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Miami Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra seems to like the fact that he has Kentucky players on the roster for his team.
Q. I know this has been talked about before, but you guys have a couple Kentucky guys there. One is the boss [Pat Riley] and two have been a huge part of this run [Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro]. What is it about Kentucky guys, or the two you have anyway, and about their Kentucky experience that has prepared them to be ready for such a stage so soon?
MIAMI HEAT COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Well, we have to have a few Kentucky guys on our team because of my boss. That’s like a prerequisite. Somehow, some way we’ve got to get somebody from his alma mater on our roster.
This Finals seems like a great recruiting pitch for Cal [John Calipari], doesn’t it? I’m not sure he’s going to maximize that.
We love Kentucky players because you’re there to get better, to be pushed, to understand what it means to play for a team, play a role and to train to become a pro at this level. You’re going to face good competition in practice. You’re going to be expected to work. It’s an environment that, as much as it possibly can, prepares you for the pros, even though it’s at the collegiate level.
Our two guys played significantly different roles for Kentucky when they were in college. That was part of the thing that we liked. They were both willing to play a role. Young players oftentimes, it’s just about how many shots they can get, and how many touches, scores, so they can improve their draft process. But if you just watch all of those games of Tyler and Bam — when we met with them, they both said, hey, we’re capable of doing more. You always take that with a grain of salt. Every player says that. But they truly did just commit to a role and then worked like crazy behind the scenes on their player development.
It’s been obviously just a good fit with us, their mentality and how we are.
