Calipari sends out Signing Day message

Less than a week from National Signing Day, when high school players can sign to play for their school of choice, UK head coach John Calipari sent out a message on his website.

An excerpt:

I would hope everyone – players and fans – understand that if you start hearing outlandish things, understand it’s out of desperation. Some of the stuff I’ve heard thrown out there during this recruiting process is ridiculous and crazy.

Desperate people will do and say desperate things. I want everyone to understand that we’re not desperate at Kentucky. We’re not talking about other programs.

If someone asks me about another school or another coach, it’s going to be nothing but positive because we don’t concern ourselves with other programs. What these kids see when they visit here is exactly what they get when they come to play basketball and study at the University of Kentucky.

Calipari also reiterated that UK is not for all recruits and that he doesn’t make any promises or guarantees to players.

Source

No roster changes to report concerning Poole

A Friday morning tweet by SNY.tv’s Adam Zagoria reported Stacey Poole Jr., who is considering a transfer, had moved out of team housing.

A UK spokesman said he is “not aware of” any truth to that report and said there were no roster changes as of 10:30 a.m.

UPDATE: Kyle Tucker of The Louisville Courier-Journal reports Stacey Poole’s father denied the report that Poole Jr. had moved out, saying he is currently flying into Lexington to discuss the decision, which would be made “this weekend … by Monday.”

UPDATE: Terrence Jones tweeted at approximately 11 a.m. that “My and @DeuceyDeuce (Stacey Poole’s Twitter handle) in our room bout to watch a movie in the lodge!”

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Pomeroy ranks UK No. 1, Calipari visiting Memphis

Two quick notes from Thursday:

1. Ken Pomeroy, the leading advanced-statistic analyst on college basketball, projected UK as the No. 1 team in the country. His statistic-driven system projects Ohio State as No. 2 and North Carolina No. 3.

His statistics project UK to have the No. 2 offense and the No. 2 defense in tempo-free national ratings. UK is favored to win every game (the lowest win probability percentage is at Vanderbilt, with 59 percent) and has a 1.9 percent chance of going undefeated. The “most likely” scenario is for UK to finish 27-3 (14-2 SEC). The full page is worth a look, and will continue to be throughout the year.

2. John Calipari was apparently down in Memphis recruiting Thursday. According to Evan Daniels, 2012 forward Jarnell Stokes, a Memphis native, has increased interest in UK (Stokes had previously had UK among his top six but dropped them a few months ago, writing on his blog that his interest in UK hadn’t been reciprocated). Calipari was also spotted in his old hangout, Gibson’s Donuts, according to The Memphis Commercial Appeal’s basketball beat writer Jason Smith. I interned at the Commercial Appeal this summer and wrote a story on the very same Gibson’s shop — it was Calipari’s go-to joint in the mornings, and the owner developed into a good friend.

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Kidd-Gilchrist wraps up starting spot

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist wrapped up a starting spot with his 17-point, seven-rebound performance in UK’s exhibition win over Transylvania.

From head coach John Calipari: “Michael Kidd-Gilchrist? Obviously, you watched the game. He was the difference in what happened. He did what I knew he would do. I would say, looking at today, he’s a starter because you have to have him start the game. Can’t start the game like we did today. That’s what I would say.

“I’ll watch the tape and watch the game. But I think he solidified one spot with great intensity and fire, which is what we were looking for. He goes for 19 (points), seven rebounds, five assists, 9-for-12 from the floor in 25 minutes. I took him out in the first half because he had two fouls. I want those guys to know, ‘You got two (fouls), I’m not going to play you.’ Then because I wanted him to get more minutes, I put him for about four or five minutes with two fouls. Normally, I wouldn’t do that.”

Calipari said he hasn’t settled on a starting five, and has earlier said the exhibitions should make it “obvious” who will start.

With Kidd-Gilchrist apparently locked in place, who will the other four be? Well, Marquis Teague is in there for sure at point guard. Terrence Jones, too. Anthony Davis, probably, although it’s less than a 100 percent bet if he doesn’t show he can do anything in the post offensively. (I’d still put it at 95 percent he will start, though.) Which leaves Darius Miller vs. Doron Lamb. It’s too early to tell, but right now, I’d give the edge to Lamb. He’s just a better player, and he showed he’s more than just a shooter tonight on a few players where he caught the ball with space on the perimeter but gave a head fake and drove rather than pulled up. If anything can be read into the second-half starting lineup — which I’m not sure anything can be — Miller was on the bench.

Here’s the rest of Calipari’s press conference, from a UK-provided transcript:

Q. What did you get out of tonight?
COACH CALIPARI: We have a long way to go. I think everyone knows it. We’ve got a couple guys that play with great intensity. They’re going to have to spend a lot of time on the court. That’s just how it is. Mad, sad, happy, unhappy, they’re going to have to be on the floor a lot because they have that intensity you need to win.
The good news is everybody in this building saw it, anybody that watched it on TV saw it. They also see we’re not tough enough. First half, we couldn’t post up. We couldn’t go in the post and hold a position.
Again, Coach (Brian) Lane, I told those guys after, ‘Brian, you should be proud of them.’ They didn’t back away. They started that game, made shots, played with unbelievable emotion, played harder than us, got every loose ball, took charges, did everything they had to do to stay in the game. Here we are with a big height advantage. I think probably five of our first six shots were 3s.
Am I missing something here? But that’s what happens when you have a lot of young guys or guys that aren’t playing with that fire that you got to play with. They’ll settle.
Why you settle for 3s? It’s easier. Go in there and get pushed and shoved and grabbed and hit? Stay right out here and shoot this. I hope it goes. If it doesn’t, I’m good.
We got a ways to go. Marquis Teague played a good game for a point guard first time out. Showed some good poise. Missed some shots. But that’s not what he’s going to be doing for us. What he’s going to be doing is nine assists, two turns, in a game where he played a lot of minutes and we were flying up and down the court.
I thought we were in shape until we played this thing. We didn’t look like we were in very good shape, so we got a lot of work to do there. Defense, we didn’t talk. Like I said, there are 60 teams right now, maybe more, that we could not beat if we had to play today. Thank goodness we got another couple weeks before we got to play another game, a real game.

Q. How about Anthony Davis and the way he could contest and block 3 point shots? How is his ankle?
COACH CALIPARI: He’s cramped up. It wasn’t his ankle. He got cramps because he’s not used to running that hard. That’s why I was laughing when we carried him off.
He’s good. But physically, you know, we got to figure out how we play him, where we put him where he can have success. Just throwing him in the post, say, ‘Here, post up, Shaq.’ That’s not who he is. I mean, he couldn’t do it today.
Made one play where he went back to his left hand. It looked pretty good. There were others he couldn’t get the shot off. The guy was 6’5″, 6’4″ guarding him.
We have to figure out how to use him. When you end up with a game with eight blocks, pretty good stuff. We only had eight turnovers. They played the way they had to play. They sagged. They’re not going to spread out. They’re going to sag. Guess what? They’re not the only team that’s going to play us that way. There’s going to be a lot of teams playing us that way.

Q. What do you think Michael Kidd-Gilchrist gave you?
COACH CALIPARI: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist? Obviously, you watched the game. He was the difference in what happened. He did what I knew he would do. I would say, looking at today, he’s a starter because you have to have him start the game. Can’t start the game like we did today. That’s what I would say.
I’ll watch the tape and watch the game. But I think he solidified one spot with great intensity and fire, which is what we were looking for. He goes for 19 (points), seven rebounds, five assists, 9-for-12 from the floor in 25 minutes. I took him out in the first half because he had two fouls. I want those guys to know, ‘You got two (fouls), I’m not going to play you.’ Then because I wanted him to get more minutes, I put him for about four or five minutes with two fouls. Normally, I wouldn’t do that.

Q. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist gave you a big spark off the bench. Why not use him in that sense?
COACH CALIPARI: Because you can’t start a game down. We should be a good starting team. Then you go to your bench. We should be able to get another boost because those guys should be going against a second line player from another team who isn’t as good as they are or a player from another team that’s a little tired after four or five minutes.
Again, I don’t know who our starting five will be. But I would guess after today Michael will be one of them.

Q. How pleased were you with the way Darius (Miller) played? When Darius came in, he played inspired ball.
COACH CALIPARI: Yeah, he did. He played good. I thought Doron (Lamb) played good.
Again, I got to watch the tape. We just have to be a better team together. We have to play off of one another. We can’t worry about where I’m playing.
I think we thought we were going to win by a hundred. I was so happy the game was close. I was so happy the start was what it was. Then when we started separating, they came back and tied it up again. I was loving it. It’s a teaching tool. It’s a chance for me to talk to them about, you know, look, they’re a good team, but they’re Division III, but they’re a good team. But c’mon, think about where we are as a team right now.
That’s basically what I said to them after.

Q. What did you think defensively from your guys?
COACH CALIPARI: I’m going to have to watch the tape and really see. Because we had so many blocks, it kind of covers some of the breakdowns. I do know this: we switched, which I do want to do with this team because we got a lot of guys that look the same. But we didn’t switch the right way.
Now, I cannot blame them because we haven’t worked on it much, so… If we’re going to switch and do those things, we’re going to have to work on it.

Q. Did you see anything about how you were playing that was a little bit alarming to you or is this exactly where you knew they were?
COACH CALIPARI: It’s always alarming to me. I’m an alarmist.
We got a lot of work to do. I wish it was easy. Just put a group of guys together, a bunch of freshmen, you throw them together and they just play. That’s not how it works. Got a lot of work to do. Got a lot of work to do defensively, conditioning, toughness, execution, understanding you can’t settle. It’s Nov. 2. I’ve had them for two weeks. Think about that. Had ‘em for two weeks.
Still like my team. But I got a lot of work to do. I thought it was going to be easy. It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be hard.

Q. What can you tell us about Stacey Poole, whatever his situation is?
COACH CALIPARI: We don’t have any roster changes, so there’s nothing to talk about right now, so.

Close game early on a ‘teaching tool’

UK guard Marquis Teague shakes a defender during the University of Kentucky Men's basketball game against Transylvania University at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., on 11/2/11. Uk won the game 97-53. Photo by Mike Weaver | Staff

Transylvania wasn’t the team that started the opening exhibition game slow after its long, arduous 0.4-mile walk from its campus to Rupp Arena. It was UK.

Transylvania jumped to a 5-0 lead in the first 1:49, prompting UK head coach John Calipari to call his first timeout of the young season.

“I was hoping the power would go out,” Transylvania head coach Brian Lane said, “so we could spend a little more time with that lead.”

They did, kind of, as they were still within one point after 12 minutes.

“We thought we were going to win by 100,” Calipari said. “I was so happy the game was close (early). It’s a teaching tool. It’s a chance for me to tell them, look, they’re a good team, but they’re Division III. Come on.”

Even the opposing coach was using the game as a teaching tool for UK.

“We approached this as a way to help Kentucky get ready for those early games in the season,” Lane said, in perhaps the first-ever instance a coach straight-up said his team entered the game with a zero percent hope of winning.

UK ended up blowing the Pioneers out 97-53, but those first few minutes were a reality check. Guard Doron Lamb said the team came out “nonchalant.”

“It let us know it’s not going to be as easy as we thought it would,” guard Marquis Teague said. “We expected to come in from the first half and be up 30.”

Not because this team is overconfident. It’s so easy to get carried away after watching the defense-optional Big Blue Madness and Blue-White scrimmage. UK had looked in mid-season form before the regular season had even begun.

UK’s slow start Wednesday provided perspective. Calipari said his team is young every year, and this year is no different. It’s easy to discard those lines because he’s proven so adept at getting a young roster running smoothly early, but they’re still true.

This team has only been a team for a few weeks now. Even during those weeks, players were split up. Some guys, such as Terrence Jones and Anthony Davis, have only played with each other a few practices.

So yes, there was a lack of cohesiveness early.

“We just weren’t on the same page sometimes,” Teague said. “Defensively, we were breaking down. They were getting open looks. Offensively, we were discombobulated at times. Just a little confused.”

Yes, this team still has to figure out how to impose its will. UK had a massive height advantage. The kind of advantage where, to prepare for Davis’ length, Lane held a broom over his head and made players shoot over it.

UK didn’t post up as much as it should have. Teague acknowledged that, and so did Calipari.

“Here we are with a big height advantage, and five of our first six shots were threes,” Calipari said. “That’s what happens when you have young guys or guys playing without that fire. You settle.”

Did the problems concern Calipari?

“It’s always alarming to me,” Calipari said. “I’m an alarmist. Is that a word?”

It is for him, but it doesn’t mean this game should create panic. In no way should this game cast doubt on UK’s ability to work through these areas of concern; it just served as a reminder that yes, young teams have their issues to figure out at a young juncture in the season. UK will certainly figure them out. It did last season, and it will again this season, probably sooner than later.

Especially now that players will start playing together more often. Teague said he felt the chemistry improving in the second half and expects that to continue.
But for now, UK isn’t perfect.

“The good news is everybody in this building saw it,” Calipari said. “Anybody that watched it on TV saw it.”

We saw it. But we’ll also see UK keep improving as the season comes closer.

Practice run: UK beats neighbor Transy

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist drives to the basket against Transylvania University at Rupp Arena Wednesday November 2, 2011. Photo by Scott Hannigan | Staff

After much anticipation from both fans and players, the Cats were able to play someone other than themselves in an exhibition game against Transylvania Wednesday at Rupp Arena. The Cats came out on top of a 97-53 final score, shooting 59.1 percent from the floor.

Transy started off on top with junior guard Barrett Meyer scoring the team’s first five points early in the game, but UK answered with an 13-0 run to take the lead 17-11.

The Pioneers were playing fast with the guards from the start, hustling on both sides of the court while playing fearless defense and drawing fouls.

“We approached this game as a way to try to help the University of Kentucky get ready for those early games in the season,” Transylvania head coach Brian Lane said. “There was not an intent at any time to come in and think we were going to win the game.”

Lane said the goal was to provide offensive strategies that UK will likely see throughout the season.

The Cats, finally getting a chance to compete, were performing defensive strategies, but there is still room for adjustment. They were pressing, but often lost men on all sides of the court, allowing the Pioneers to find an open man on the perimeter.

“We have a long way to go. I think everyone knows it,” UK head coach John Calipari said. “We’ve got a couple guys that play with great intensity. They’re going to have to spend a lot of time on the court.”

Without having a chance to run the dribble-drive and multiple difficulties with mismatches, the players are aware that they have some adjustments and improvements to make in order to successfully compete this season.

“Every freshman was probably the best player on their team,” sophomore forward Terrence Jones said. “(They) shot majority of the shots, and now you gotta alternate to different roles playing with so many different good players around you. It’s not as easy as it seems.”

The adjustment isn’t coming as a shock for the freshmen, though.

“For them to be that small they played really aggressive and physical without big guys,” freshman guard Marquis Teague said. “At first we were having trouble posting them, but they were really physical with the guards all night.”

But this game doesn’t count toward the season and UK was looking at Wednesday as a way to come together and play as a team for the first time.

“It was fun to actually get to compete against other teams and all (of) us to play together for the first time,” Teague said.

Five of the Cats walked away from the exhibition game with double-digit points. Jones finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Senior guard Darius Miller counted for 10 points and five rebounds. Sophomore guard Doron Lamb ended with 19 points to close out the game while freshmen Marquis Teague and forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist debuted with 14 and 19 points, respectively.

Calipari said that Kidd-Gilchrist, judging from Wednesday night, would likely be a starter for UK. Since the Cats did start off slow he changed the attitudes of the players to pick them up and have them play more aggressively and with more intensity.

“He plays just like DeAndre (Liggins). He is a great player and dug deep,” Lamb said. “He played good off the bench making shots and playing defense.”

Freshman forward Anthony Davis had eight blocks to end the game, most of which occurred while Transy players were attempting three-point shots, and this is something that is to be expected from Davis as the season progresses.

In regard to possibility guard Stacey Poole may transfer from the program in the next week, Calipari said, “We don’t have any roster changes, so there’s nothing to talk about right now.”

UK returns to Rupp Monday against Morehouse at 7 p.m.

Poole’s father wants to discuss potential transfer

Stacey Poole Jr. could potentially transfer from UK, according to multiple outlets.

In an interview with The Louisville Courier-Journal, Stacey Poole Sr. said he was the one who is initiating the process of weighing his son’s options. Poole Sr. said his son likes Kentucky and is “not thinking about leaving,” but Poole Sr. said he is unhappy for his son about his lack of playing time.

Poole Sr. told the Courier-Journal that “at the end of the day, I’m going to make the call. He’s 20, but he’s still a kid.”

Poole Sr. also said he’s been talking to his son about potentially transferring for weeks and will fly up from Florida this weekend to discuss the issue with his son.

Poole Sr., who was a standout player at Florida, told CBS he “can’t confirm the rumor at this time.”

Poole Jr. averaged 2.8 minutes per game last season, second-lowest on the team. His playing time is unlikely to increase this season with three returning high-impact players and four heralded freshmen.

At the beginning of the season, Poole Jr. was upfront in acknowledging his disappointing freshman season.

“I didn’t play last year,” Poole told the Kernel at Media Day. “It’s something I think about, and it motivates me every day to come in here and do what I have to do. … It’s tough. But you just have to keep your head up. Keep working and keep pushing. It motivates me to come in and be in the gym, be one of those guys who can contribute. Make sure I’m one of those guys to stay on the court.”

Poole was rated by Rivals.com as the No. 33 overall recruit when he came to UK.

UK ready to face new players in Transylvania exhibition

After three weeks of playing each other, UK finally gets a chance to play someone else.

It’s been non-stop blue vs. white, but now it’s time for some new faces.

“We finally get to jump on someone else,” freshman Marquis Teague said. “I’ve been waiting to do this since high school, playing here.”

That would be an historic exhibition game against Transylvania, whose players will march to Rupp Arena — a 0.4-mile route that, according to Google Maps, will take nine minutes to traverse — for the first meeting between the two Lexington teams in 100 years.

“And if they beat us,” UK head coach John Calipari said, “it will be another 100 before we play again.”

It isn’t likely. While the Division III Pioneers were picked to win its conference, it has only one player taller than 6-foot-6, and that player is 6-foot-8.
While Calipari understands the importance of the meeting, he said he would prefer to scrimmage them behind closed doors. That would allow him to stop the game when he saw something he didn’t like from his team and coordinate with the other coach to go over different situations.

While these “secret” scrimmages aren’t rare for teams — Jeff Goodman of CBS reported more than 100 private scrimmages were happening this week around the NCAA — they are impractical for UK.

Not when Rupp Arena fills up for the preseason, cross-town matchup. Not when UK makes about $700,000, according to Calipari, from the game.

So they will play. Calipari said the team still has the same issues exhibited in the Blue-White scrimmage last week. He specifically cited pick-and-roll defense, low-post defense and defensive rebounding as areas he would be keeping an eye on in the first exhibition of the season.

“He just pretty much told us, pick it up or he’s going to make us run,” Teague said.

The exhibition games will also provide insight into who will be the starting lineup once the regular season rolls around. Calipari has long held UK has seven starters. He said he hasn’t figured out who the five will be, but the next two games will help determine that.

“I think what will happen is we’ll play a couple exhibition games and everybody will know,” Calipari said. “It will be obvious.”

For some, coming off the bench — both against Transylvania and later in the year — will be an adjustment.

“We’ve all been the stars of our high school teams, but we’re all just looking forward to the opportunity to play,” Kyle Wiltjer said. “Whatever our roles are, we all want to play them so we can win.”

UK Hoops ranked nationally in both polls

By Les Johns | staff writer

Head coach Matthew Mitchell’s UK Hoops team was ranked No. 18 nationally in the The Associated Press poll and No. 15 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches’ poll.

This is the first time in program history that the team has been ranked in the preseason polls in consecutive seasons. Mitchell was not impressed.

“You couldn’t find a less interested coach in our preseason ranking,“ said Mitchell at UK Hoops Media Day Tuesday. “It means nothing. It has no bearing on this group now or what they can become.”

Mitchell did soften his stance later.

“We would rather be well-thought-of than not,” Mitchell said. “We want to be considered one of the top teams in the country year-in and year-out.”

The Cats face six teams in the AP Top 25, including two of the top three. UK will play road games against No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 13 Georgia and No. 21 LSU. Memorial Coliseum will serve as host for a matchup against No. 9 Louisville.

The team will also host No. 7 Duke on Dec. 8, with the game taking place at Rupp Arena.

The Cats will play perennial SEC favorite and No. 2 Tennessee twice, once in Knoxville and once in Lexington.

“We have some very good teams on our schedule,“ Mitchell said. “That motivates us as players and coaches to get prepared.”

Although fans may be looking at the marquee matchups later in the season, the team seems focused on the immediate schedule.

“We are taking this one game at a time,” freshman Bria Goss said. “Our main focus right now is Coker.”

The Cats will host their only exhibition at Memorial Coliseum on Sunday against Coker College. Admission is free. After opening the regular season on the road against Morehead State, the Cats begin the regular-season home slate on Tuesday, Nov. 15 against Jacksonville State at 11 a.m.

The Cats will feature a deep and talented roster, returning four starters from last year as well as another top-10 recruiting class. Point guard Amber Smith, who missed all of last season because of injury, will also return for the Cats.

“This is an exciting time of year,” said Mitchell. “We have assembled a talented group of players. “Now the challenge is to see if we can form those players into a team.”

Breaking Bad: 3 areas to improve in week 10

By Cody Porter | Kernel columnist

Coming off yet another loss last week, this time to Mississippi State, the Cats actually improved in some areas that had recently plagued them.

The passing game managed to complete passes to eight different receivers. Senior wide receiver Matt Roark alone had 13 catches for 116 yards, a career high.

After junior quarterback Morgan Newton was hurt early in the game, freshman quarterback Maxwell Smith stepped up to the challenge and was efficient in leading the Cats down the field on multiple drives. He had struggled earlier this season in the game against South Carolina and Lousiana State, but looked like a completely different player, as he went 26 for 33 and 174 yards.

His ability to find his receivers and make a couple of tough throws, while being pressured, were qualities that stood out.

For the offense, it was the second-best performance of the season, behind the game against Jacksonville State.

Still, some areas need improving.

1. Offensive Play Calling

With the blackout having the fans and players as excited as they may have been all season, UK head coach Joker Phillips decided to take a chance on a fourth-down punt in the first quarter. The ball was snapped and Ryan Tydlacka sprinted toward the right side of the field and up the sideline, picking up the first down in the process. It seemed that weeks of frustration by the fan base was going to change with that play. It was one of the first big risks that Phillips has taken during the season.

But the ensuing drive failed to deliver a touchdown and was a energy killer. Two other decisions, when he elected not to go for a first down on a fourth-and-six in the third quarter, and when he passed up going for a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter would also prove to be head scratchers. These type of choices are some of the main reasons UK has failed to take advantage of situations during games that could have improved their record. When your record is lacking wins, taking some risks is what can at least get the fans back on your side, win or lose.

2. Defensive Pass Coverage

Following practice on Monday, junior linebacker Ridge Wilson said the defense was unprepared for the passing game that was thrown at them by the Bulldogs.

This happened because Rick Minter’s defense focused on the successful Mississippi State running game led by Vick Ballard, who still managed 18 carries for 90 yards on Saturday. The combination of Mississippi State’s Tyler Russell and Chris Relf completed 15 of 21 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns. Those totals amount to 75 more yards on 14 fewer completions than that of the Cats.

The fact is, it wasn’t just Saturday night that the passing coverage has struggled. Fortunately for the Cats, they could get a break against upcoming opponent Ole Miss. The Rebels have struggled to find consistency in their passing game over the past few weeks, making it potentially UK’s best opportunity before season’s end to solve its problems in pass coverage.

3. Running Game

The Cats running game hasn’t been bad. They have used an assortment of ways to move the ball on the ground and it has been their most viable option on offense.

However, I don’t know why we aren’t seeing junior running back CoShik Williams become the featured back considering his recent success. He has shown that he should be the main threat on offense. Against a difficult Mississippi State defense, Williams was well on his way to rushing for the century mark when, all of a sudden, Jonathan George began getting the hand-offs for the remainder of the game. Where Williams went, I haven’t a clue, but if they choose to mix it up with a different back, that would be fine.

I expect that once Newton returns, his duties will primarily be to run out of the shotgun formation. That could make the defense susceptible to the pass, which is the likely solution to the offensive problems, in addition to the newfound potential found in Smith.