Articles by Category
By: LARRY VAUGHT
He had his left thumb wrapped but said the jammed thumb “was nothing serious at all.” Kentucky freshman Charles Matthews was just as casual about his first playing experience in Rupp Arena, too, after scoring 17 points in Tuesday’s Blue-White Game.
“It was fun. Another experience in front of the fans and we’re continuing to grow as a team and getting better and I have great teammates around me. I feel we played well tonight,” Matthews said after the game. “It’s not my first time playing here. I was on the court for Madness. Jitters kind of go away. When I’m dribbling the ball I’m just a kid having fun anyway, so those nerves instantly go away.”
Kentucky coach John Calipari liked the way his freshman guard played and continued the skills he showed during the NBA combine earlier that impressed scouts and others.
“I thought he did some good things. But he did other things -- he looked like a freshman. But I thought he did some good stuff today. I thought he defended pretty good. I thought he got his hands on some balls. I love the way he drove the ball,” Calipari said.
Matthews said letting the game come to him was important but he knew everything was still a “learning phase” for him and his teammates.
“Just continuing to work on my jump shot and my ball handling. Really just trying to become a better all-around player,” Matthews said. “Trying to continue to increase my knowledge of the game as well so I can make great plays and understand how to play the game.”
Former AAU teammate Tyler Ulis knows how to do that. He had 15 assists in the Blue-White Game, including 10 in the first half.
“He gets you a lot of easy buckets, a lot of easy shots,” Matthews said. “I’ve played with him when he’s had way more assists than that. He’s a great point guard, like I said. He does his job, we have to do our job and make more shots for him. I’m pretty sure he could have had 20 assists or even more tonight.
“He’s such a great facilitator. He makes the game so much easier for you. He’s one of those great players that can just slow the game down. He’s slows it down for you as well. Sometimes you’ll be so open, like, ‘Dang, I didn’t know you got me that open.’ He’s fun to play with.”
“The game comes slow to him. He sees plays three, four plays ahead of time. He knows where to get people ball. You can tell he’s able to move fast but think slow at the same time,” Matthews said.
Calipari has indicated he might go with a seven-player rotation this season. Matthews is fighting to get into that mix and his defense could help.
“Defense is all about the fight and the will to win. We just have to become a tougher team, basically. Just continue to battle and compete with each other. That’s all it is to me,” Matthews said. “I think I have to increase my role with that as well, kind of be that energy provider that sparks it up on the defensive end, and bring toughness to the team as well.”
Matthews understands why Calipari indicated after the intrasquad scrimmage that he wants to see more fight from his team. Calipari had the same message at UK’s Media Day earlier this month.
“I don’t think it’s macho man or anything like that. Just diving on the floor, going after 50-50 plays, battling position for rebounds – that will to win,” Matthews said. “I think that’s going to happen over a period of time. It’s growing. It’s not where the coaches would like it to be yet, but I think we’re going to continue to get better at it.
“I personally think it’s just how you play, and the environment you play in as well. It kind of comes with that as well, the battles you’ve been in. This is different. This is Kentucky so everybody’s coming to knock our heads off so we have to fight each and every night.”
Those are the kind of expectations Matthews he would have to deal with when he left Chicago for Kentucky.
“You kind of know what to expect by coming to Kentucky. That comes with the territory here, but at the end of the day, ranking doesn’t mean anything. We just have to continue to go out there and play, and play hard and play together,” he said. “We continue to grow as a team. We battle with each other and we show a lot of love for one another. When we’re all out there together we’re just having fun and competing.”
KSR Twitter Feed
vBulletin Message