UK basketball gives Jordan new-found celebrity back home
During a recent meeting in John Calipari’s office, Ben Jordan put into perspective his emergency transition from Kentucky baseball to basketball. He did so by telling the UK basketball coach about a recent trip home to Olive Hill.
Jordan said his presence as a UK basketball player reduced hometown people to tears. He saw T-shirts already manufactured celebrating his new life in basketball.
“‘I’m, like, what?!’” Calipari recalled Jordan telling him. “‘Coach, I was a really good pitcher. Like, I’m an All-American in baseball, and nobody said anything. And I go back and this. I’m just a guy on the team, and they’re doing jerseys for me.’”
Whether or not Jordan needs to be immortalized at this early stage, UK players and Calipari spoke Friday of how the 6-foot-9 right-hander is contributing in basketball practices.
Nick Richards, who had been guarded by Jordan, said the pitcher surprised him by being a “decent-sized guy” who had basketball skills. Jordan’s task is to be a physical presence, said Richards, adding that the pitcher has been told “don’t even worry about the baskets (or the) rebounds.”
Keion Brooks Jr. and Calipari spoke of a ripple effect. Jordan contesting Richards enables other UK players to work out at other positions. EJ Montgomery is allowed to play power forward rather than center, Brooks said. Brooks gets time at small forward, “which I am,” he said.
Calipari said Jordan’s presence frees up time for Montgomery to compete against Nate Sestina at power forward.
“He’s helping us,” Brooks said of Jordan. “He’s making us better.”
Exhibition envy?
Kentucky plays its opening exhibition against Georgetown College, which won the NAIA national championship last season.
Meanwhile UK’s opening-game opponent, No. 1 Michigan State, scheduled a closed scrimmage against Gonzaga, which is No. 8 in The Associated Press Top 25 pre-season poll.
Calipari said the loss of revenue from an exhibition game prevents UK from playing a Division I opponent in a scrimmage closed to the public.
“The issue for us doing that scrimmage is solely money,” Calipari said. “I’d like to (play such a) scrimmage versus having two exhibitions. . . . If (UK’s athletic department) ever said, ‘Hey, we’re good because we have an extra home game if you want to do it.’ We would do it.”
Although the SEC regularly announces record revenue payouts to its schools, budgetary concerns mean a loss of basketball revenue would mean a reduction in expenditures for another sport, Calipari said.
Three-point line
UK is still adjusting to the three-point line being farther from the basket this coming season. The NCAA moved the line from 20 feet, 9 inches to the international distance of 22 feet, 1 3/4 inches.
“We’re stepping on it a lot more,” Calipari said.
The UK coach predicted three-point shooting percentages will decrease “a little bit.
“If it goes up, the ball got smaller,” he said jokingly. “Something happened.”
Brooks acknowledged that an adjustment must be made, but he downplayed the significance of a longer three-point distance.
“If you can shoot, you can shoot,” he said. “I’m not really worried about that at all.”
Scheduling help
When asked how the Kentucky-Georgetown game got scheduled, Georgetown Coach Chris Briggs cited three possible factors.
Persistence. Georgetown annually checks with UK about the possibility of a game.
Past success. “I think winning the (NAIA) national championship helped that, obviously,” Briggs said. “Coach Cal likes to play a lot of teams around the state.”
Help from the inside. Briggs’ wife, Elizabeth, works in UK’s athletics department. Her title is assistant athletic director for premium seating, hospitality and events.
UK roots
Briggs, who grew up in Paducah, worked as a student manager for UK’s program from 2001 to 2004. The next two years he worked as a graduate assistant while pursuing a Master’s degree.
Briggs spoke of the “tremendous opportunity” to work with the late Bill Keightley, the longtime equipment manager affectionately known as “Mr. Wildcat,” and former UK coaches Tubby Smith and assistant David Hobbs.
Briggs said he knew in high school he wanted to get into coaching. After playing a season for King University (a Christian college in Bristol, Tenn.), he transferred to UK to further his ambition to coach.
Etc.
Tom Hart and Jimmy Dykes will call the game for the SEC Network.
