If John Calipari has his way it should mean more shots for Olivier Sarr. (SEC Photo)
It might still be a “work in progress” as John Calipari determines who are his play starters and who are the play finishers but the Kentucky coach says he’s narrowing his choices because he doesn’t want to have to change game to game.
“We’ve played enough games to give us an idea,” Calipari said Thursday as he looked ahead to Saturday’s game with North Carolina.
The coach also said he is telling some players they are not going to shoot 3-pointers — an idea most UK fans would embrace considering UK’s poor outside shooting this season.
“Most college teams they have two, maybe three. There are a couple that have four or five. But they’re giving up something. Either athleticism. They’re giving up something. Toughness, you know. Defensively. Something’s given up if you have four or five 3-point shooters. Normal teams will have two, maybe a third that can shoot some, but those two shoot the most,” Calipari said.
“We’ve had like eight guys that thought it was OK to shoot 3’s. And no, it isn’t OK. The other thing is we’ve got to look for baskets, not just 3’s. If that ball goes into the paint or a drive into the paint, and it’s kicked out, let it go. But as the ball is swinging, we’re running offense. A 2 is as good as a 3. You make a couple of 2’s, that’s OK too now.”
Calipari said to end a rare four-game skid players not only have to accept roles but quit being so sloppy with execution and even game planning.
“My thing that I said to them: ‘You don’t think any less of yourself. You just think of yourself less. You still have confidence in how hard you worked and all of those things. You’re just not in the game just thinking of yourself. You should be thinking of the team and your teammates. Don’t think any less of yourself. Just think about yourself less,'” the UK coach said.
Calipari again reiterated how COVID-19 protocols have kept his players from being at his house for various reasons as often as they would have been.
“We will have had dinners together. We will have had functions. They would be in each other’s rooms. They would be playing videos. They would be in the locker room. None of that’s happening. We have 10 new players that don’t know each other. And it’s hard when they’re only together for two and a half hours on the court,” Calipari said.
“So, we’re doing some things that hopefully we stay safe, but I’m trying to say, we’ve got to get to know one another, trust one another as much off the court as on. Like I said, you want to see where we are. You want to see that.
“Did you learn from the Notre Dame second half of what you’re capable of doing? And then, don’t think any less of yourself; just think of yourself less. Think of the team more.'”
