By LARRY VAUGHT
LEXINGTON — Even thought Trey Lyles had 10 points, four rebounds and two blocks in Tuesday’s overtime win over Mississippi, Kentucky coach John Calipari said the freshman forward didn’t play well.
“The things that he has done well for us — he wasn't ready to play offensively when he got the ball. He was more standing there. He took some shots that he didn't need to take, and then later in the game he played well,” said Calipari.
He also missed two free throws late in overtime when he had a chance to clinch the win for UK.
"I told Trey, 'Trey, we went to you late with 15 seconds to go, on purpose, for you to shoot those free throws,’” Calipari said.
The coach told him how he did the same thing with current UK assistant coach Tony Barbee when he played for him at Massachusetts.
“Threw the ball to Tony Barbee, in the same play we just ran (for Lyles). He caught it, they fouled him. Tony went bam, bam (at the foul line), game over. He (Lyles) went cling, clang, game on. So now you're like, 'Hey, man, am I going to go to you late in a game?' That's what is great about all these experiences for these kids, because he'll say, 'I'll never miss it again.' Yeah, I may never give you another chance,” Calipari said.
Lyles said Ole Miss “played the hardest they’ve probably played this year” against UK, something he knows now will continue to happen in Southeastern Conference play.
“That’s what every team’s going to do be just have to be ready and be expecting of that,” Lyles said Thursday as UK prepared to play at Texas A&M Saturday.
Here’s more of what Lyles, who is averaging 7.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, had to say before Thursday’s practice:
Question: Did the way Ole Miss played surprise him?
Lyles: “It didn’t surprise me that they were going to go that hard but it surprised me they were hitting all the shots they were hitting. Some crazy shots they were hitting. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but it was crazy at the beginning.”
Question: What did UK learn in that game?
Lyles: “If we play together and we just come out with energy, if we play the defense that we’re capable of playing, there’s no team that can probably stay with us.”
Question: Was Ole Miss a learning experience?
Lyles: “Yeah, it was definitely a wake-up call for all of us, I think. They’re going to come out and play that much harder against us. It’s SEC play now, very physical. I’d say it was the most physical game we played so far this year and we’re going to get every team’s best shot so we just have to be prepared for it.”
Question: Did it surprise him that the Mississippi game was more physical than the Louisville game?
Lyles: “It did. I had to play a lot of the four that game. Usually I’m out there guarding guards, so this time I was out there guarding the big guys.”
Question: How does the team move on from Tuesday’s game?
Lyles: “We just left it in the past and we’re looking forward to the game on Saturday and everybody’s just trying to stay positive.”
Question: What was his first road game at Louisville like?
Lyles: “It was great. The atmosphere was great to play in. It was fun. We went out there and took care of business, so that helped out a lot. It was just great to go out there and get a win on a rival’s court.”
Question: Did the Louisville game prepare the team for SEC road games?
Lyles: “Definitely. There were a lot of fans there that didn’t want us to win and that’s how it’s going to be at every road game. So it definitely got us prepared for the road games coming up.”
Question: Will having to execute down the stretch against Mississippi help in the long run?
Lyles: “It’ll help us all out a lot. We had to be on our Ps and Qs at the end of the game and we were. When it came down to the stretch, we executed the plays that Coach wanted us to do defensively and offensively. So it’s definitely going to help us out in the future.”