Kentucky basketball notebook - Cats appreciate the week to prepare

By: LARRY VAUGHT

Having a week to prepare for Wisconsin compared to only two days of preparation for last week’s game against Notre Dame is a plus for Kentucky. Or at least that is what UK freshman Karl-Anthony Towns believes.

“I think it showed it’s really hard when you have to prepare for a team in a day’s span and get ready for a whole different offense with such great shooters,” said Towns. “I think that’s what’s so great, we have a whole week this week to prepare for Wisconsin and get used to their offense, and get to implement our defense into their offensive game plan and try to make it the most difficult for them as we possibly can.”

Towns said coach John Calipari has talked often to him about his defense. He’s likely to be matched against Wisconsin center Frank Kaminsky, who has already won several national player of the year awards.

“He wanted me to be better on the other side, and so did I. You have some of those games sometimes and you just have to move through it,” Towns said earlier this week. “That’s why we’re going to have a great practice, get back to the fundamentals and be ready for this weekend.”

He also knows he must avoid foul trouble, something that has plagued him. Kaminsky has fouled out of just one game this year and seldom has had more than three fouls in a game.

“Not play less aggressive, but just play smarter. You just have to play much smarter, play with more of my legs and just ...,” Towns said.

However, Towns also took over UK’s win against Notre Dame in the second half when he went 8-for-8 from the field and admitted he felt unstoppable.

“It’s just a role you have to play. Karl had it going, obviously,” UK teammate Aaron Harrison said. “No one could stop him and we just kept feeding him. It’s just what you do. We have a lot of great guys that can do that. It’s just the benefit of being on a great team with other great players.”

Towns said the team’s will to win is why so many players can make plays when needed at various times.

“I think it’s implemented in us through our careers playing basketball, always trying to win every game we possibly play at any given cost. I think it’s also been learned through this year a little bit, in ways of finding ways to win and outsmarting your opponent in the clutch time,” Towns said. “And I think that’s what we did a great job of this year. When the game gets really tight we really step up as a team and we come together instead of falling apart from each other.”
Harrison said close games have helped UK improve.

“No one has run through a whole tournament or like a series or anything, so you have to prove you know how to win tough games to be a great team I think,” Harrison said. “And I think the close calls that we have had so far this season, that helped us the last game and other close games before that. So I think it’s made us a stronger team going through close games like that and not weaker.”

Clutch Cats: Over the last two years twins Aaron and Andrew Harrison have often played their best in clutch situations. Aaron hit three game-winning shots in last year’s NCAA Tournament and Andrew had the game-winning free throws against Notre Dame last week to get UK back to the Final Four.

“The biggest thing is you cannot be afraid to miss the game‑winning shot. It's not that you want to make it; it's that you're not afraid to miss it. You're not afraid to make a play and it go wrong,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “You have to have amnesia. You have to be willing to risk. Those two have it. They both have it.”
Calipari recalled how former Wildcat Brandon Knight “missed five game winners” during the 2011-12 season.

“Then as we wound down the year, he made the baskets against Princeton, he made the game winner against Ohio State (in the NCAA). They've got to be put in that position and they've got to be told that it's okay that you miss the game winner because that's not the play that won or lost the game anyway,” Calipari said.

“John Wall made his first game winner against Miami of Ohio his first game. Had never made one. Tyreke Evans (at Memphis), same thing, made game winners where he hadn't done it before. But they've got to be put in those positions and they've got to be told it's okay to miss.”

UK-Duke: As big as UK’s matchup is with Wisconsin Saturday, a potential UK-Duke national championship game could set the modern day ratings record for a college basketball game.

“We’re not in a position to root. If it (UK-Duke) did happen, I’m sure everybody would be all excited about it because we’d have to watch all those clips of the baseball player taking the ball on the base line out and throwing a pass the length of the floor,” CBS-TV analyst Bill Raftery said.

“I think the two games to me — without looking forward — I think everybody in Kentucky would love to get another shot at Duke. Every time the clips of Christian Laettner’s picture goes up on the big board, they’re greeted the same way I am when I come home late at night. It’s exciting, obviously. Just getting through the first two and seeing where the chips fall will be exciting enough for me.”
Duke beat UK in the 1992 Elite Eight when Laettner took an inbounds pass from under the Kentucky basket and hit a 15-foot shot as time expired in overtime. Duke went on to win the national championship.
Kentucky did beat Duke in the 1978 national championship game.

Fun times: Harrison said it can be “tough” at times to play at Kentucky.
“Just in general. Everything you do is under a microscope and everything is blown up. You’re just overly criticized and it’s tough being a young man here. But it’s not a bad place to be, obviously,” he said as he prepared for his second straight Final Four.

“We have a great amount of fun. I’m not saying that. It’s just, you have to be careful. It’s a lot of criticism.”