Calipari becomes "Mr Obvious", says this is Patterson's last season plus Cal talks about Cousins
By Staff
In a meeting with the Kentucky Association of basketball coaches, John Calipari announced what the Wildcat nation has known all along: that Patrick Paterson would not be returning as a senior after the 2009-2010 season. Calipari was discussing his first season at UK and siad that his first squad consisted of:
“three seniors and Patrick Patterson, who will leave this year. Hopefully he’ll be a top 10 pick.”
While the news is not earth shattering, it is kind of surprising to hear the coach talk about it so definitely before the season starts. Of course, Patterson returned to UK for his junior year, thinking that playing a season with Calipari would improve his stock in the NBA draft. This decision seems to have paid off already as America’s sportswriters think that Patterson made the right move by staying in school. The Sporting News Mike DeCourcy said that Patterson was the top power forward in college basketball and had some interesting comments about Calipari’s impact on him thus far:
“His confinement to the center position ended when John Calipari was hired as coach. Patterson (6-9, 235) will have the liberty to function away from the basket, but having the handcuffs removed doesn’t free him from the responsibility to play inside when it counts.
Patterson says: “I know Coach Cal is going to want me to play underneath the basket at crunch time, when we really need a basket. That’s my bread and butter, what I’m best at. It is a luxury to no longer have to guard the 6-11, 6-10 guys.”
Now the guy expected to be guarding the 6’10 and 6’11 guys for UK next year is expected to be none other than freshman DeMarcus Cousins. While Patterson is seemingly having no problem adapting to Calipari’s vision for how a big man plays, it seems that Cousins, while talented, is still adhering to the “old roles” of what a big man should do. Keep in mind that Cousins is just a few months out of HS and has never had a coach teach him like Calipari, but I found this tidbit by Jerry Tipton interesting at best:
In his talk to the coaches, Calipari suggested that he might have some issues with Cousins regarding the big man being around the basket or on the perimeter.
In a recent scrimmage, Cousins had at least 20 points and 20 rebounds. That prompted Calipari to say he told the freshman, “You were a beast. . . . Are you that good? Because if you are that good, it’s starting to get scary.”
After Cousins thanked the coach, Calipari said he added, “But your body language (stunk).”
Cousins then explained. “It’s how you’re plaing me,” he told Calipari. “You know my skills are out on the floor.”
To which Calipari told the coaches, “He thinks that’s what people want to see from a 6-11, 270 (player).”
Calipari offered a compromise.
The UK coach told his audience, “I may tell him with every 10 rebounds, I’ll let you go to the top of the key and go crazy.”
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