Keldon Johnson ‘wasn’t too happy’ after going scoreless at Georgia, Herro says

As Kentucky Coach John Calipari saw it, Keldon Johnson going scoreless at Georgia reminded teammates that winning or losing does not rest on one player’s performance.

“We can win without you, so don’t feel that (sole responsibility),” Calipari said Friday.

Still, UK’s leading scorer had to deal with not scoring.

“He’ll be fine, he’ll be fine,” Calipari said. “Teams are collapsing on him. So we’re saying, ‘You’ve got to find people. … But you’re got to score. That’s what you do for us.’”

Johnson’s response to multitasking?

“‘Coach, you’re telling me to score and see people if they collapse?’” Calipari said the player asked. “‘Yeah. That’s how you play the game. You take what they give you.’

“But he’s not quite there yet with that.”

Roommate Tyler Herro expressed confidence that Johnson will bounce back.

“He likes scoring,” Herro said. “So he wasn’t too happy with himself. He knew whatever he had to do, it was on him. … He’ll be back at it and have a great game tomorrow.”

‘The right way’

Calipari has praised Jemarl Baker for playing fundamentally sound basketball and not forcing shots.

When asked about this trait, Baker said, “all my life, my dad talked and said not to do too much. Never to do too much. Just play basketball the right way at all times. That’s just something I’ve tried to do.”

Baker, who was sidelined by knee problems all of last season and the first month of this season, said he had to adjust to playing.

“I still have a long way to go comfort-wise to feel like myself,” he said.

‘Desperadoes?’

Calipari likes to say he wants Kentucky to play like a desperate team. This led to a question about whether three straight ranked opponents — No. 14 Auburn, No. 24 Mississippi State and No. 7 Kansas — produced desperation.

“What’s the date?” Calipari said. “Are we still in January?”

When that was confirmed, he said, “We’re good. We’re fine.”

‘Wonderful person’

Auburn center Austin Wiley was on the USA Basketball team Calipari coached in the summer of 2017. He averaged 10.3 points and 10.9 rebounds.

“He’s a wonderful person, a terrific competitor,” Calipari said. “Really, really skilled with the ball near the basket. … He’s good. He’s physical. He’s wide … and a great kid. Just salt-of-the-earth. I loved coaching him.”

Auburn on rise

Auburn, which had a 3-3 record away from home, is coming off 85-66 victory at Texas A&M on Wednesday.

“That will work wonders for us,” Bryce Brown said after the game. “It’s our first ‘true’ road win, and I feel like it helps us at home because we know if we can get the job done away from our place, we can definitely get it done at our place.”

Auburn’s record at home this season is 9-0.

‘Like a rivalry’

Auburn sold out tickets for the game on Oct. 1. Auburn Arena seats 9,121. Auburn also had sellouts for games against Washington on Nov. 9 and Georgia on Jan. 12.

“It will be an exciting game,” Brown said. “Like always, anytime we play Kentucky at home, the crowd and the fans are just amazing. The atmosphere, the intensity of a game, it will feel much like a rivalry.

“It’s time to step up.”

Good neighbor

Asbury played West Virginia Tech in Memorial Coliseum on Friday night. The game was supposed to be at Asbury on Thursday. But a basket was damaged by a dunk attempt in warm-ups.

That forced a postponement. Mark Whitworth, a former SEC associate commissioner who now works as Asbury’s vice president for athletics, called UK Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart and asked if the game could be played in the Coliseum.

Etc.

Auburn plans no special promotions for the game other than Charles Barkley is expected to attend. … Bob Wischusen, Dick Vitale and Allison Williams will call the game for ESPN. … Former UK star Tony Delk will join Tom Leach in the call on the UK radio network.