Calipari looking for signs in regular-season finale that postseason run is possible
To take John Calipari at his word, there’s nothing final about Saturday’s regular-season finale against South Carolina.
The Kentucky coach speaks of the game coming at a crossroads. It can be a springboard into a memorable postseason.
“Get us started on the path we need to go,” Calipari said on his radio show Monday night. “We’re going to find out if we’re right there. If we got it. . . . Let’s see if (they) have a run in them.”
During a teleconference Friday, Calipari laid out the mile markers that show the direction the Kentucky team is headed.
▪ At least 16 to 18 assists. Which will indicate that players are sharing the ball and not trying to make “hero” plays, which can result in transition offense for the opponent.
▪ No more than 10 to 12 turnovers. Fewer mean less opportunities for opponents to score in transition before UK’s often stout half-court defense can be in place.
“And we fight,” Calipari said. “If we do those things . . . , we’ll be right there with our chances.”
It is the consensus view that with an 8-15 record, Kentucky’s only chance to play in the NCAA Tournament requires getting the automatic bid that comes with winning next week’s Southeastern Conference Tournament.
To do so, Kentucky must win in Thursday’s second round, Friday’s quarterfinals, Saturday’s semifinals and Sunday’s championship game. UK has not won four straight games at any time this season.
To battle that seemingly daunting task, Calipari seems to want to win a mind game with his players.
“If you’re trying to win four straight games, (you) can’t do it,” he said on the radio show. “But if you can win one game four times . . . and that’s what we’re going to be focused on.”
Calipari echoed that sentiment Friday by falling back on the playing-’em-one-game-at-a-time platitude.
“Stay in the moment,” the UK coach said.
For Friday, that meant the upcoming practice.
As Calipari told it, the players were keenly focused on Thursday’s practice.
“Yesterday’s practice was pretty good,” Calipari said. “We had a couple busted up lips. It was interesting.”
Nothing serious, he said.
Isaiah Jackson described the practice as involving a lot of one-on-one rebound competitions and five-on-five scrimmaging.
“I feel everybody got their lips busted yesterday,” he said. “We needed it, though. Everybody took it well.”
Calipari saluted the players’ willingness to keep giving effort. He returned to the goal of bettering rebounding. “If you get banged on the boards, you’re not winning,” he said.
He also called again for more passing to set up teammates for shots and limiting turnovers.
“If we do those things, we could go on a run,” Calipari said. “But it’s all of them.”
While lamenting the team’s inconsistency, Calipari acknowledged the need to experiment. Although it’s March and he was speaking nine days before Selection Sunday, the UK coach noted the indefinite player rotation.
If there’s indication of a repeat of the rebounding beating UK took at Ole Miss on Tuesday (42-28), he spoke of calling on freshman Lance Ware to bolster the front line.
On another front, Calipari said, “Guys aren’t shooting the ball as well. Let’s give Dontaie (Allen) another shot.”
Although Allen has not been shooting well in recent practices, he still is encouraged to fire away, Calipari said before adding, “We’ve got to get him in a different mindset right now so he can go in a game and let loose and let shots go.”
Jackson said team morale was fine. He defined morale as a product of confidence.
“Everybody’s confidence is high right now,” he said.
Calipari said he has kept his postgame comments to the team brief.
“Because there’s no reason to pile on these kids,” he said. “The great thing is the team has not quit fighting. Not stopped.”
Not for the first time, Calipari acknowledged that he’s not overly familiar with handling a team that needs to win seven games — one at a time, of course — to reach a .500 winning percentage.
The only losing record in his Hall of Fame coaching career came in his debut season of 1988-89: 10-18.
Calipari said he talked to the players at a team meeting about how he consistently had teams peaking in March. Six of his previous 10 Kentucky teams that played in the SEC Tournament won it.
Perhaps trying to win another mind game, he spoke of trials and tribulations as a plus.
“You’re battle tested for the postseason,” he said, adding that UK teams annually get the benefit of inspired opponents.
“The reason I believe we’re going to do this . . . is because my teams have historically done it. So, I know what it feels like. But I’ve got to get them in the same frame of mind.”
Saturday
South Carolina at Kentucky
When: Noon
TV: ESPN
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Records: South Carolina 6-13 (4-11 SEC), UK 8-15 (7-9)
Series: UK leads 52-13
Last meeting: South Carolina won 81-78 on Jan. 15, 2020, in Columbia, S.C.
