I have listened to many of John Calipari’s post game comments during his time at the University of Kentucky. I listened to him rave about the talent of John Wall, talk about the pure ability of DeMarcus Cousins, lament his team’s lack of effort in SEC play and enjoy his team’s victory to lead them to a Final Four.
But I have never heard him as excited as he was after Kentucky’s victory over Morehouse in their last exhibition game of the season. The 125-40 beating almost left the coach speechless; but this is John Calipari
we are talking about here so that didn’t last long.
The coach could not stop talking about his team’s intensity and their commitment to good play. They didn’t play flashy, they were more concerned with running the offense and making the right play. Not to say there weren’t some highlight worthy dunks from Terrence Jones, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Anthony Davis, but those dunks were part of called plays and smart passes from teammates.
The most interesting thing that the coach talked about, and the point that I felt is the most important, is the roles his players will take as the season progresses. He stated that he doesn’t need to be his players to be good at everything they do; just be great at one thing and let the other guys take care of what you aren’t great at.
He admitted that Anthony Davis and Kyle Wiltjer are not the toughest guys on the team. That’s OK. He has Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marquis Teague and Terrence Jones, three guys that will “maul you” (Cal’s exact words). That way Davis can worry about blocking shots and Wiltjer can work on his three point shot and his hook shot.
He also discussed Miller and Lamb trading sixth man duties, something that both players are willing to do without complaint.
The hard part is going to be getting these guys to play at the intensity level that they showed against Morehouse every night of the season. The main complaint that fans and John Calipari had against last year’s team was that they did not play with intensity and excitement every night. Much of that had to do with the personality of the team. As great as Brandond Knight is, intense may not be the word I would use to describe him. Jones was a freshman trying to learn his way. The most intense guy on the court was DeAndre Liggins, someone that was intense all the time.
This year’s squad has Jones, Kidd-Gilchrist and Teague playing the part of the intense player. These three players will bring it every night, no excuses.
The real season start’s Friday against Marist, which should be another romp for the Cats. Then the showdown with the Kansas Jayhawks is just four short days later. Will this young group be able to bring it against KU on national TV? I can’t wait to find out and neither can John Calipari. He knows he has something special.
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