By: LARRY VAUGHT
At most schools, Dominique Hawkins and Derek Willis would be on what Kentucky coach John Calipari calls a “normal college path” with their playing careers.
But not at UK.
The two in-state players were both high school stars but have struggled to find consistent playing time at Kentucky. Hawkins did play a significant role at times as a freshman when UK got on a late-season run to reach the Final Four where it lost to Connecticut in the national title game. But on last season’s 38-1 team, both Hawkins and Willis seldom played on a team that had seven players leave school early for the NBA.
Now there seems to be a void that gives Willis a great opportunity to use his size, 3-point shooting and versatility to give Kentucky a needed perimeter player with size.
Calipari said that Willis had no reason to be “anxious” this year because Kentucky’s roster is not as deep.
“Anybody that's trying to break their way through and doesn't know exactly how it's all going to play out, you have anxiety. I think he's gotten better and better. He's done great in school,” said Calipari. “And he and Dom are on like a normal college path.
“I mean, first couple years you don't play a whole lot, you're trying to bust through your third year and you're trying to make sure your senior year you're fulfilling your own dreams. But they're on a normal path. It just, for some reason here, doesn't seem normal. But it is normal."
That’s becasue Calipari and UK have produced so many one-and-done players, or players who have stayed just two years and headed for the NBA. Hawkins and Willis both came to UK knowing they would be career players, not instant stars headed to the NBA like Anthony Davis, John Wall, Devin Booker, Karl Anthony-Towns, Trey Lyles or others.
Calipari again emphasized staying more than one year like Willie Cauley-Stein did by staying three years didn’t mean something was wrong with the player. Cauley-Stein developed into a likely top 10 draft pick later this month who is being hailed as the best defensive big man to come into the draft in years.
“It's on each individual player. It's not just here; it's everywhere. If a kid was a really good player and he went to a school saying, 'I want to be the only guy that can play,' and he gets in there and then they start double-teaming him and now he's in there three and four years, did he fail? Or did you pick the wrong school?” Calipari said.
“Or did you have the wrong idea how you were going to get there? Or did you really fail? Did you do it the right way? I mean, each kid is different.”
Calipari said Hawkins and Willis both came in on a “different track” but also emphasized both have gotten better even if they have not played extended minutes consistently.
“They both are great kids and great students. And I'm rooting for them,” Calipari said. “They know that. I told them, 'You better come back here expecting to play.' I told them that at the end of the year: 'You come back here expecting to play. Then you go make it happen.' I can't do it for them. I mean, they're going to have to do it.”
Calipari said it’s up to Hawkins and Willis to show him they belong in next season’s regular playing rotation and he has no idea yet how many players he will include in that rotation. He went into last season using 10 players until Alex Poythress went down with a knee injury in December. By tournament time, he had narrowed that rotation and given Karl-Anthony Towns more playing time because he earned it.
“How many we play next year, gotta get 'em all here and see,” Calipari said.
Calipari said the two in-state products have to believe themselves that they can play and contribute.
“Then they gotta come in and do it. Which is why my comment: 'Don't come here expecting not to play this time. You expect to play, and then you make that happen. You fight for your spot, you improve your skills.' Well, if I just had more time … No, you'd be bad for more time. No, it isn't about more time. It's you earn your minutes,” Calipari said.
“And I'm not saying those two specifically. I'm saying any player. 'Well, if I just got more time …' Really? What would you be, 0 for 12 now? Or just 0 for … 'Well, I could not be afraid to make a mistake.' Really? Or would you just make twice as many mistakes? And then confidence that they have, you build that through the process and enjoying the day-to-day grind of the process. You build your confidence.
“If you're not confident, then no one on the court is confident with you and the coach is not confident in you. If you're confident, the players around you are confident with you and the coach is confident. But you have to be confident, and you have to build that yourself, and there's only one way to do that: through the process of getting better and better and better, which brings great joy to you more than the anxiety of worrying about being great.”
Willis particularly has been one to worry and that may have led him to finally admitting last season that he had not worked hard enough to get more playing time.
Now Calipari seems to believe that could be changing.
“I'm proud of where they've gone with themselves as students, with themselves on the basketball floor, how they've improved, how much stronger they are, how much they've matured. Both of them,” the UK coach said about Willis and Hawkins. “Derek has matured more than I can tell you. Now he's got to get on that court and … it can't be, 'Ah, we wish he could play more!' It's, 'Look at him play! He needs to get more minutes.'"
vBulletin Message