Coach K gives Duke players a Christmas break. What has Coach Cal planned for UK?
On the day after Christmas, Kentucky will play at Louisville in arguably its most emotional game of the season. Meanwhile, Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski said this week that his team’s remaining non-conference games had been canceled in order to allow the players to go home for Christmas.
For UK Coach John Calipari, the different approaches do not suggest right and wrong.
“I’m not going to question any coach . . . ,” Calipari said Friday. “Only they know their team. Maybe he had a team really struggling mentally and needed to be with family.”
On his Sirius XM show, Krzyzewski said of players, “They need a break mental health-wise. . . . And so we made that decision and my team loved it. You could see the relief on their faces.”
The Duke players had not been home since July, he said.
Like Calipari, Krzyzewski said he had no problem with different approaches.
“Whatever anyone else does, you know, that’ll be good,” he said.
With infections and deaths rising during the coronavirus pandemic, the Duke coach called for more discussion about how college basketball should proceed.
“I would like to have more dialogue about it and not just say we’re going to plow through,” he said. “I don’t think that’s a good term.”
Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports quoted Krzyzewski as saying, “We need to constantly look at this thing. . . . I don’t think it feels right to anybody.”
Wetzel quoted Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo on the mental strain COVID-19 has put on players. “They’re almost in prison,” Izzo said. “I don’t want to make light of it. But it’s more difficult than we all think.”
Calipari acknowledged the mental strain during a normal season, let alone adding a pandemic.
“Do I want them to go home?” Calipari said on a teleconference. “Dudes, I’m going 16 hours a day. I’d like to get a little break. But we’ve also got to make sure we’re doing right things and being safe. This is uncharted water.”
Of Christmas and Kentucky players, Calipari said, “My team isn’t playing well, but they want to play.”
Sarr power
Notre Dame has on-court experience competing against one Kentucky player: Olivier Sarr.
Of the two games against Wake Forest last season, Notre Dame Coach Mike Brey said, “We did a good job here at home last year. But, my God, did we make him a first-round pick at Winston-Salem.”
Notre Dame won the home game 90-80. Sarr had 18 points and six rebounds before fouling out in 24 minutes.
In the rematch at Wake Forest a month later, Sarr had 30 points and 17 rebounds. Wake Forest won 84-73.
Brey said he shared those experiences, especially the second game, with Notre Dame players Thursday.
“I had a couple clips on the scout tape . . . of him wheeling and dealing on us,” Brey said. “And you can’t really guard him with one guy. . . . We’ve got to get some help off the perimeter and jam it up and make him kick it out and (UK) shoot some jump shots.”
Sarr on Sarr
Calipari said Kansas “punked” Kentucky. Calipari then said Georgia Tech’s Moses Wright “manhandled” Sarr.
To which, Kentucky’s big man said, “It’s true. I’ve just got to get better at just fighting on the court (and) competing out there.” In the three losses, Sarr was outscored by the opposing “bigs” 41-31. He out-rebounded the trio 20-19. Wright outscored Sarr 21-6 and out-rebounded him 7-3.
“I’ve got to get better at everything, obviously,” Sarr said. “The last game is not representative of who I am as a player.”
Sarr acknowledged being counted upon to give Kentucky a presence around the basket.
“Yeah, obviously,” he said. “I can’t have a game like I had the last game.”
Breakfast, anyone?
Brandon Boston said he has been getting up around 5:45 a.m., arriving at the practice gym at 6 and getting in extra shooting until about 7:30.
“I call it the Breakfast Club,” he said.
Previous UK teams have had players form such “clubs.”
Boston has been going almost solo.
“So far it’s just been me and Cam Fletcher getting up that early,” he said.
Kansas 1988
In apparently trying to quell anxiety created by the three-game losing streak, Calipari pointed out that Kansas lost five straight in the 1987-88 season and then won the national championship. He was an assistant coach for Kansas.
“Because in those five games, they saw ‘We’re getting better,’” he said of the KU players. “‘We’re going to be fine.’”
Turn off phones?
Calipari suggested a simple idea to bring about unity: the UK players need to talk more with each other.
“These kids need me more than any team I’ve coached,” he said. “I’m trying to get them to turn the phones off and get together. We’re not talking to each other enough.”
Etc.
Tom McCarthy and Bill Raftery will call the game for CBS.
This story was originally published December 11, 2020 at 2:36 PM.
