Kentucky basketball notebook - Calipari not backing off comments, Wooden Award, more

By: LARRY VAUGHT

Kentucky coach John Calipari didn’t back off his postgame comments after his team’s win over Notre Dame Saturday in the Midwest Region final despite being blasted nationally on social media for saying his team played “poorly” and would not say Notre Dame was the toughest foe the unbeaten Wildcats had faced.

“We played Texas A&M and they took us to double overtime and we were lucky to get to overtime. We played Mississippi in overtime and we were lucky to do that. Florida played us in a tough game on the road. I can go on and on. LSU had us beat down there,” said Calipari on the Final Four coaches teleconference Monday.

“I mean, to say that that was by far the toughest game, I could have lied (during the postgame TV interview) and said, ‘Oh, yeah, absolutely.’ But what I did say after the game was, Notre Dame played great. Then when I got up on the stage, I said, ‘Let's give them a hand for the great game that they played.’ Now, it really doesn't matter what I say, it could be construed however.”

He emphasized that he was friends with Notre Dame coach Mike Brey and said he did a “fabulous” job against UK.

“They could have easily won the game and been going to Indianapolis (for the Final Four) as us. We kind of made the play down the stretch. We made a couple plays and won the game,” Calipari said. “I respect Mike. He knows that. He and I are in touch throughout the year. I'm a Notre Dame fan. I'm Catholic. I grew up watching Lindsey Nelson (call Notre Dame games). Notre Dame highlights, the fight song, (football coach) Ara Parseghian. They can take it how they want, but it's just not accurate.”

Calipari said he understand Notre Dame fans were upset with the 68-66 loss since the Irish led most of the second half.

“Whatever I said, they were going to look at it and be mad. That's okay. I understand this,” the UK coach said. “But I speak the truth. I'm not going to sit there and lie and say we played one of the best games of the year. They asked me a question, I told the truth, at least how I saw it.

“I know how good Notre Dame is. I watched the tape. I watched them beat Duke. I watched them beat North Carolina. I watched them in their tournament, at home. As a matter of fact, we played them a couple years ago. They beat us by 25 there. I mean, it wasn't even a game. I know how good they are.”

Undefeated helps: Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan doesn’t think being 38-0 and chasing a perfect season adds pressure to Kentucky going into Saturday’s game with his team in the Final Four in Indianapolis.

“I think they've been through so many pressure situations when you're undefeated. Not to promote my University of Wisconsin-Platteville team necessarily. I had a chance to coach two college teams that went undefeated in a season, and I know what it's like to be 10‑0, 15‑0, 25‑0, what that does to a team,” Ryan said. It actually made our practices better. Our practices were very competitive, knowing that all eyes are on you. Needless to say in Division I there's more eyes, all on Kentucky's team.

“But going through that, I just thought it made us better while we were undefeated because of how you learned to deal with the outside pressures. Then it builds inside. Okay, in practices you got enough good players going against each other, so you're actually developing the skills of your players while the season's going on because you have that depth.

“So I think Kentucky is in a pretty good position from that standpoint of being able, even though they don't have the same players as last year, what they've developed in the last four and a half months is some pretty competitive drills, some pretty competitive practices and work, to where not only were they good in November, but they're even better now.”

Liking Towns: Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski says he has not watched Kentucky play often this year because his team did not watch the Wildcats. However, he still knows enough about UK freshman Karl-Anthony Towns to appreciate his skills.

“You all watch these other teams more than we do, or more than I do. I try to watch the teams that we're going to play against,” the Duke coach said. “I'm not watching Kentucky like I would if we were going to play them.

“I know Towns. We recruited him. He played for the Dominican team. He's a great player, great young man, beautiful family. He's going to be a terrific pro.

“Where he stands in comparison to anybody, who knows. The people who do that are the people who are called professionals who are going to draft. But he's going to be a terrific player. Based on what I've seen of him as a youngster, what I know of his character, then the little bit that I've watched Kentucky play, he's terrific.”

Cauley-Stein honored: Kentucky junior Willie Cauley-Stein was named to the John R. Wooden Award All-American team Monday night.

Nearly 1,000 national college basketball media members and the former award winners voted on the team.

The other players selected were: Ron Baker (Wichita State); Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia); Jerian Grant (Notre Dame); Frank Kaminsky (Wisconsin); Jahlil Okafor (Duke); D’Angelo Russell (Ohio State); Seth Tuttle (Northern Iowa); Kyle Wiltjer (Gonzaga); and Delon Wright (Utah).

The five players who are invited to Los Angeles for the Wooden Award given to the nation’s top player are Cauley-Stein, Grant, Kaminsky, Okafor and Russell. The Wooden Award ceremony will include the presentation of the Wooden Award All-American teams and the Legends of Coaching Award, which in 2015 will go to San Diego State Head Men’s Basketball Coach Steve Fisher. This announcement will be televised live on ESPN2 from Club Nokia in Los Angeles at 5 p.m. on Friday April 10.