Hello HOB. As I do each week, I'll be following along with the coach's weekly radio call-in show tonight and sharing the main news and notes with you guys here who may not be able to listen along live. Show starts at 6 ET. Stay tuned...
* Reflecting on the reunion weekend they had for the 96-97-98 teams, Cal said it was really heart-warming to hear the crowd's reaction to Tubby Smith. Said sometimes in the heat of the battle you don't know how the people really feel about you, but with former coaches like Joe B. Hall and Tubby Smith, UK fans have really stepped up and let them know how much they meant to them. Having those players in town was a big deal to the current players. They loved it.
* Cal asked the team today who the hardest worker on the team is. They all pointed to Chris Livingston. Always takes care of his business. Kinda like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander used to be. And now he's demonstrating he can do it in games. Getting better and better. Best thing he's doing right now is offensive rebound. He attempted to offensive rebound on 90% of their misses in the UT game. That's an incredible number, Cal said. When Cal quizzes the players from time to time to make sure they know what their role is, Chris always says rebounding first. He gets it.
* Wheeler and Fredrick have been working hard to get back on the court, Cal said. But they're not quite there yet. The doctors and trainers say they're doing the right things to get back. You trust the kids to make that decision. They know their pain level, nobody else does.
* With Castleton likely out of this game, Florida will have other guys step up and play with nothing to lose, Cal said. Cats have to play with the same kind of nothing-to-lose mentality. Gators will likely shoot 23-25 3-pointers. Always a tough place to play.
* Areas of improvement needed the last couple of weeks: individual confidence on defense so you can be aggressive. Offensively, the confidence to pull the trigger when you're open and you have to make free throws. Need to have a stronger mentality as a team in finishing games off.
* Caller asks if Cason can play some 2 while Thiero is playing the point. Cal says he likes playing them together, but it probably has to be with Cason at the point. He just knows the offense better, has a better feel for the position right now. But likes what Thiero is doing.
* Jacob Toppin told the team after the Vols' early run in the 2nd half, "That's their run. Now we make ours." He was leading, making sure everyone knew they were alright, just had to answer. He feels better about himself now, able to lead.
* Caller asks how he and Rick Barnes got so close. Cal recalls a story about them working a basketball camp when they were both really young. Jokes that Rick looked like a hippie with long hair. (Picture that.) Says they just always stayed in touch ever since then. Noted that he probably wouldn't have told him how great the UT job was and pushed him to take it if he knew how much trouble Rick was going to cause him. Leach tells story about Barnes that he was up for a role as one of the "Monkees" before getting into basketball coaching. LOL Cal says he really hopes Rick can win a championship someday, just so long as it doesn't mean knocking out UK to do it.
* Cal is expecting the Cats to be given the hardest path possible, if they stay on track and make the NCAA Tournament. Still have a lot of business to take care of first, he adds.
* Having to deal with social media in this era is different than what kids had to deal with in the past, Cal says. The 1998 team hit a bad spot in February that year. Could you imagine if there was social media back then? Oof.
* Cal references his trip to Dawson Springs to see the game where Lyon County and Perry were playing. "A young man I wanted to check out scored a hundred." LOL
* Reflecting on the reunion weekend they had for the 96-97-98 teams, Cal said it was really heart-warming to hear the crowd's reaction to Tubby Smith. Said sometimes in the heat of the battle you don't know how the people really feel about you, but with former coaches like Joe B. Hall and Tubby Smith, UK fans have really stepped up and let them know how much they meant to them. Having those players in town was a big deal to the current players. They loved it.
* Cal asked the team today who the hardest worker on the team is. They all pointed to Chris Livingston. Always takes care of his business. Kinda like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander used to be. And now he's demonstrating he can do it in games. Getting better and better. Best thing he's doing right now is offensive rebound. He attempted to offensive rebound on 90% of their misses in the UT game. That's an incredible number, Cal said. When Cal quizzes the players from time to time to make sure they know what their role is, Chris always says rebounding first. He gets it.
* Wheeler and Fredrick have been working hard to get back on the court, Cal said. But they're not quite there yet. The doctors and trainers say they're doing the right things to get back. You trust the kids to make that decision. They know their pain level, nobody else does.
* With Castleton likely out of this game, Florida will have other guys step up and play with nothing to lose, Cal said. Cats have to play with the same kind of nothing-to-lose mentality. Gators will likely shoot 23-25 3-pointers. Always a tough place to play.
* Areas of improvement needed the last couple of weeks: individual confidence on defense so you can be aggressive. Offensively, the confidence to pull the trigger when you're open and you have to make free throws. Need to have a stronger mentality as a team in finishing games off.
* Caller asks if Cason can play some 2 while Thiero is playing the point. Cal says he likes playing them together, but it probably has to be with Cason at the point. He just knows the offense better, has a better feel for the position right now. But likes what Thiero is doing.
* Jacob Toppin told the team after the Vols' early run in the 2nd half, "That's their run. Now we make ours." He was leading, making sure everyone knew they were alright, just had to answer. He feels better about himself now, able to lead.
* Caller asks how he and Rick Barnes got so close. Cal recalls a story about them working a basketball camp when they were both really young. Jokes that Rick looked like a hippie with long hair. (Picture that.) Says they just always stayed in touch ever since then. Noted that he probably wouldn't have told him how great the UT job was and pushed him to take it if he knew how much trouble Rick was going to cause him. Leach tells story about Barnes that he was up for a role as one of the "Monkees" before getting into basketball coaching. LOL Cal says he really hopes Rick can win a championship someday, just so long as it doesn't mean knocking out UK to do it.
* Cal is expecting the Cats to be given the hardest path possible, if they stay on track and make the NCAA Tournament. Still have a lot of business to take care of first, he adds.
* Having to deal with social media in this era is different than what kids had to deal with in the past, Cal says. The 1998 team hit a bad spot in February that year. Could you imagine if there was social media back then? Oof.
* Cal references his trip to Dawson Springs to see the game where Lyon County and Perry were playing. "A young man I wanted to check out scored a hundred." LOL
