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  • Cats prep for Tennessee, opponents with heated scrimmages

    By: LARRY VAUGHT



    LEXINGTON — Kentucky junior Willie Cauley-Stein remembers the one-sided loss UK took at Tennessee his freshman year in the first game after Nerlens Noel went down with a season-ending knee injury. That started a slide that put UK into the NIT and a first-round NIT loss at Robert Morris.

    “It’s not the same. We don’t have the same players, we don’t have the same team, we don’t have the same mindset,” said Cauley-Stein going into Tuesday night’s game at Knoxville. “That was the first game back after Nerlens got hurt, and, I mean, everybody was still pretty shook from that and we end up getting beat by 30, so like, that’s about it.”

    Kentucky will roll into Knoxville this time — the two teams did not meet in Knoxville last year under the Southeaster Conference’s new scheduling format — with a No. 1 ranking and perfect 25-0 mark. The Wildcats are coming off a beatdown of South Carolina that had coach John Calipari feeling better about the UK defense.

    “When you're blocking shots in there, it forces them to take jump shots. Now think about the last three games. Six-foot guards were driving on seven-foot players shooting layups. Then you say why are they shooting 57 percent or 47 or 46? That was why. They were shooting layups on our big guys,” Calipari said after Saturday’s win.

    “So we have gotten after it a little bit and what I did in practice, for two days, and you guys that know me last year, we practiced long last year and late in the year because we needed it. Normal case, we back up off practice this time of the year. Well, we went back Thursday to an hour of scrimmage and then they got after each other and I even scrimmaged them 15 minutes yesterday, which I never do.

    “It's our advantage. We got a good group of players that need to go after — they don't want to do drills. They look at me and say, ‘Stop the drills, let's play.’ Throw it up. But you're juggling balls. What balls are you juggling? You don't want anybody — you want to keep everybody healthy. They're a young team, so we need to scrimmage a little bit.”

    Calipari said the daily scrimmages are intense.

    “They argue, fight, foul, grab, and whoever loses has to run. They're really competitive. Plus you got all these big people. I mean you got three, four, seven-footers on the court playing. Both teams are big, both teams have good guards, both teams shoot it well,” Calipari said.

    Sophomore guard Andrew Harrison said the scrimmagers are “fun matchups” for the players.

    “You have to compete or you’re going to lose. No one wants to lose,” Harrison said. “We’re just competitive. Keeps you on your toes. Every play you have to compete or you’re going to lose.”

    Cauley-Stein says scrimmaging is more fun than doing drills.

    “Some drills you have to do. Like you have to do concepts. You have to, like, drill on stuff so they’re embedded in your head and then you go play. I think that’s, one, it keeps you in basketball shape, and two, it’s gonna keep you on a competitive edge,” Cauley-Stein said. “Like, (Coach Cal’s) right for going back to that, ‘cause that’s where we were at the beginning of the season. We were going at each other. Like, you didn’t know which platoon was going to start, and that’s where it’s coming down to.

    “Like, well in practice, he had told us, the blue platoon, like, ‘Well, if they (the white platoon) win these segments then they’re starting.’ So then it’s like, ‘Well, I’m not getting my starting spot taken, so let’s go at them.’ I mean that’s just that competitive spirit in there.”
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    Harlow

    Re: Oakland v UK hall of fame

    See ya next guys with a new coach

    Harlow 03-22-2024, 08:36 AM Go to last post
    Darrell KSR

    Re: Oakland v UK hall of fame

    I'll grade the first point. I wonder who had Oakland winning?

    I kid, kid. Since I made the post, I guess the least I can do is go ahead and

    Darrell KSR 03-21-2024, 09:18 PM Go to last post
    DanISSELisdaman

    Re: Oakland v UK hall of fame

    UK by 19
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    DanISSELisdaman 03-21-2024, 06:25 PM Go to last post
    Harlow

    Re: Oakland v UK hall of fame

    No problem buddy

    Harlow 03-21-2024, 05:08 PM Go to last post
    Darrell KSR

    Re: Oakland v UK hall of fame

    Thanks, Harlow--I corrected it to 22. No idea, of course, and watch 18 be the right answer lol. Anyway, I appreciate the heads up.

    Darrell KSR 03-21-2024, 04:30 PM Go to last post