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  • Kentucky basketball notebook - 31-0 and not done

    By: LARRY VAUGHT


    LEXINGTON — Now that Kentucky is 31-0 heading to postseason play, coach John Calipari isn’t about to start comparing this team to other teams he has coached.

    “I’ve had good teams here. I’ve had good teams at UMass. I’ve had good teams at Memphis. Like really, really good teams,” said Calipari after Saturday’s 67-50 win over Florida. “This team’s a good team. This may be one of the deeper teams I’ve had. I’m doing stuff, platooning and doing stuff I’ve never done before. This is a good group.”

    Florida coach Billy Donovan coached against UK’s 2012 national championship team. He coached against the 2011 and 2014 Final Four teams. He coached against the John Wall-led 2010 team that lost in the Elite Eight.

    Donovan, a former UK assistant coach, said it was hard for him to compare UK teams as well.

    “It’s hard to say that they’re the best. I think the team that won the national championship with Anthony Davis — people will compare them to that team. But, I don’t think there’s anybody on this team in Anthony Davis’ league, in my opinion,” Donovan said. “They’ve got outstanding talent, they’re really good players, don’t get me wrong.

    “When you look at a team, so much of the team is based on chemistry, how connected they are, how they play for each other, share the ball, all those kinds of things. I think this team definitely does it, but John’s got more of an internal insight into how he would rank his teams from a coaching perspective.”

    Donovan noted that with Devin Booker and Aaron Harrison, who were 6-for-12 shooting Saturday, that Kentucky could beat teams “behind the 3-point line,” something he felt last year’s team struggled with even though it reached the national title game.

    “This team is more explosive,” Donovan said.

    He said UK has “legitimate” post-upu player to go with “big, strong, physical guards” in Andrew and Aaron Harrison.

    Donovan says the Cats also have an advantage now going forward that other teams don’t have. He noted that UK got “everybody’s best shot” in Southeastern Conference road games, but those worries are over.

    “They will never play a road game again. Every game (in postseason play) is a home game for them (because of the way UK fans travel) and that’s obviously a huge plus with their talent level,” Donovan said.

    Walk-on starters: Calipari inserted senior walk-on players Brian Long, Sam Malone and Tod Lanter into the starting lineup Saturday because it was the final regular-season game in Rupp Arena and also put all three back in the game in the final seconds. None took a shot or had a rebound in their one minute of play.

    “What would you have done if we would have lost this game? How many of you would have said, ‘How could he do that, start these kids with this on the line?’ Calipari asked in his press conference. “Let’s think about it. I keep telling you this is about these players, it’s about them. What about those three?

    “The reason I started them is I wanted a picture of them starting. We’re framing it. CBS is going to get me the starting lineups with their names on it. It’s going to be framed. I told them prior to the game, 35 years from now you can say you started. Who the hell knows?”

    And why did he put them back in after fans started chanting for them late in the game?

    “In the end, the students wanted them back in. I listened to the students,” Calipari smiled and said.

    Kentucky’s regular players enjoyed seeing the seniors plays. Karl-Anthony Towns and Trey Lyles, both freshmen, each shook hands with each senior when they were in the game.

    “It was great to see them out there playing. They come to practice everyday and their out in meals and everything with us. Just for them to get the opportunity to start a game, their last game in Rupp and be out there and be able to play for a little bit, it was a fun thing to see for all of us ‘cause they’re just part of the team,” Lyles said.

    Lyles said Calipari told them before the game they would start “and we all got a little joke out of it.”

    Celebrate: While Calipari was doing a postgame interview with CBS-TV, Kentucky players huddled at midcourt and received blue T-shirts with “31-0 Not Done” on the front. Both Willie Cauley-Stein and Andrew Harrison briefly thanked the fans for their support and urged them to be at Nashville for the upcoming SEC Tournament.

    Towns said he didn’t know whose idea the T-shirt was.

    “I was surprised we got a t-shirt. I like it though,” he said.

    Calipari was no help.

    “I didn’t really have anything to do with it. It’s nice. I didn’t really see it. I kind of walked off the court,” Calipari said. “What did they do?”

    Told that the players got T-shirts they held up for the crowd and then put on, Calipari smile and added, “That’s really nice.”