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LEXINGTON — From what Kentucky coach John Calipari has seen, Texas A&M has “great players at ever position that can score” and will give No. 1 UK problems in Saturday’s game.
"They're great at pick-and-rolls. They're playing a pack-line defense, man-to-man. They'll also play a tandem zone like all these teams are now playing us,” said Calipari Thursday before practice to prepare for Saturday’s Southeastern Conference road game. “ So they're going to come in with one thought: let's slow these guys down. They'll run offense. They'll shoot it quick when they get into transition, but they're going to make us play in the half court. They're a good team."
Calipari said after Tuesday’s overtime win against Mississippi that Texas A&M would throw a party to get ready for UK. However, the Aggies (9-4) lost 65-44 at Alabama. Leading scorer and rebounder Jalen Jones did not play due to a sprained ankle — he’s listed day to day by Texas A&M for Saturday. Freshman Peyton Allen led Texas A&M with 13 points off the bench and point guard SEC assist-leader Alex Caruso had six assists (he now has 365 assists in three seasons).
Alabama coach Anthony Grant shares a similar view as Calipari about the Aggies.
“I think offensively they have a variety of different guys that have the ability to step up and lead them,” Grant said. “Caruso is outstanding in his ability to make everybody better. Their numbers are pretty impressive with the diversity they give you. Their guards take care of the ball and share the ball. They have a variety of ways to attack you. They have a nice balance of size and physicality inside with skilled and versatile perimeter players
“Defensively they play a lot of guys and they seem to enjoy playing with each other and being successful. They are a tough team, too.”
Ole Miss certainly was a “tough team” for UK Tuesday as the Wildcats needed overtime to win 89-86 in their SEC opener.
“I think the one thing we've been really good at is taking away the 3-point line. So what I did was, I focused on some of those 3’s. Some of them, we were all over them and they made it. But there were five or six that our hands were down. So we're gonna zero in on that,” Calipari said Thursday. “Threes and free throws. If that beats us, we're not doing what we're supposed to do.
“And it can beat you, because you can't guard a free throw, and if a team's a great 3-point shooting team, you got to make them drive. And we didn't. But you got to give them credit. Every team we play is gonna play like that. And we still won.”
Calipari also explained why sophomore center Marcus Lee played a season-low one minute Tuesday. He played briefly early in the game and then again just before halftime.
"Marcus Lee is an energy guy. If he starts the game and he's not clapping, bouncing, showing an effervescence that he has, I'm not playing him. I told him that,” Calipari said. “There's no reason for him not to go in clapping, bouncing, blocking, running, flying, dunking. That's who he is. If he's not into that then I'm not playing him.
“He's the greatest kid. It's hard. What I'm asking them to do is hard. What's easier is every fifth play I'll do something that stands out and the rest of the time I'm going to coast.You don't win at the level we're trying to win playing that way. And he's a great kid."
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