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  • Practice makes Perfect

    By: LARRY VAUGHT

    Sophomore Marcus Lee says he has no choice but to improve his play for No. 1 Kentucky.

    “I go as my team goes. So, once my team takes a big step up, I have to follow them and take a big step up. Having a team like this, it kind of forces you to get better as the week goes. They make it really easy on me,” said Lee.

    He says practicing with and against Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein and Dakari Johnson daily forces him to get better.

    “I think y’all just need to come watch the practices in general,” Lee told media members after Saturday’s 110-75 win over Auburn, UK’s 27th straight wi this season. “It’s either, us going at each other and ending up fighting each other, or we always end up fighting each other. I think that’s how we honestly get better is we always go at each other, even though we’re on the same team.

    “I’m always going at Willie and Dakari and Karl are always going at each other and they’re not stopping at any point. Cal (coach John Calipari) has to stop because he thinks we’re getting too rough. That’s how our practices make us better.”

    He said the team had a few practice fights becaue of the intensity.

    “Once we step off that court we’re still best friends and that’s how it works,” Lee said.

    Johnson said the team “got away from a lot of body-on-body contact” in practice at one point, but that has changed.

    “The past couple weeks we’ve been going at each other. So it’s very intense,” Johnson said. “It helps us a lot because when we go in the game teams are not going to have our size, have our physicality. So when we practice against each other it’s a lot harder and it translates into the game and makes it that much easier.”

    Towns said Lee was not “lying” about practice fights.

    “We compete so hard ‘cause you want to get better. Everyone wants to get better every day, and the fights (aren’t) just because we don’t like each other because we’re just working so hard, we’re competing so hard and it shows,” Towns said. “Every time we come on this court we’re trying to make a statement, trying to be the best we can be. And also we may be fighting in practice, but when we step on this court we’re one.”

    Like Lee, Towns says he’s had no choice but to improve his play

    “Let’s look at the people you’re talking about: Willie Cauley-Stein, Dakari Johnson, Marcus Lee. If you can score on people like that you can score on anybody in the country,” Towns said. “It’s one of those things, everyday you’re able to go against the best of the best. You don’t have to wait for whatever day, whatever date. Every day you step on (the court) you’re going to be playing against the best of the best the country has to offer.”

    He says he’s learned that he has to “be smart and use the moves you got” to score even in practice.

    “Definitely just be smart around the basket, don’t try to do any show-time plays, don’t be fancy, just get two points,” Towns said.

    Calipari said a year ago his team was practicing three hours per day. The only day off was the NCAA-mandated day off.

    “Now we're going two days off a week, and the most the day before a game is an hour and 15 and the middle practice is an hour 45, and they are getting two days off,” Calipari said. “That's the difference. I trust them. I trust giving them time. I know they have believe in one another.”
    Comments 3 Comments
    1. dan_bgblue's Avatar
      dan_bgblue -
      Man I hope all the big man recruits, heck ALL recruits, find that article, read it, and savor the idea of getting that type of practice training every day.

      Thanks for all the quotes. That is a great read
    1. kingcat's Avatar
      kingcat -
      Awesome. Thanks Larry!
    1. BigBluePappy's Avatar
      BigBluePappy -
      Echo the sentiment of it being an awesome read and one ALL future big men should look at prior to committing anywhere.
      Also, you and your beautiful bride are still in my prayers, Mr. V.
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