Entering a ‘grown man’s league,’ Skal has some growing up to do

Each time Skal Labissiere’s image appeared on the new video screens over center court, you could hear a murmur of encouragement coming from the Rupp Arena seats. The unmistakable message was Kentucky fans want so badly for him to be good.

It will take time. Labissiere went scoreless and committed three turnovers in 16 minutes during last weekend’s NBA exhibition game between the Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards.

After the game, two of his big-man predecessors — DeMarcus Cousins and Willie Cauley-Stein — said a long transition period awaits Labissiere.

“He’s a young guy,” Cousins said. “This is a grown man’s league.”

As Kentucky fans know well, Labissiere struggled with the adjustment to college in his one-and-done season of 2015-16. A player who essentially missed his final two high school seasons found the physical play of UK games hard to handle. This was never more clear than when LSU’s Ben Simmons planted an elbow in Labissiere’s chest early in the game at Baton Rouge, seemingly just to try to intimidate.

If anything, the NBA is more of the same, only more so. That’s especially true for a rookie like Labissiere.

“The first thing you’ve got to get over is the physicality of a whole another level,” Cousins said. “That in itself takes one or two years.”

Then, as a big man, Labissiere must not only adapt but become the anchor of the defense, Cousins said.

“Throwing all this information at him at once, it’s tough for any young guy,” Cousins said. “It was tough for me. But he’ll be fine. He’s a very talented kid, and I think he’ll be special in this league.”

Cauley-Stein spoke of a “rookie grind” that all first-year players must go through.

“You have to try to catch up physically, catch up mentally and then try to establish yourself as a player all at the same time,” he said. “That’s hard to do.”

On the plus side, the Kings’ system helps Labissiere, Cauley-Stein said. The Kings’ first-year coach, Dave Joerger, welcomes what Cauley-Stein called “aggressive mistakes” as part of the learning process.

“The system I played in as a rookie, it’s hard,” Cauley-Stein said. “You made a mistake, you’re probably coming out. So you have to fall into, like, a box” and play passively.

‘Two legends’

Corban Collins’ distinction as a basketball player may be this: In his college career, he will have played for not one, but two of UK’s “Unforgettables.”

Collins played the last two seasons for Morehead State, where Sean Woods is the coach. Then he transferred to Alabama, where John Pelphrey is an assistant coach.

“Two legends,” Collins said at SEC Media Day on Wednesday.

Collins, a 6-2 guard, led Morehead State in scoring last season with an average of 11.0 points. He made 42.5 percent of his three-point shots. In the previous season, he averaged 8.8 points and shot with 34.5-percent accuracy from beyond the arc.

Alabama Coach Avery Johnson said he hoped the graduate transfer could bring stability, toughness and a “calmness” to the Tide this season.

Collins, a native of High Point, N.C., spoke highly of his time at Morehead State. He learned a lot, he said, and matured as a player and person.

“I was able to really develop my leadership skills,” he said.

His college career has given Collins a taste for two athletic dynasties: UK basketball and Alabama football.

“It’s kind of equivalent, to be honest, man,” he said. “Because they have diehard fans. It doesn’t matter if it’s rain, sleet or snow, they’re there. It doesn’t matter they’re on the other side of the country, they’re there.”

Book note

At SEC Media Day last week, South Carolina Coach Frank Martin deftly extended a metaphor in explaining how league teams must close the gap with mighty Kentucky.

“When I first got to South Carolina (in 2012), we weren’t even on the same page,” Martin said. “I think now we’re in the 15th chapter of the (same) book.

“We’re trying to get to where we’re in the same paragraph as Kentucky.”

Selfie deprecation

With Kevin Stallings leaving Vanderbilt and going to Pittsburgh, Andy Kennedy of Ole Miss becomes the dean of SEC basketball coaches. He will be entering his 11th season as coach of the Rebels.

John Calipari and Mark Fox have the second-longest tenures as active SEC coaches, each entering his eighth season at Kentucky and Georgia, respectively.

Kennedy made light of being dean of SEC coaches.

“I sit around and think about it every day,” he said facetiously, “and really take selfies.”

Basketball in Iraq?

Arguably the two most entertaining SEC players of recent seasons played for Ole Miss. Marshall Henderson was a one-man carnival sideshow, while Stefan Moody’s little-man athleticism could be riveting.

So where are they now? Ole Miss Coach Andy Kennedy answered that question at SEC Media Day.

Moody is playing in Turkey, Kennedy said, while to no one’s surprise Henderson has followed an unorthodox path.

The Ole Miss coach said he advised Henderson to be a prudent, stable pro player. Show up on time. Keep your comments to yes sir-no sir. Get comfortable in one situation and try to make it last.

“Maybe marry a Spanish chick,” Kennedy said playfully. “They pay you more if you’re a citizen.”

But Henderson wants to play in as many different countries as possible, Kennedy said. So far he’s played in Qatar, China and Iraq.

Iraq? Who knew Iraq has professional basketball? (Note to players: Skip the road trip to Mosul.)

‘He was fair’

During SEC Media Day, several coaches saluted the hiring of Mark Whitehead as the supervisor of officials as a sign of better officiating to come. Whitehead replaces Lexington resident Jake Bell.

Whitehead’s 29-year career as a college referee includes work in five Final Fours. Fans with especially good memories may recall he worked the Kentucky-Kansas finals in 2012.

A resident of Louisiana, Whitehead has officiated in the SEC, the Pac-12, the Big Ten, the Big 12, Conference USA, American Athletic, Mountain West and Missouri Valley.

“One of the best officials in college basketball,” Auburn Coach Bruce Pearl said of Whitehead. “He was fair. He listened to you. … He always kept an even keel.”

Weighing the costs

During an appearance at the Lexington Rotary Club on Thursday, John Calipari again said he would caution a player to not rush into a political or social protest. He’d counsel the player to learn about the issue, decide whether his participation could make a difference and be aware of the possible consequences.

Calipari held out former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali as someone willing to accept the risk to his athletic career.

Another key factor in being prudent is the typical age of a Kentucky player. They are impressionable teenagers. “They’re not 30,” Calipari told the Rotarians. “They are 17 and 18.”

For older athletes, former tennis champion Martina Navratilova has called for more social involvement. She was an unabashed activist.

“So many athletes are afraid to use their platform to do the right thing and speak what they feel,” she told columnist Juliet Macur of The New York Times, “and that’s very depressing. Sure, they are afraid of insulting people and losing money because of it, and everyone wants to make the maximum amount of money in their lifetime. But at the expense of who you are? I don’t know. That just wasn’t in my DNA.”

In a column Monday, Macur pointed out that LeBron James endorsed Hillary Clinton. WNBA players wear T-shirts that support the Black Lives Matter movement.

Navratilova, who turned 60 on Tuesday, said it was easier to take a stand in an individual sport like tennis.

“If you’re not Michael Jordan, and the front office doesn’t like you, or the coach doesn’t like you, you’re going to get cut,” she said. “So I think it has to come from the management, to make the athletes feel safe enough to speak out.”

As for the UK basketball team, Calipari said he would not tell a player to protest or not to protest.

GPA j-o-k-e

It’s no secret that UK Coach John Calipari and Tennessee Coach Rick Barnes enjoy a long-lasting friendship.

As is typical in athletics, this leads to good-natured teasing.

After reminding reporters that Calipari transferred from UNC-Wilmington to Clarion as a player, Barnes said, “Wilmington was probably too hard for him.”

Then, just to be safe, Barnes added, “That’s a joke.”

Givens as emcee

Former UK All-American Jack “Goose” Givens will serve as master of ceremonies at an upcoming event sponsored by The American Cancer Society.

The event, titled “Hats Off To A Cure,” will be at the Cincinnati Marriott Airport on Nov. 5 from 6 p.m. to midnight.

Givens has a personal stake in the effort to find a cancer cure. A brother, Kenneth, died of colon cancer earlier this year at the age of 47. A sister, Paulette, is a breast cancer survivor.

“So we’ve had to deal with it on a couple of occasions,” he said. “It’s hard to find someone who hasn’t been touched by it one way or the other.”

Givens also served as master of ceremonies last year. Before that, his company, the Bowlin Group, had regularly attended or served as a sponsor of the fundraiser.

More information on the fundraiser is available at www.stridersball.org or at Striders Ball Facebook.

Happy birthday

To Kyle Wiltjer. He turned 24 on Thursday. … To former UK football coach Bill Curry. He turned 74 on Friday. … To Stacey Poole Jr., He turns 25 on Monday. … To Dan Issel. He turns 68 on Tuesday. … To Transylvania Coach Brian Lane. He turns 49 on Tuesday. … To former Indiana coach Bob Knight. He turns 76 on Tuesday. … To former Georgia coach Hugh Durham. He turns 79 on Wednesday.

This story was originally published October 22, 2016 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Entering a ‘grown man’s league,’ Skal has some growing up to do."