Kentucky coach John Calipari says freshman B.J. Boston needs support, not nastiness, from UK fans. (SEC Photo)
John Calipari thought — no make that “expected” — freshman B.J. Boston to have a “big game” against Vanderbilt Tuesday night based on what he had been doing both in team practices and individual drills. Instead, Boston’s struggles continued on both ends of the court. He had just six points and was only 3-for-9 from the field. He had just two rebounds and one assist. That leaves him averaging a team-best 12.8 points per game this season but he’s hitting just 35.8 percent overall and 15.2 percent from 3-point range.
Limited fans in Rupp Arena actually booed Boston, one of the nation’s top 10 recruits and still a projected top 10 2021 NBA draft pick in recent mock drafts, and his defense was so porous he spent the end of the game on the bench again just like he did in UK’s double-overtime win at Mississippi State Saturday.
“B.J.’s just not playing well, but I’ve been … look, we can lie to kids or we can keep it real. If someone’s playing better and tougher than you, they’re going to be in there, especially the last five, eight minutes of the game. Just how it is. And he knows that,” Calipari said.
“I told him when I took him out, I said, ‘Look, man, take pride in your defense. They’re just coming right at you.’ And he will. I mean, he’s a terrific player.”
Calipari said simple things like coming to a stop in the lane and taking a floater are what Boston failed to do again.
“He’s trying to flip balls. So, but he’ll get it, and I believe in him. But, again, he didn’t come out because of his offense. He came out because defensively they were going right at him. They went right to him,” Calipari said.
“And he’s got to take pride. Say you’re not doing that to me, not at my length. I’m 6-7 and got long arms, seven-foot wingspan. You’re not shooting layups. I’m not getting on your side. I’m not going to foul you. I’m going to give ground and be tough and bend over and defend.”
Earlier this week UK freshman Isaiah Jackson said he had deleted social media and other players had, too, because of fan criticism over the team’s 1-6 start. Calipari said Tuesday night the fans “haven’t been burying the kids and have been pretty positive with them” but says fan criticism on top of COVID protocols have taken a toll on athletes.
He noted how earlier this season he felt freshman point guard Devin Askew was putting too much pressure on himself.
“I had to say, ‘Come on, man, step back. I believe in you, but you can’t be in the mindset you’re in like every basket is life and death. You can’t play ball,'” Calipari said.
Askew has played well in recent games. However, he did not come to UK with the fanfare Boston did and certainly was not booed in Rupp Arena like Boston was Tuesday. Calipari said Boston would be “fine” and called for fans to “absolutely support” Boston.
“I don’t know why anybody would just want to be nasty to anybody. If you want to be nasty, be nasty to me. It’s my fault. Don’t be nasty to him. I’m the one that put him in the game. So if you’re mad, just be mad at me. Be positive,” Calipari said.
“Everybody left Devin alone. When Devin struggled early, no one really got on Devin, our fans left him alone, they let him do his thing. And look where Devin is now. And now I’m saying the same thing. Our fans haven’t been bad on (Boston), they’ve been pretty good because they’re good people. They’re not nasty, they’re not trolls. It’s not who they are.”
Calipari said he would not give up on Boston or any player and that he did still “believe” in Boston.
“We have been working on B.J. to play a certain way, but he’ll revert back to what he knows best, those flips, don’t get fouled. I have, and I told him, all the stuff we have been working on, you did none of it today,” Calipari said after the game.
Teammates are not giving up on Boston either.
“We just tell him to stay the course. It is coming,” center Olivier Sarr said after the game. “I mean he is working, working harder than everyone else. He is in the gym.
“It is just a matter of time, and I know it is coming. We put confidence in him because we see it every day in practice. It is a matter of time, honestly.”
