UK’s advice to Richards: Play like one of your teammates

Don’t merely back up Reid Travis. Be Reid Travis.

That is the message Kentucky delivers to Nick Richards, associate coach Kenny Payne said Monday.

UK Coach John Calipari “wants Nick to have Reid’s intensity,” Payne said. “Nick, at times, does it. But other times he gets fatigued, and he let’s go.”

Richards, who is one-fourth of Kentucky’s depth stable of “bigs,” has shown flashes of being a game-changing presence on the court. For example, he had five blocks in nine minutes of play against Kansas on Saturday.

“Ridiculous,” said Payne, meaning ridiculously good. “Could have blocked two more. Got a little tired.”

Payne suggested that Richards’ combination of size (listed at 6-foot-11, 244 pounds) and skill make him a potential difference maker.

“Look, Nick Richards is a unique basketball player at a time where there are not many 7-footers who can change shots around the basket,” Payne said. “We need that from (Richards).”

Richards, who is averaging 3.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 11.3 minutes, leads UK with 28 blocks. But, Payne said the sophomore is not close to contributing at full capacity.

“He has a lot more inside,” Payne said. “A lot more. We’re probably seeing 50 percent of it. We want 110 percent of it.”

Payne acknowledged that Kentucky is asking a lot of Richards. But the payoff would be significant.

“If he could figure it out, every NBA organization will want Nick Richards,” Payne said. “He’ll be playing this game for a long time. That’s the goal. That’s why you come here.”

Not satisfied

Several recent UK opponents have either scored a season-low number of points or shot a season-low percentage.

That suggests Kentucky coaches are satisfied with the team’s defense. Not so fast, said Payne, who added that improving the defense was on the agenda of a coaches’ meeting Monday morning.

“We are not complacent where we are defensively,” Payne said. “And we’ve made a big jump.”

Then as if talking to the players, Payne added, “Look, guys, we have to be a swarming defensive team, and we’re playing really well defensively. Do we have another 35, 40 percent left in us? I think so.”

UK needs Keldon Johnson to improve his defense off the ball and be more alert and ready to react. The same more or less applies to Ashton Hagans. PJ Washington has lapses as an off-the-ball defender.

Payne concluded by saying, “If we can get five guys all attuned with guarding the ball and helping each other for 40 minutes, we’ve got a chance (to win a national championship). We’ve got a real chance.”

‘No trap games’

Kentucky plays at Vanderbilt three days after beating Kansas in a highly anticipated matchup of teams ranked in the top 10.

So Payne was asked if UK would be playing in a “trap game” at Vandy on Tuesday night.

“I would like to say I do buy into that notion,” he said. “But not at the University of Kentucky, and not under John Calipari. . . . Cal doesn’t allow them to relax. . . . Once a big win is over, it’s over. We’re on to the next game. In this program, there are no trap games.”

Players pressing

Payne cited the magnitude of the game against Kansas and UK’s dependence on freshmen as factors in the Cats’ 4-for-18 shooting from three-point range. He said such players as Tyler Herro and Keldon Johnson were pressing early in the game.

“As the game wore on, you could see them calming down a little bit . . . ,” Payne said. “You could sense in them, ‘We’ve got to do this.’ You could sense fire in their eyes.”

A material world

Herro noted how the players’ aspirations to play in the NBA can be used as a motivational tool.

“‘KP’ always just says, if you want to get that money, you’ve got to work hard,” Herro said.

‘Desperate’

An 0-6 SEC start is a first for Vandy. The Commodores have lost seven straight games. The longest losing streak in program history is 11 straight in 1984-85.

Payne advised not assuming a Kentucky victory.

“We’re going into a hostile environment where the team is very desperate,” he said. “That is capable of beating us. Probable should have won the Tennessee game, so we know.”

A controversial hook-and-hold call helped Tennessee win in overtime at Vandy.

Etc.

Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes and sideline reporter Kris Budden will call the game for ESPN.