Marcus Lee "gets" the Kentucky - Louisville Rivalry

By: LARRY VAUGHT

Marcus Lee is from California but the Kentucky junior says the UK-Louisville rivalry "starts growing on you" and has on him.

"It’s more of a gift to the rest of the state of Kentucky, and that’s how I go through it. I see it as we do it to give back, especially during Christmas time and the New Year’s. It’s something that everybody enjoys," Lee said Wednesday as UK prepares to host Louisville Saturday.

Lee said he enjoys the rivalry.

"It’s just fun. It’s time where we can play basketball and enjoy Christmas and everything else," he said. "It’s still just another game. No, you have to go through this game like you go through every other game or you’ll mess up if you do something totally different or your routine different. It’ll throw you off, and you have to go through it like it’s a normal game like it is.”

Calipari gave his players almost four days off after the loss to Ohio State. Even though Lee did not go home, he said the time away was good for everyone.

“I kind of call it our halfway point, where you’re halfway in the season and you’ve already gone through a lot with freshmen, basketball and school. All that is in your head, so now you have the time to relax and kind of start over," Lee said.

"It’s a lot to go through when you’re here at Kentucky. You have to deal with a whole lot, your body goes through a whole lot. And even if it’s just a day or two to get your body and your mind back on track, it helps a lot.

“I just try to remind them that it happens to everybody. It’s not something that’s totally new or it’s not something that they’re just going through. We just have to let them know that we’re there for them and we understand.”

Kentucky starts SEC play after Saturday's game with Louisville. That means nine home and nine away conference games plus a non-conference game at Kansas. Just don't tell Lee that.

"Actually, I don’t think we’ll be gone as much as we were last year. I’ve seen our schedule and it’s a whole lot easier with a whole lot more home games," Lee said.

Lee even likes what Calipari said about teams smelling blood as they get ready to play UK because of the Cats' two losses.

"I don’t want to play somebody that fears us or is scared to play us. I want somebody coming at me with their all, and if we beat them with somebody that comes at us with their all, then we know where we are," Lee said.