UK coach John Calipari on UK's thrilling 69-63 win at Vandy. Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com
Kentucky Head Coach John Calipari
Opening Comments:
"This was two teams slugging it out, it really was. [Vanderbilt] wasn't going away and we weren't going away. We made some shots; they missed some shots; we won the game. Hats off to Vanderbilt fans. It was a great environment. It is why we do what we do, both players and coaches."
On the Play of Kentucky's Marquis Teague:
"It was great. He did great. He broke down defensively twice, but kept playing."
On Playing a Close Game after Several Big Wins:
"We need all of this. In every huddle, I kept saying this is great for us. It is what we need. To be honest, I would rather we be up 23 points. They are an execution team, a veteran team, seniors. They played like that. We got better today."
On the Play of Darius Miller Down the Stretch:
"I told him the three he made was the play that got us going again... I tell my guys that it doesn't matter how they play the whole game, it is the last three or four minutes...and he did that."
On Kentucky's Play:
"It was a good win in a hard-fought game... Hats off to Vanderbilt. Basically, they beat us in the second half... They caught up with threes. In the huddle, I kept telling my team to make them beat us with twos."
On Vanderbilt Missing Their Last Nine Shots:
"I will have to watch the tape. We are good defensively, but it may have been them [missing shots] too... Lots of people had this as a [loss] for us."
On Having a Week Off Before Playing Again:
"It will be a little different than last time we had a week off before playing Indiana... We will do tape work on Sunday, practice Monday, take off Tuesday, on Wednesday we will doing something special, practice Thursday and Friday so we will be ready for Saturday's game. It is late in the season, so they don't need two days off... We will change it up and doing something special on Wednesday."
On How Kentucky's Players Handled the Unusual Bench Configuration:
"It was hard to communicate. I knew it would be. I told Marquis Teague that anytime he was confused to just pick and roll, so that is what he did."
On Vanderbilt Being a Tough Environment to Play in:
"Every game we play is like walking into this... We get the other team's best shot and after the game, there are 25 cameras... Any of the places we have been end up being like this. We handled this game like we have other and will handle future games the same way. On our board, I tell the team to love the road, love this, relish this."
Showing posts with label College Gameday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label College Gameday. Show all posts
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Video: Davis, Teague, Lamb on UK's 69-63 thrilling win at Vandy
Kentucky basketball players Anthony Davis, Marquis Teague and Doron Lamb talk about the No. 1 Wildcats' exciting 69-63 road will against Vanderbilt - Feb. 11, 2012. Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com
Friday, February 10, 2012
Video: Coach Calipari previews Saturday night's ESPN College Gameday game at Vanderbilt
University of Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari previews Saturday night's ESPN College Gameday game at Vanderbilt and comments on his birthday.Video courtesy of Courier-Journal.com.
Pre-Vanderbilt Media Opportunity - Feb. 10, 2012
Head Coach John Calipari
On turning 53 and being three years into the job …
“Two years got vacated so I’m 51. You know what, when you enjoy what you are doing, there are bumps in the road and this thing is all over you, you need to step away from it and I haven’t had a whole lot of time to do that but I’m enjoying myself. I’m enjoying our players, I enjoy our fans. I think we as a program have connected as well as you can and have been as transparent as we can for everybody because everybody wants to be a part of it. They want in, they want knowledge of what is happening, they love seeing us practice and those kinds of things. This is one of those programs where you can’t go in the office and hide; it’s just not what you can do here.”
On the team …
“I’m excited for our team; today I just spent the day thinking. I like adding things, tweaking the offense and tweaking the defense because it makes them think. I don’t want them to walk into practice because it is monotonous in that we do the same things throughout the year in some cases, so I like changing things up to just make them really focus and concentrate.”
On the team’s routine …
“We handle every game the same way. The format of our practice is exactly the same even though some of the drills are different. We go on the road, we do exactly the same things when we go into town, when we meet and what we do on game day. Part of it is that you want them to understand that every game has an importance and no game is more important than another. The other thing, in practice, is there are certain things we do from day one ‘til the season ends to let them understand that those things are important, so there are some fundamental things that we do when we start that first day and we’re still doing today. Some of the practice is monotonous but you want those guys to really zero in on a few things. You can’t be great at everything. You can’t be a great pressing team, a great zone team, a great man team, a great motion team, a great play calling team; you can’t be great at everything. You have to do decide as a coach, what does this team need to be great at? Let’s just focus on those things and let’s get real good at those things.”
On playing at Vanderbilt …
“This is a great challenge for Marquis Teague and I think he’ll do fine. This is one where you give him a couple play calls and this is all you are going to run the next sets. He’ll be fine; this will be a great test. We were just talking, every one of these teams give us something different. We’ve never played Vandy with this team. Just like Tennessee is totally different than Vandy, who is totally different than Florida, who is totally different from Mississippi State. You have teams, for us, it is important to see how we will respond. Every experience is new for us and we’re learning.”
On keys that this team focuses on …
“I think one of the things you are seeing is we zero in on defense. This is a team that should be a great defensive team which I believe I said on day one. We are long enough, we are athletic enough, and we can really play the ball pretty good; we should be great defensively. Offensively we are still trying to figure each other out, we are trying to zero in on what do we do, when do we do it. You see that we grind it out pretty good late in games; we do a good job of that. Maybe in the guts of the game there are some things we are still trying to figure out. Like I said, I tweaked some things for tomorrow just to get them to think a little bit out on the basketball court.”
On guarding Vanderbilt …
“They are a terrific team, they are big, their guard play is good, and point guard play is good. Obviously they shoot the ball; (Jeffery) Taylor is way better than what he was and what I mean by that is he is consistently making 3s which he didn’t before. Now, you have to go out there and play him which makes him better off the bounce. They still have those three or four guys that always come in and hurt us. They are a veteran team; they are a team that has played us three times now, it’s the same guys that have played us for three years minus one or two guys. I imagine they are ready for this, their fans are ready for this, Nashville is ready for this, their administration is ready for this, their parents are ready for this. They have probably been ready for two weeks. We have to go up there and say, ‘let’s see where we are right now, let’s play as well as we can play and let’s see if we are getting better.’”
On comparing Vanderbilt and Florida …
“They’re just different. They are two totally different teams and like I said, that is what’s good for us. With (Festus) Ezeli they can throw it to the post, which they did a year ago on us and he dunked like four or five balls and they can do that. He is very physical. I just watched them beat Tennessee by about 25 and (Jarnell) Stokes could not handle, physically, Ezeli. Now you think about what I’m saying, we couldn’t handle Stokes physically. It is a tough matchup for us. What if (John) Jenkins goes 12-12 from the 3? It’s been a nice start to our season, when’s the next game? You could be all over him and he still does that. We’re trying to learn about our team, we’re trying to get better. I would imagine, watching the tape, I think they are going to try to be a little more patient with the ball against us. I think they are going to go back to the other way of playing which is, let’s give them (fewer) possessions, let’s make either a post-up or a 3 or a drive and let’s do it later in the clock. I don’t know, I’ve been wrong before.”
On the challenges of playing at Memorial Gym …
“We won there two years ago. You are in the end zone coaching; you are on a raised floor. It’s no different. Whether we win or lose will be based on how we play and how they play. There isn’t going to be anything about a building or fans. We play on the road, we’ve had tough environments. We’ve won in tough environments; we’ve lost in a tough environment. It’s how your team plays and how their team plays.”
Pre-Vanderbilt Media Opportunity - Feb. 10, 2012
Head Coach John Calipari
On turning 53 and being three years into the job …
“Two years got vacated so I’m 51. You know what, when you enjoy what you are doing, there are bumps in the road and this thing is all over you, you need to step away from it and I haven’t had a whole lot of time to do that but I’m enjoying myself. I’m enjoying our players, I enjoy our fans. I think we as a program have connected as well as you can and have been as transparent as we can for everybody because everybody wants to be a part of it. They want in, they want knowledge of what is happening, they love seeing us practice and those kinds of things. This is one of those programs where you can’t go in the office and hide; it’s just not what you can do here.”
On the team …
“I’m excited for our team; today I just spent the day thinking. I like adding things, tweaking the offense and tweaking the defense because it makes them think. I don’t want them to walk into practice because it is monotonous in that we do the same things throughout the year in some cases, so I like changing things up to just make them really focus and concentrate.”
On the team’s routine …
“We handle every game the same way. The format of our practice is exactly the same even though some of the drills are different. We go on the road, we do exactly the same things when we go into town, when we meet and what we do on game day. Part of it is that you want them to understand that every game has an importance and no game is more important than another. The other thing, in practice, is there are certain things we do from day one ‘til the season ends to let them understand that those things are important, so there are some fundamental things that we do when we start that first day and we’re still doing today. Some of the practice is monotonous but you want those guys to really zero in on a few things. You can’t be great at everything. You can’t be a great pressing team, a great zone team, a great man team, a great motion team, a great play calling team; you can’t be great at everything. You have to do decide as a coach, what does this team need to be great at? Let’s just focus on those things and let’s get real good at those things.”
On playing at Vanderbilt …
“This is a great challenge for Marquis Teague and I think he’ll do fine. This is one where you give him a couple play calls and this is all you are going to run the next sets. He’ll be fine; this will be a great test. We were just talking, every one of these teams give us something different. We’ve never played Vandy with this team. Just like Tennessee is totally different than Vandy, who is totally different than Florida, who is totally different from Mississippi State. You have teams, for us, it is important to see how we will respond. Every experience is new for us and we’re learning.”
On keys that this team focuses on …
“I think one of the things you are seeing is we zero in on defense. This is a team that should be a great defensive team which I believe I said on day one. We are long enough, we are athletic enough, and we can really play the ball pretty good; we should be great defensively. Offensively we are still trying to figure each other out, we are trying to zero in on what do we do, when do we do it. You see that we grind it out pretty good late in games; we do a good job of that. Maybe in the guts of the game there are some things we are still trying to figure out. Like I said, I tweaked some things for tomorrow just to get them to think a little bit out on the basketball court.”
On guarding Vanderbilt …
“They are a terrific team, they are big, their guard play is good, and point guard play is good. Obviously they shoot the ball; (Jeffery) Taylor is way better than what he was and what I mean by that is he is consistently making 3s which he didn’t before. Now, you have to go out there and play him which makes him better off the bounce. They still have those three or four guys that always come in and hurt us. They are a veteran team; they are a team that has played us three times now, it’s the same guys that have played us for three years minus one or two guys. I imagine they are ready for this, their fans are ready for this, Nashville is ready for this, their administration is ready for this, their parents are ready for this. They have probably been ready for two weeks. We have to go up there and say, ‘let’s see where we are right now, let’s play as well as we can play and let’s see if we are getting better.’”
On comparing Vanderbilt and Florida …
“They’re just different. They are two totally different teams and like I said, that is what’s good for us. With (Festus) Ezeli they can throw it to the post, which they did a year ago on us and he dunked like four or five balls and they can do that. He is very physical. I just watched them beat Tennessee by about 25 and (Jarnell) Stokes could not handle, physically, Ezeli. Now you think about what I’m saying, we couldn’t handle Stokes physically. It is a tough matchup for us. What if (John) Jenkins goes 12-12 from the 3? It’s been a nice start to our season, when’s the next game? You could be all over him and he still does that. We’re trying to learn about our team, we’re trying to get better. I would imagine, watching the tape, I think they are going to try to be a little more patient with the ball against us. I think they are going to go back to the other way of playing which is, let’s give them (fewer) possessions, let’s make either a post-up or a 3 or a drive and let’s do it later in the clock. I don’t know, I’ve been wrong before.”
On the challenges of playing at Memorial Gym …
“We won there two years ago. You are in the end zone coaching; you are on a raised floor. It’s no different. Whether we win or lose will be based on how we play and how they play. There isn’t going to be anything about a building or fans. We play on the road, we’ve had tough environments. We’ve won in tough environments; we’ve lost in a tough environment. It’s how your team plays and how their team plays.”
Video: UK players Darius Miller, Terrence Jones and Marquis Teague previews UK-Vandy ESPN College Gameday
UK players Darius Miller, Terrence Jones and Marquis Teague previews UK-Vandy ESPN College Gameday. Video's courtesy of Courier-Journal.com.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Kentucky vs Vanderbilt(ESPN College Gameday).....A Preview
WT Administrator
Kentucky vs Vanderbilt….2/11/12
Saturday 9PM..(ESPN)
Kentucky leads the series 134-44
College Gameday 11:00am at Vandy-
Rece Davis, Hubert Dais, Jay Bilas and Digger Phillips
Game will be called by Dan Shulman and Dick Vitale
Vanderbilt Commodores
Location: Nashville
Enrollment: 6,750
Arena: 14,316
Head Coach: Kevin Stallings
Career Record: 359-211 (63.0%) 18 seasons
At Vandy: 236-148 (61.5%) 12 seasons
2010-11 Record: 23-11
2010-11 SEC Record: 9-7
2010-11 Postseason: NCAA 0-1
2011-12 Record: 17-7
2011-12 SEC Record: 6-3
Vandy 78 Oregon 64
Cleveland St. 71 Vandy 58
Vandy 80 Bucknell 68
Vandy 86 N.C. St. 79
Vandy 64 Oregon St. 62
Vandy 95 Monmonth 73
Xavier 82 Vandy 70 (OT)
Louisville 62 Vandy 60 (OT)
Vandy 87 Davidson 83
Indiana St. 61 Vandy 55
Vandy 99 Longwood 71
Vandy 89 Lafayette 58
Vandy 74 Marquette 57
Vandy 69 Miami, OH 62
Vandy 65 Auburn 35
Vandy 67 South Carolina 57
Vandy 77 Georgia 66
Vandy 69 Alabama 59
Mississippi St. 78 Vandy 77 (OT)
Vandy 65 Tennessee 47
Vandy 84 Middle Tennessee St. 77
Arkansas 82 Vandy 74
Florida 73 Vandy 65
Vandy 76 LSU 61
Probable Starting Lineup
Lance Goulbourne-F 6’8” Sr………………….…9.3 PPG
Jeffery Taylor-F 6’7” Sr…………………………17.8 PPG
Festus Ezeli-C 6’11” Sr………………………….10.0 PPG
Brad Tinsley-G 6’3” Sr…………………………..9.1 PPG
John Jenkins-G 6’4” Jr………………………...…19.7 PPG
Vandy Stats
PPG-74.3
FG%-46.8%
3 PT%-39.3% (8.9 PG)
FT%-68.9%
RPG-35.0 (+1.8)
APG-13.2
TO’s-14.0
SPG-6.3
BPG-4.2
UK Stats
PPG-78.2
FG%-48.8%
3 PT%-37.9% (5.7 PG)
FT%-72.1%
RPG-39.8 (+7.8)
APG-13.5
TO’s-12.2
SPG-6.6
BPG-9.2
Vanderbilt was a preseason top 10 team because they returned a senior laden lineup and a previous NCAA team However, a 17-7 record has dropped them out of the top 25.
In evaluating Vandy this season you must look at the first 10 games when 6’’11”Festus Ezeli wasn’t playing….in those games the Dores went 6-4 with bad losses at home to Cleveland St. and Indiana St. After Ezeli returned to the lineup, Vandy is 10-3. All 3 losses have come in the SEC with only one at home….an OT loss to Mississippi St.
In reviewing the Dores season, you see a solid win at Marquette plus 3 of Vandy’s losses were in overtime.
While Vandy has been a disappointment this season, they are now playing like a top 25 team. Vandy is led in scoring by John Jenkins who has hit 89-201 perimeter shots for an excellent 44.3%. Jeffery Taylor is 2nd in scoring and is also a terrific perimeter shooter hitting an eyepopping 47.8% while leading the team in steals. In addition, Taylor joins Goulbourne and Ezeli in leading the Dores in rebounds. Brad Tinsley also is a solid 3 point shooter and leads the team in assists with 109 for 4.5 PG. There is no question that the return of Ezeli to the Vandy lineup has been a huge plus in the paint both offensively and defensively as Ezeli leads the team in blocks.
Vanderbilt has always been very difficult to defeat in Nashville and with Gameday you can bet the Dores will be more than ready to defend their home court. Any team that shoots a lot of perimeter shots and makes a good percentage as Vandy does is always dangerous….and especially when you are playing in a very different arena that has the teams under the baskets as opposed to being on the sides of the court. It makes it very difficult for coaches to have verbal contact with their team during play. You can bet that Vandy and their fans will be at a fever pitch as the #1 Cats come to Nashville!
UK will arrive in Nashville coming off another great performance in defeating a very good Florida team by 20 points. The Cats played great defense….while Teague ran the offense very effectively and handed out a season high 10 assists. Davis continues to leave fans in awe with his incredible performances….especially defensively where he is the favorite to be defensive player of the year. MKG had another great game with 13 points…13 rebounds….3 assists and only 1 turnover in 39 minutes. Lamb shot very well hitting 4-5 perimeter shots and scoring 18 points. Miller and Wiltjer also played very well.
The game in Nashville is always tough for UK….last season a UK team that made it to the Final Four still lost to the Dores in Nashville 81-77. This is a big test for the Cats and I look for this UK team to pass the test with a 7 point win over Vandy. GO CATS!
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