Kentucky Wildcats Media Day Transcript
By Jason Marcum
Courtesy of the fine folks at the University of Kentucky Media Department, here is a full transcript of today’s Media Day session with the 12 scholarship players on the men’s basketball team:
#00 Marcus Lee, Fr., F
On John Calipari calling him a young Dennis Rodman …
“I pride myself on defense and getting the job done, that’s what is needed on the team. I saw we were extremely great offensively, and I tried to find a place for myself. I knew I could make a big impact defensively. You don’t really have to work on it; you just have to have the pride to do it. Getting through that, I can bring the team together and work through it so we can all have it whole.”
On if the level of competition is higher defensively …
“It’s definitely higher. Going through high school we’ve probably all been the guy where we’ve sagged off, not really done much and kind of helped where we’re needed. Now that we’re here, we have to battle every two seconds, because if we don’t battle, we’ll slip up, someone will get a dunk, and we’re going the other way, already in trouble. We’ve learned here that we have to battle every moment, every second, so we can get the ball back and just keep working.”
On if the team deserves the expectations and attention …
“Right now, I have no idea. I couldn’t tell you at all, I just know we’ve been working as hard as we’ve worked ever in our lives. I’ve been here maybe two extra months and I’ve never worked so hard in my life.”
On keeping the teammates together, united …
“I just try to keep our team together, even if we’re away or not with each other all the time. I’ll send tweets or text messages to all the players and all the coaches, just to make sure we’re not forgetting who we are and we’re always together. They all get excited when I text them randomly and it kind of makes their day and gets them ready for practice.”
On going undefeated …
“Since I’ve been here, we haven’t talked about it at all, we’ve just talked about getting better and progressing as a team and learning as much as possible.
#1 James Young, Fr., G
On how things have been going …
“I’ve been really excited about the practices. Everybody is learning how to play with each other and it’s really exciting.”
On how he feels like he is practicing …
“I feel like I am going good. I am just trying to get better day-by-day. I feel like I can still do a little more.”
On if he feels overshadowed by the guys on this team …
“Not at all. I feel like I am just doing me. I am just trying to play my game.”
On what he considers his game to be …
“Score. I am starting to get better rebounding the ball.”
On if he has a dance planned for Big Blue Madness …
“I have been thinking about it, but I don’t think I am.”
On what he is expecting from Big Blue Madness …
“I was here last year, and it was crazy. I feel like it’s going to be the same thing this year.”
On coach John Calipari comparing him to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist …
“I’m just trying to be a team leader. I am just trying to be me.”