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LEXINGTON — Devin Booker didn’t feel sorry for Montana State players Sunday when they had trouble getting the ball to midcourt against Kentucky’s press.
After all, he’s had to try to do the same thing in practice against teammate Willie Cauley-Stein and others.
“I mean it’s tough. They’re long, but, like I said, it makes it easier for us when we get out in the game, ‘cause you don’t see athletes like that out there,” Booker said Sunday after UK’s 86-28 victory. “I understand what they have to go through. I mean, he’s 7-foot and athletic. You don’t find that very often, and he can run fast. So it’s a tough combination to go against.”
That practice pressure has helped Booker, who had 18 points and three steals after getting 10 points and seven assists the previous game.
“It makes me a better player all around. You know, just practicing against a team like this, you have to compete every day. And if you don’t, you get run over. So, we just go at each other every day and it’s fun,” Booker said.
Sometimes players feel pressure at Kentucky, a point coach John Calipari stressed after Sunday’s win.
“When I first got here, a little bit. You know Big Blue Nation is crazy. But you just play through it, it’s something you learn. It’s a good problem to have. You want to be on this stage, so that’s why you come here,” Booker said.
That’s why he said the one-sided game against Montana State — and maybe another one tonight against UT-Arlington — do not get boring.
“You can’t think of it like that. You just want to keep playing hard and just have fun with it, set goals for yourself. Like I said, just shut them out and don’t let your man score,” Booker said. “You have to keep your focus. We are kind of playing for ourselves and how good we can play. You don’t focus on your opponent. You just want to play your best. We have to play hard and focus on what we are doing and what it takes to win.
“Obviously, we take great pride in our defense. In high school you don’t have to focus on defense that much. In college, it’s a different world and you have to focus on both sides and play hard all the time.”
Kentucky coach John Calipari has just one issue with Booker at this point.
“If they are really sagging, can you drive all the way to the rim? If you drive, can you go all the way?” Calipari said. “You can't. They got three guys around the basket. Well, why do they have three guys around the basket? Because they're sagging. So you must pull up. Now, he did it last game where he drove to his left and he shot that little pull-up. Trey (Lyles)'s done it.
“But they get into a habit like they're back in high school of, I'm going to just drive this thing and keep right on going. You can't. Those are all charges. They're not going to be good shots. So those are some of the things we're trying to teach them. But he and Trey are trying to do things, definitely, they have never done in their lives. And it's taken their legs away a little bit.”
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