John Calipari wants his team to fight and do more things that do not require talent and skill so his team can win. (CBS Sports Classic Photo)
Never in his time at Kentucky do I remember coach John Calipari having to plead for a team to fight like he is this year. He’s had other teams that have not played well but never a team where I sense fans believe is not consistently playing hard or the coach has had to push so hard to do little things it takes to win.
“I think part of it is we have just got to stay focused on what are things we can be great at that don’t take talent or skill,” Calipari said after Saturday’s loss to North Carolina.
Not sure I remember Calipari talking about being great at things that do not take talent or skill because his teams usually have plenty of both. But this year with UK now 1-5, he’s stressing playing with more energy, fighting, believing in one another, game planning and game adjustments as keys to winning.
“Things we have to be great at to win. We are capable of doing this. We are showing signs,” Calipari said. “You are not playing anybody that when you make errors … they are veteran teams and they make you pay.”
Calipari said he felt even at halftime UK was in good shape and “then all of a sudden we let go of the rope” in the final 10 minutes.
“When you are scrambling, we have got to make a basket,” Calipari said.
Kentucky couldn’t — again.
So how does he make a team fight that doesn’t seem to want to? That’s what I asked the UK coach after the loss. His answer was to keep demanding and that the coaches’ will to have the players fight had to be stronger than the players’ tendency not to fight.
“Instead of worrying about how you are playing, do the things that don’t take talent and skill. Be great at that,” Calipari said.
Instead Calipari says the way players are playing affects their fight. He says that’s a bad habit and a new habit to fight has to be created.
“Fight and five on the floor and take a charge,” Calipari said. “We missed like three dunks. Why do you do that? It is all stuff we have to answer because when we miss we come down and don’t have the fight.”
