Kentucky Wildcats Media Day Transcript
By Jason Marcum
#4 Jon Hood, Sr. G
On what has stood out in practice more with this team compared to teams in the past …
“This year we are having a lot of fun in practice.”
On what his thoughts are going into his final season …
“This year is all about fun for me, if it’s not for that then there is no reason to play the game.”
On if the Louisville game sticks out more than any other game …
“No, not at all, it is just another game.”
On player competition in practice for playing time …
“There is player competition here every year, this year we are stacked at every position, we are just ready to play someone besides us.”
On what he needs to individually do to get better …
“(I need to) be good defensively and rebound, if you can do those two things, the coaches have to play you.”
#5 Andrew Harrison, Fr., G
On how practice has gone thus far …
“As of now it’s going great. No one cares about scoring we are just trying to play as a team. The biggest difference between high school practice and practices (at Kentucky) is they are much more competitive. Everyone is on your level so you have to be a leader, step up and be challenged every day. I think that’s the biggest difference. I try leading by example. No one is going to follow if you say what you’re going to do and don’t do it. We have to play. Our practices are very intense. Everyone wants to win every drill, and every sprint. What is crazy about it is you have to actually be mentally prepared for practice because it’s pretty much a war. I’m excited for practice every day because I know we are going to get into it and it’s going to be like a real game. You definitely have to learn, the first few practices are definitely the hardest. Sometimes you don’t feel like practicing, but once you get in there and you see the competitiveness you can’t do anything but bring up the level. I’ve been playing against a lot of my teammates since I’ve been nine or 10-years old so I know them. That made it a little easier to adjust.”
On being compared to past point guards who played in college for John Calipari …
“Being compared to a lot of those guys is great, but at the same time I have a lot of work to do to be on those guys’ level. I have to be in the gym, and we have to win. That’s the most important thing is winning.”
On what Coach Calipari has him working on …
“He has been getting on me about pushing the ball, so that’s what I’m working on right now. We have had a lot of really good practices. I think we are pretty good right now, but we can always get better. With me and Aaron (Harrison) he talks a lot about speed. He sees everything on every play. If you even don’t cut hard when you know you’re not going to get the ball he’s definitely going to let you know. You have to play hard on every play.”
On dealing with expectations …
“You can’t really worry about expectations because that just comes from people that have nothing to do with you or your teammates. I’m pretty aware. I used to watch Kentucky basketball whenever it was on TV. I’m pretty aware, but we can’t really compare ourselves to teams of the past. We have to be ourselves. You just have to become better, be yourself and make sure your teammates are playing together.”