Morehead State "fired up" about playing Kentucky tonight

By LARRY VAUGHT

Preston Spradlin kind of knows how Kentucky coach John Calipari feels.

“We have 10 new guys, including six freshmen,” said Spradlin, the head coach at Morehead State. “I think we are about where we should be. They have great energy about them. We’ve hit a point where we need a measuring stick and to go against someone else where we can put our best five to seven players on the floor instead of just mixing it up with each other.”

Morehead State plays Kentucky tonight in Rupp Arena in a special exhibition game to raise money for charity.

“Our guys are fired up for this,” Spradlin, who worked under Calipari at UK, said.

His plan was to tell them about the game after his team finished practicing the day word leaked out about the game. With social media, news started spreading among the players before practice even started.

“None of the players asked me, but they were asking my assistants,” Spradlin said. “We gained more focus immediately knowing we were going to play the number five team in the country in about two weeks. We only have one guy on the roster that started a game as a sophomore. He was the only guy .

“We have five Kentucky kids, and four are freshmen. This is really going to be special for them and what a great experience for all of us really. I told them that is the toughest environment in all of sports. It’s the most hostile environment. It’s going to get loud and we have to try and keep our focus against their great length and athleticism. Can we negate that length and speed and do little things to stay in the game?”