Kentucky Wildcats Basketball not weighed down by “100 pound coat”

If anything, John Calipari is the king of the analogies.  From the early days of his players “pooping ice cream” to being everyone’s Super Bowl, John Calipari has the habit of throwing out the comments that area going to resonate with the Big blue Nation.  After yesterday’s 86-28 win over Montana State, Calipari decided to elaborate on some of the unique pressures that his Kentucky Wildcats basketball team feels on a daily basis. 

"“What these kids deal with to be here, to play here, to be a part of this program, they wear a hundred-pound coat,” Calipari said. The burden, Calipari admits, starts with him. “I am rough on them, I am tough on them, I’m holding them to high standard,” Calipari said. “I’m like a hawk. I see everything. I’m coaching them the entire time. They’re getting better. It is not an option, you will get better. That’s me.” Then you have Kentucky fans, who surely would have made concerned calls to radio shows on Monday had the final margin been much less than the 58-point one they enjoyed on Sunday evening, largest since a 62-point win over Vanderbilt in 2002-03. “That’s another 20 pounds of the coat,” Calipari said. To top it off, there’s the media scrutiny that’s led to a national debate about whether this UK team could beat the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, not to mention the people surrounding the players who create the “clutter” about which Calipari so often talks. Contrast that with UK’s opponents, whom Calipari says are burden-free next to the Cats. “The people coming in to play us got windbreakers,” Calipari said. “They’re loose as a goose. They’re just going to go play.”"

Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Throughout the history of the Kentucky Wildcats basketball program, it is still surprises me whenever a performance hits the historical proportions. While Sundays’ win was not one for the record books, it was a game unlike any that had been seen in recent years.  John Clay looks at some of the numbers.  

"– Montana State’s 28 points is a low by a Kentucky opponent in the shot clock era. Morehead scored just 32 points on December 16, 1995 against the Cats. Kentucky won the game 96-32. That Kentucky team went on to win the national title. Dick Fick was the Morehead State coach. UK led that game 50-14 at the half. – Montana State scored just 11 points in the first half, the fewest scored against UK in a first half in the shot clock era since the Cats led Campbell 45-11 at the half on Dec. 29, 2004. Before Sunday, the fewest points a Calipari team had allowed in the first half was 14, which happened on four occasions. – The 58-point margin of victory was the biggest since UK beat Vanderbilt 106-44 on March 5, 2003 under Tubby Smith. It was the biggest margin in the Calipari Era, beating the 90-38 win over Eastern Michigan on January 2, 2013 and the 101-49 win over Lafayette on November 16, 2012. – Montana State shot 19.7 percent, which would be nearly an all-time low for a UK opponent except for the fact that Kansas shot just 19.6 percent against Kentucky last Tuesday. Kansas made 11 of 56 shots from the floor. Montana State made 12 of 61 shots. – Montana State made just two of 23 three-point shots for 8.7 percent. For teams that took at least 20 three-point shots, that’s the lowest three-point percentage by a Kentucky opponent since Radford made two-of-25 threes on November 23, 2011. Kentucky won that game 88-40 and led Radford 45-14 at halftime."

Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

In case you missed it, here are the highlights from the Wildcats win, along with Coach Cal’s press conference.