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  • Tod Lanter talks about Kentucky


    Photo by Wade Upchurch

    CLEVELAND — Tod Lanter has an inside perspective on the University of Kentucky basketball team as one of three senior walk-on players on the Final Four roster for the Wildcats.

    He's practiced with and watched some of the nation's best players during his career and his father, Bo, played at UK to give him an even deeper appreciation for playing at Kentucky.

    He shared his insights on various teammates, assistant coaches and more as unbeaten Kentucky (38-0) gets set to play Wisconsin Saturday night at about 8:49 p.m. in Indianapolis in the Final Four.

    Question: How have Andrew and Aaron Harrison changed from the time they got here until now?

    Lanter: “Very focused. I don’t want to say they were not focused when they got here, but you can definitely see that they have grown both on and off the court. They know now what it takes to be successful. We got to a title game last year somewhat unexpectedly in the public’s eye but we knew we had the talent even though at times we lacked certain things that they have put in their game. They realize you can’t take possessions off in a game or in a practice. They have taken a new approach to this season and it has taken us this far.”

    Question: What about all the criticism Andrew Harrison has received?

    Lanter: “It’s unfair. A lot of the blame falls on the point guard for the team’s success or failure. Andrew has handled it really well. He is a sophomore, but he is still young. The kid is just 19, 20 years old. It is unfair to place all the blame on him but at the same time it has allowed him to grow up at a much faster rate than most Division I point guards would. He has handled it well and has taken a professional attitude toward it and has used it to drive him and I think that is the most important thing.”

    Question: So has the criticism been good for him in regards to making him improve and mature?

    Lanter: “It might have been. It took a toll but he has grown from it significantly. You could see that last year and coming into this season. He was even more focused in the Bahamas (on UK’s exhibition trip), which a lot of people didn’t care about it. But he came in with the attitude that I have something to prove and he has improved just as much from last year as he has from the start of this year to now. He will finish strongly.”

    Question: Have the freshman ever surpassed what you expected for them this year?

    Lanter: “They have. I was impressed with them in the Bahamas. I have seen my fair share of freshmen here even when I had not transferred over. Sometimes people expect freshmen to come into a program like this and you expect it to be easy. With the leadership we have had for years past and then they have had to compete for minutes. The platoon system would have never happened if Coach did not think the four freshmen could play and contribute the way he expected. Because they worked so hard in the offseason and prepared, we have been able to implement that. They have grown the same way everybody has and it has been beneficial for everyone.”

    Question: Could Karl-Anthony Towns be president one day because of his personality?

    Lanter: “He talks enough for it. He could stand on a podium and talk to himself for hours. He’s a driven athlete, driven person. I think he will be successful in the league, but when that career is over and he pursues something else, he will be successful in that. He has the right attitude to approach life. We have been impressed with him and have loved having him. Great personality, great kid.”

    Question: Does Calipari ride him as much daily as he does in games when he criticizes Towns?

    Lanter: “He knows what he is capable of and he wants to drive and push him to his limits. Cal’s goal is to make everyone the best version of himself and Karl’s ceiling is so high and he is so young that Coach is trying to take the best approach he knows how and Karl understands that. He expects to be pushed. That is why he came here and chose to play for Coach. They have had their clashes, but Karl has developed a lot as a player and grown up in the same manner.”

    Question: Do you ever have a day where even the players think Calipari just killing Towns with the criticism?

    Lanter: “We do but then I have days when I am like, ‘Man that kid has come a long way.’ That says a lot. The fact that he has come from this young, underdeveloped kid who might have had a body too big for his mind, he has stepped into the shoes he was expected to fill and pushes himself every day. When Cal gets on him, he responds well and doesn’t argue back. He listens and learns. That’s what he wanted was to be pushed and learn what his potential was and how he could reach it and he has done well.”

    Question: Did you underestimate Tyler Ulis initially because of his size?

    Lanter: “I did. A lot of guards in our league, or in college basketball, are bigger, stronger, taller, more athletic. You look at his size and things and just really didn’t know if he could compete at this level. But the kid has done an incredible job. He has the heart of a tiger. He is so driven to succeed that he can’t feel.”

    Question: When did he make a believer out of you?

    Lanter: “Right when he got here. As soon as we threw the ball up the first time, you would have never known based on how he played that he was smaller than any of the rest of these guys. He was up in guys on defense. He is not shy on offense. He knows how to protect and use himself with the ball. He is very underrated as far as skill level and talent just because his size limits him from doing some things that other guards can do. Like Aaron and Andrew can get to the basket, but if you have not noticed, Tyler can finish to. When he gets in there, he can get there and finish. He won’t accept failure.”

    Question: What has it been like to be a teammate of Willie Cauley-Stein?

    Lanter: “Willie is a different character. I have been with him for three years and have seen him grow as a player and person. He has a great attitude toward life. He is always bringing everybody up and he brings his own flavor to the team. He expresses himself in multiple ways whether it is the ink on his body or the drawings in his notebook or TV shows he watches. He is a great teammate, great friend. I think he will always be someone I can count on if I need to turn to him and he is always someone we can count on on the floor when things are going rough.”

    Question: Do you think 20 years from now you will be friends with him?

    Lanter: “I would expect so. He is not going to change. If there is one person who will not change, it will be Willie. We room together on the road a lot. After the first round of the NCAA, Willie had another monster dunk and every channel we flipped to was showing the dunk and he was scrolling through channels trying to find ‘Family Guy’ to watch. I think that tells you his personality. He is not looking to bask in the glory, he wants to get the job done. He is not looking for any notoriety. He just wants to have fun like the rest of us.”

    Question: What could you see him doing 20 years from now?

    Lanter: “I think he will have a long successful career in the NBA. Whatever avenue he decides to take after that, I am sure people would love to have him whether that be a TV personality. He could be successful in that. He is a smart kid when he applies himself. We’ll have to wait and see.”

    Question: How has Dakari Johnson handled not being a star even while being projected as a possible first-round lottery pick?

    Lanter: “Everybody stepped into a role for the greater good of the team and Dakari is no different. He stepped up big time in the tourney last year and brought that same attitude into this season. Everybody wants to play a lot of minutes, but we understood as the team succeeds, individuals succeed. So if he is asked to play 10-12 minutes a game, then he can play 100 percent and he will do that and knows it will benefit him to do that.”

    Question: What has new assistant coach Barry “Slice” Rohrssen been like this year?

    Lanter: “Slice is awesome. He always bring a positive attitude to practice. He always coming up and individually greeting everybody when we walk on the court. If he is distracted by something else, he still takes times to greet us and ask how our days is going. That has made it special because we have a connection with the coaching staff and players where everybody treats each other with respect and that’s the kind of program you want to be around.”

    Question: Is he similar to former assistant Orlando Antigua who left to become head coach at South Florida?

    Lanter: “He is. He is always throwing out words of encouragement and he has a voice that carries throughout the gym. If he wants something heard, it gets heard. He is very knowledgeable in the sport and he has been a great asset to us. He filled that role that Orlando took last year but he has put his own spin on things and that’s the kind of things you want. He has a great personality and great sense of humor. There are times he can show it and times that he can’t. He has to be serious on camera and things, but he connects well with everybody.”

    Question: What does assistant coach Kenny Payne add to the team?

    Lanter: “He drives everybody. He has a personality all of his own, but he expects and demands the most out of everybody all the way up and down the roster. He makes sure to bring that out even at times that we are down from a hard practice or have had a hard week and grinding through, he is the one there to push you. He has taken Cal’s quote about making each player the best to a whole new level. That’s what us in our last couple of years and him in his coaching career have had such success moving guys on to the next level. He demands more.”

    Question: What is their about this team that everybody gets along so well?

    Lanter: “I don’t want to say upperclassmen leadership necessarily because most of our upperclassmen are sophomores. Willie is the only guy beside Alex that is an upperclassmen. But that is leadership we have not had the last couple of years and it has been kind of hard for Cal to drill into freshmen that it takes more than just putting Kentucky on your chest to win games. I think our near success last year where we felt short in the title game brought a different kind of drive to this team and it has allowed guys to step up and lead that didn’t necessarily have that quality last year. Or maybe they had the quality but didn’t feel they needed to push themselves hard enough. If the loss last season has created this season for guys, maybe it opened a lot more doors than we realized at the time.”

    Question: So everything on the inside of the team is as good as it looks from the outside?

    Lanter: “It really is. Everybody gets along. The bouts we have on the court ... Cal talks sometimes that he has to stop practice because people are about ready to fight, that’s the kind of fight you want from players. It’s not because people are not getting along off the court, it’s because they are pushing each other to play harder, defend harder, go for rebounds harder. Every once in a while somebody gets popped in the mouth and you have to wipe the blood off, keep playing and then walk off the court and be friends again. That is how it is and we have taken that to a whole new level and guys understand this is a game and things happen in a game and you have to practice like you play and then we walk off the court and we are best friends.”
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