Calipari: If you want to play more, you have to get offensive rebounds
With his repeated calls for more offensive rebounding going unheeded, Kentucky Coach John Calipari played his trump card after an 82-62 victory over Mount St. Mary’s on Friday night. He made playing time contingent on offensive rebounding.
“Again, we only get six offensive rebounds,” Calipari said. “C’mon. It’s not like we made every shot. We shot over 50 percent (54.4 percent to be exact). But there’s still 25 rebounds, and you get six. That’s not acceptable. It’s just not.
“I’m telling them, ‘Whoever in this room wants to play more, (then) offensive rebound. I’m going to leave you in the game.”
EJ Montgomery, who played for the first time since sustaining a high ankle sprain against Michigan State, offered a reason why UK did not grab more offensive rebounds.
“Shots were going long,” he said. “When we’re crashing the board, it’s going over our head.”
When asked if he had shared this observation with Calipari, Montgomery said, “No. You can’t tell him that.”
Calipari shared his own thoughts on why Kentucky is not getting more rebounds. For one thing, the Cats must assume each shot will miss and get in position to rebound.
Freshman Kahlil Whitney echoed that idea. “We’re not crashing the board every time the shot goes up,” he said. “It’s just got to be instinct for us. It’s got to be second nature.”
Calipari also said that going to the offensive glass makes getting back on defense harder since it becomes a longer sprint.
“We’re working on it …,” Calipari said. “Obviously, it’s not taking hold. I’m telling you, if I get a guy that will offensive rebound, he’s staying in the game.”
Pass first
UK’s 20 assists were a season high, more than the Cats had in the previous two games combined (17) and the most since getting credit for 24 in the an 80-72 victory over North Carolina last Dec. 22.
“We finally passed the ball to each other,” Calipari said. “The reason (is) it’s contagious. ‘If you don’t pass it when you get it, I’m not passing it.’”
Ashton Hagans, who led the way with a season-high seven assists, said Calipari fostered more passing by forbidding shots by certain players from certain spots on the court.
“You’ve got to pass,” Hagans said. “When the ball comes back to you, then that’s, like, your chance (to shoot).”
Combined with a season-low 12 turnovers, UK enjoyed its first positive assist-to-turnover ratio of the season.
Up next
Kentucky next plays Sunday night against Lamar, which has won four of its first five games. The words “mayhem” and “wreckage” have been used to describe Lamar’s style.
The Cardinals’ first five games suggest they’ve created mayhem and wreckage. Opponents have twice as many turnovers (108) as assists (52). And Lamar has averaged 12.2 steals.
Lamar has 10 players averaging 9.3 or more minutes per game.
T.J. Atwood, a 6-foot-6 senior wing, is the leading scorer (19.3 per game).
‘Special little player’
Davion Buster, a 5-foot-10, 150-pound sophomore, is averaging 15.6 points for Lamar.
“He’s a really, really special little player,” Lamar Coach Tic Price said. “If he was 6-3, 6-4 or 6-5, he’d probably be (playing) in Lexington somewhere.”
Buster scored 3,000 points as a high school player. When asked how anyone could score 3,000 points, Price chuckled as he explained. “Davion is a rhythm player,” he said. “They kept the ball in his hands and gave him the green light. That’s how he did it.”
Price said Buster stood out while playing in Lamar’s elite camp for possible prospects. So, Price approached him as the camp ended.
“Tried to get him to commit right there on the spot,” Price said. “And he did. We were lucky we were able to get him early.”
Home and away
Price noticed that Kentucky will not venture outside the Big Blue Nation in playing four games in what it titled the “BBN Showcase.”
“Kentucky’s the only one that’s got all their games at home,” the Lamar coach said with a chuckle. “We all have to hit the road.”
Lamar, Mount St. Mary’s and Utah Valley have one home game and three on the road in the BBN Showcase. UAB has three at home and one on the road: at UK next Friday.
When it was suggested that four Kentucky home games reflects the way of the college basketball world, Price said, “Of course.”
113-67
In the only previous meeting, Kentucky beat Mount St. Mary’s 113-67 in Memphis on March 16, 1995. That remains the most points and the biggest margin of victory UK has had in the NCAA Tournament.
“We had a wonderful experience for the first five minutes against Kentucky,” said Dottie Phelan, the wife of then-Mount St. Mary’s coach Jim Phelan.
Phelan, now 90, thought highly of that UK team.
“I just thought they had all the ammunition they needed to win it,” he said Friday. “In fact, I was startled when they lost.”
North Carolina beat UK 74-61 in the Southeast Region finals.
Injury update
Montgomery said he sustained a high ankle sprain against Michigan State when he accidentally stepped on another player’s foot.
He said being limited to watching as UK lost to Evansville was difficult.
“It was definitely hard,” he said. “I wanted to go out there myself. Take the boot off and go out there and help my team win.”
Kahlil Whitney said the pinkie finger on his left hand popped out of place during contact in UK’s victory over Utah Valley. He had the finger wrapped against Mount St. Mary’s.
“I can play through it,” he said. “I’ve got to get it stronger.”
Message to fans
Earlier in the day, Calipari went on social media and asked fans to attend the game against Mount St. Mary’s. When asked about the posting, he said he was not trying to boost attendance. He said he wanted to remind fans of the difference their cheering can make.
“I want the fans to understand the part they play for these kids,” he said.
Whatever decline in attendance Kentucky experiences, the problem is more pronounced for other programs around the country, Calipari said.
Heat seeking
Hagans has been wearing a close-fitting hoodie during pregame warm-ups.
“It’s just cold in Rupp,” he said. “I’m just trying to get warm.”
‘Trouble’
Five of Mount St. Mary’s first six games — and seven of the first nine — are “true” road games.
Phelan termed that schedule as “asking for trouble.”
Sunday
Lamar at No. 9 Kentucky
When: 6 p.m.
Records: Lamar 4-1; UK 4-1
Series: UK leads 3-0
Last meeting: UK won 86-64 on Dec. 28, 2011, in Lexington
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
This story was originally published November 23, 2019 at 12:07 AM.
