Kentucky takes on Morehead State on October 30th in the second of three basketball exhibition games for the Wildcats. They first take on Thomas More tomorrow. Here's what Morehead State coach Preston Spradlin told the media today when he sat alongside John Calipari.
Opening statement
“Well, it’s obviously a great opportunity for us. I really appreciated Coach (John Calipari) reaching out and thinking of us to be a part of this. To partner for a great cause, it’s one of those situa!ons where everybody wins. Coach has got eight new players; I have 10. It’s obviously my first full season and an opportunity for our kids. We have six – five in-state kids. Five Kentucky kids on our roster, and so they dream of playing in that building and it’s obviously a great atmosphere. A good opportunity for them to do that. Obviously, charity is going to be the big winner. Team Rubicon is the charity we’re going with, which is really neat. It’s an opportunity to use our sport, to use our game to really give back. It’s special.”
On what he’s learned from Coach Calipari on working with a brand new team
“Yeah, 10 new guys. You know, I was fortunate to be here with Coach for 've years, and we had 've really good teams. The roster turnover was heavy there, too. You know, I learned a lot from Coach. But,especially having 10 new players that, you know, you leave no stone unturned. You have to make sure that you’re teaching each and every day. You have to get your kids excited about learning. You have to create an environment that is competitive. They come in and they embrace the details. If your kids value winning and you create an environment in that the only way they can win is if they really execute details and they buy into learning then that becomes fun for them. They place a big value and a big price tag on that, so those are things that I really learned from Coach. Just being pa!ent with your group."
Coach Calipari:
“He didn’t learn that from me.”
“No, I did. Coach is an unbelievable teacher, and I had a front row seat for it for 've years. I soaked up every word that he said, watched his interac!on with some really good players and how he handled them all differently. You know, the way that he worked with the staff and things like that. All of that is daily reference for me with my team and my program.”
On if he called Coach Calipari when he got his opportunity a season ago
“Immediately. He was one of the very first people that I reached out too. He and Coach (John) Robic. My wife. You know, just seeking advice. The advice that he gave me was to keep it about the kids, make it about them and their experience, just keep that in the forefront of my mind in every single decision, and move that I make. I took that to heart, and we really did. We had six seniors on that team last year. My thing to them was, you know, we have an opportunity to write our own story. There’s a lot of stories being wri9en about our program right now, and the turmoil that we had. But, it’s a long season. So, we needed to make it about those kids and their experience there at Morehead State. So, with Coach’s advice I followed that and I’m proud of what we were able to do last year with those guys.”
On if any of his players have been affected by the recent disasters and if they’re excited to help
“Yeah, we do. We’re excited. We’ve got two kids on our roster from Florida. One from Tallahassee, one from Fort Lauderdale. If they weren’t directly affected, they’ve got family members and friends and people like that who were affected by it. Of course, hurricanes are nothing new to those kids. It means a lot to them. It’s really consistent, I think, as a coach you always try to talk about guys playing as a team and making things bigger than themselves, their individual success and things like that. So, this is the same thing. We’re playing a basketball game for other people. Sure, we’re going to bene't from it. We’re going to get great experience. We’re going to find out as coaches more things about our team. The real winner here is much bigger than basketball. To be able to relay that message with our kids and provide that kind of mo!va!on for them is really special.”
On if there was any one scene that touched him the most with the disaster coverage
“Probably not a specific thing. I just think all of the stuff, especially down in Houston, was very moving. You know, to see people being lifted out of their homes and other people – members of their community, things like that, just rallying to help one another – that stu6’s very encouraging.”
On coaching in Rupp Arena
“Well, I don’t know it could go a couple of different ways. We’ll see how that goes. No, it’ll be fun. You know, it will be a lot of fun. There’s a lot of people here at this university that have been really good to me. Not just Coach and the sta6, but everyone. So, it’s special for me to be able to come back. I have a lot of great memories in that building. It’ll be a great experience for me, obviously coaching in Rupp, coaching against a Hall of Famer with a really talented team. But, it’ll be special. It’ll be a lot of fun. You know, I’ve gotta make sure that I keep my focus. I’ve got to keep my team focused on the details and not to get too caught up in the atmosphere.”
On whether or not he has plays in
“The same ones he’ll run. The same exact ones, yeah. That’s where I learned it from. No, same thing – we’re trying to put in –"
Coach Calipari: “Line out of bounds. Line them up.”
“Yeah, you’ll see that. No, same stuff. We’re trying to chip away a little bit. It’s funny, listening to Coach.I think the press conference a=er the Blue-White Scrimmage he said, ‘You know, we might start the season with 've plays.’ Or something like that. We may do the same exact thing, because it’s taking a little while. But, we’ll get there with our guys. We’re having fun along the way with it.”
Opening statement
“Well, it’s obviously a great opportunity for us. I really appreciated Coach (John Calipari) reaching out and thinking of us to be a part of this. To partner for a great cause, it’s one of those situa!ons where everybody wins. Coach has got eight new players; I have 10. It’s obviously my first full season and an opportunity for our kids. We have six – five in-state kids. Five Kentucky kids on our roster, and so they dream of playing in that building and it’s obviously a great atmosphere. A good opportunity for them to do that. Obviously, charity is going to be the big winner. Team Rubicon is the charity we’re going with, which is really neat. It’s an opportunity to use our sport, to use our game to really give back. It’s special.”
On what he’s learned from Coach Calipari on working with a brand new team
“Yeah, 10 new guys. You know, I was fortunate to be here with Coach for 've years, and we had 've really good teams. The roster turnover was heavy there, too. You know, I learned a lot from Coach. But,especially having 10 new players that, you know, you leave no stone unturned. You have to make sure that you’re teaching each and every day. You have to get your kids excited about learning. You have to create an environment that is competitive. They come in and they embrace the details. If your kids value winning and you create an environment in that the only way they can win is if they really execute details and they buy into learning then that becomes fun for them. They place a big value and a big price tag on that, so those are things that I really learned from Coach. Just being pa!ent with your group."
Coach Calipari:
“He didn’t learn that from me.”
“No, I did. Coach is an unbelievable teacher, and I had a front row seat for it for 've years. I soaked up every word that he said, watched his interac!on with some really good players and how he handled them all differently. You know, the way that he worked with the staff and things like that. All of that is daily reference for me with my team and my program.”
On if he called Coach Calipari when he got his opportunity a season ago
“Immediately. He was one of the very first people that I reached out too. He and Coach (John) Robic. My wife. You know, just seeking advice. The advice that he gave me was to keep it about the kids, make it about them and their experience, just keep that in the forefront of my mind in every single decision, and move that I make. I took that to heart, and we really did. We had six seniors on that team last year. My thing to them was, you know, we have an opportunity to write our own story. There’s a lot of stories being wri9en about our program right now, and the turmoil that we had. But, it’s a long season. So, we needed to make it about those kids and their experience there at Morehead State. So, with Coach’s advice I followed that and I’m proud of what we were able to do last year with those guys.”
On if any of his players have been affected by the recent disasters and if they’re excited to help
“Yeah, we do. We’re excited. We’ve got two kids on our roster from Florida. One from Tallahassee, one from Fort Lauderdale. If they weren’t directly affected, they’ve got family members and friends and people like that who were affected by it. Of course, hurricanes are nothing new to those kids. It means a lot to them. It’s really consistent, I think, as a coach you always try to talk about guys playing as a team and making things bigger than themselves, their individual success and things like that. So, this is the same thing. We’re playing a basketball game for other people. Sure, we’re going to bene't from it. We’re going to get great experience. We’re going to find out as coaches more things about our team. The real winner here is much bigger than basketball. To be able to relay that message with our kids and provide that kind of mo!va!on for them is really special.”
On if there was any one scene that touched him the most with the disaster coverage
“Probably not a specific thing. I just think all of the stuff, especially down in Houston, was very moving. You know, to see people being lifted out of their homes and other people – members of their community, things like that, just rallying to help one another – that stu6’s very encouraging.”
On coaching in Rupp Arena
“Well, I don’t know it could go a couple of different ways. We’ll see how that goes. No, it’ll be fun. You know, it will be a lot of fun. There’s a lot of people here at this university that have been really good to me. Not just Coach and the sta6, but everyone. So, it’s special for me to be able to come back. I have a lot of great memories in that building. It’ll be a great experience for me, obviously coaching in Rupp, coaching against a Hall of Famer with a really talented team. But, it’ll be special. It’ll be a lot of fun. You know, I’ve gotta make sure that I keep my focus. I’ve got to keep my team focused on the details and not to get too caught up in the atmosphere.”
On whether or not he has plays in
“The same ones he’ll run. The same exact ones, yeah. That’s where I learned it from. No, same thing – we’re trying to put in –"
Coach Calipari: “Line out of bounds. Line them up.”
“Yeah, you’ll see that. No, same stuff. We’re trying to chip away a little bit. It’s funny, listening to Coach.I think the press conference a=er the Blue-White Scrimmage he said, ‘You know, we might start the season with 've plays.’ Or something like that. We may do the same exact thing, because it’s taking a little while. But, we’ll get there with our guys. We’re having fun along the way with it.”
