Lee figuring out what Calipari needs from him

By LARRY VAUGHT



LEXINGTON — Kentucky sophomore Marcus Lee knew when he came to Kentucky that his playing time likely would be limited even though he was a California prep star and McDonald’s All-American.

He showed a glimpse of what he could do in the 2014 NCAA Tournament against Michigan when he scored 10 points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked two shots to help offset the absence of injured starter Willie Cauley-Stein and helped get UK to the Final Four.

But this season he’s averaging 3.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 13 minutes per game as part of coach John Calipari’s platoon system. However, if it bothers Lee, it doesn’t show. He had eight points and five rebounds in just 17 minutes in Saturday's win over Alabama.

When he was asked recently if he ever thought would it might be like to play for a team where he got 30 minutes per game, he noted that would be a “long” time to play.

“But let’s think about what I can do right now. Nobody, not even Willie, can go as long as we are going and as hard as we are going for a whole 30 minutes. It’s almost impossible. If there is any player who would actually go 30 minutes as hard as we are going, I would give them props,” said Lee.

For Lee, it’s about the team, not him.

“You just have to celebrate your team and that’s the kind of team that we have. There are some players who get selfish and get mad if they are not playing, but how can you get mad when your team is playing great. If you are celebrating, and look at our bench and they are celebrating, and you kind of just get lost in the game and lost in your team (you are fine),” Lee said.

Sophomore teammate Aaron Harrison said the energy Lee played with Saturday helps the team immensely.

“Marcus, he’s getting comfortable again. I think he’s just really starting to have energy and have more fun playing the game, and I’m enjoying watching Marcus play because he’s doing a lot better and having more fun," Harrison said.

"Because he’s playing behind Willie (Cauley-Stein) and Willie’s one of the best big guys in the country, so it’s hard to just be behind him because everyone else is rotating but it’s hard to sub Willie ‘cause he’s a different guy, everyone knows that. It’s just tough to stay focused and he’s playing the course and staying the course.”

Lee said it’s easy to tell UK does not have selfish players by watching how the bench reacts to what happens on the playing floor.

“We just try to keep into the team and into the game and not into ourselves. That is what we have magnified this year to make sure we are staying focused on the team and not individuals,” Lee said. “Everybody is a little bit selfish and has that feeling but once you are with this team, it becomes oblivous and they make it so easy because they are always with you and always encouraging you. You have that little selifsh part of you that just disappears.”

Lee says the platoon system has helped him.

“I know we have to go from the starting platoon and we need to raise their level, so that’s kind of what I try to do — go from one level of energy and raise it up another notch more, maybe two notches more,” he said. “That’s the only thing I look for to start the game is to bring that level up a couple more notches.”

“It’s a great feeling to help your team, no matter what you’re doing. If it was something as big as helping that way or as little as putting a jolt in one player so they help everybody else. Doing whatever it takes to help the team kind of helps everything. Points will come the way I play, from running as hard as I can and doing as much as I can, points will come.”

Lee says he can sense when the team needs an energy boost from him or someone else.

“Sometimes when the team needs it, I have to do a whole lot more than what I usually do. You can kind of sense what’s happening and put in what’s needed,” Lee said. “It’s just a tremendous feeling knowing you can help your teammates in whatever they need help with.”

Lee, like other teammates, has been prodded by coach John Calipari often the last two seasons. The criticism has not bothered Lee.

“I call it tough love but sometimes that is what you need. You can’t always have the loving love that most get. Sometimes you need a foot in your butt just to get started. Either way he is always trying to help us,” Lee said. “Everybody has experienced that tough love by now. We are in the middle of the season, so everybody has seen that from Cal, including me.”

Lee has not worried about UK’s record, either.

“It is not so much having fun with the run. We are having fun with the team. That is kind of what we are thinking about. We are totally oblivious to what the record is or what we are doing,” the sophomore said. “We are just trying to celebrate each other and do it with each other.”

He claimed after Saturday's win that he did not even know Virginia had lost to Duke to leave UK as the nation's only unbeaten team.

“It means nothing until the very last game because we can go undefeated the whole way and just lose one. So, being undefeated really means nothing," Lee said.

He says a recent game like he had against Vanderbilt where he scored six straight points at a time UK needed them was merely doing his job.

“It is a whole lot easier being here another year. You start getting used to what is happening and you start trusting your teammates. We are able to put that feeling into our freshmen so that they don’t have to feel so panicky. They have kind of figured it out,” Lee said. “I just try to help the team and get stuff done. That is what my job is. Get the dirty work done. That is what I will do.

“Every game helps your confidence. It either brings it up or puts it down but you have to just keep working through it.”

Calipari has often said he would like Lee to pattern his play after Cauley-Stein, who impacts a game with his defense, rebounding and energy more than his offense.

“We are two similar body types and do do a lot of things the same,” Lee said. “We are also learning a lot of things together, which is good. I think we are a little similar when it comes to our game and that helps us. We can talk to each other and figure things out together. I feel that is definitely a compliment (to be compared to Cauley-Stein) and something I have to work at and get to. He (Calipari) gives you goals to conquer and destroy, and that’s what I want to do.”

Freshman Karl-Anthony Towns respects Lee’s attitude and talent.

“No one has ever doubted the talent Marcus Lee has. He’s one of the best talents the country has to offer,” Towns said. “It’s one of those things, when you have a player like him, at any time you can put in, it’s just amazing the depth we have. I’m just blessed to be on this team with a player and brother like him.”

That includes enjoying Lee's creative spirit and enthusiasm. He can be seen doing a guitar strum on the sidelines to celebrate a big play.

“I took that from (former teammate) Hoody (Jon Hood). Hoody did it last year and I started doing it with him land it kind of just took over this year," Lee said. Now I’m just having fun with the team because this team is such a great team, they celebrate each other. That’s kind of something I do to make sure everyone else is into the game.”

He also says he has finally been able to "start figure out" what Calipari expects and needs from him.

“I wouldn’t say I’ve settled (on a role) because settled sounds like you’re backing up, but I definitely feel more comfortable being that guy and helping out my team that way," he said. “At first you kind of don’t understand what he (Calipari) is trying to say or it takes you awhile to figure out what he wants you to do. Right when you figure it out that’s when you know you’re doing great things.

"You’ll see somebody will have a rough time starting off as a freshman like Aaron and Andrew (Harrison) had their rough patches and then they figured it out and then they started looking great. So, it’s just a little progress of what you’re trying to figure out and once you figure it out we’re doing good. I’m definitely feeling comfortable on the court helping my team right now."