lee this year, and they will need him in the role that Calipari plans on using him- shot blocker, energy guy and rebounder. Hopefully Lee can figure that out and make an impact for the Cats.
But I did find it interesting hearing Calipari talk about how Lee is close to positionless player, but not there yet. He talked about how he wants guys that can do a little bit of everything, stretch the floor and be a play-maker. I certainly felt like he was talking about Wenyen Gabriel and maybe Sacha Killeya-Jones when he made that comment.
8. Poythress percentage: Is anyone buying that Poythress is at 75 percent like Calipari said on Wednesday? I saw him practice Sunday and while he's probably not 100 percent, he has to be more than 3/4 of his playing potential. If he is at 75 percent it's a scary thought to think what 100 percent Alex Poythress could be.
9. Hawkins outlook: Hawkins isn't able to practice because of his hand, and that's no surprise because breaking your hand is a pain in, well, your hand, but Calipari had an interesting quote about Hawkins. Yeah, we've heard Calipari talk about Hawkins making an impact and improving, but on Wednesday Calipari said that Hawkins was shooting better than anyone from deep? Chalk me up as not buying that for a second, but we can take something away from that quote. It seems Hawkins has truly improved as a deep-ball shooter and while that's big for UK, it's bigger for him.
Now, on the flip-side, if Hawkins is UK's best three-point shooter it would mean either Hawkins had some sort of Space Jam stealing powers from Ray Allen type moment, or that UK will stink as a three-point shooting team.
Luckily I'm not buying that quote from Calipari and while Hawkins may have improved, the Cats will be fine from the perimeter thanks to Jamal Murray, Tyler Ulis, Mychal Mulder, Isaiah Briscoe (who's improved) and now I guess, Hawkins.
10. Calipari on UofL and NCAA: I asked a question that would allow Calipari to comment on the NCAA and how UK stays on top of things, and Calipari gave a great answer in saying that they meet once a month to talk about the NCAA rules and make sure things are going fine. He also said sometimes Kentucky may make up rules just to be careful. Seems like the Cats are staying on top of things as so many programs are getting in trouble.
But then Tim Sullivan on the Courier-Journal came out firing, directly asking about Rick Pitino. Calipari said he hasn't reached out because he didn't think it'd be appropriate, but said he couldn't imagine a scenario where Pitino knew about this stuff if it's true.
Calipari said he hopes it isn't true because it would be bad for college basketball. A classy response from UK's coach.
