Calipari: Waves of Wildcats wore KU down

By Tom Keegan     Nov 19, 2014

KENTUCKY 72, KANSAS 40

Nick Krug
Kentucky head coach John Calipari yells at his players during the first half of the Champions Classic on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Box score

? Kentucky coach John Calipari stuck to his two-platoon system almost exclusively throughout the first half and started with it in the second half of Tuesday night’s 72-40 victory against Kansas University in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Afterward, Calipari credited the system with eroding the opponent’s spirit. 

“We kind of bum-rushed them a little bit and every time they looked, there were more tanks coming over the hill, more substitutes and reinforcements, here they come,” Calipari said. “It kind of gets to you a little bit. And I think that’s what happened a little bit.”

It didn’t look that way. It looked as if Kentucky’s size made Kansas look young and small and it would have looked that way regardless of his unconventional substituting. But it is interesting to see a basketball coach send five players at a time onto the floor. And Calipari has figured out a way to keep nine McDonald’s All-American, plus a potential lottery pick, happy. He gave the credit for that to the nature of his players. 

“I’m blessed to have a group of guys like this,” Calipari said. “They’re talented yet they’re selfless enough to do this. I’ve talked to guys who watch us who say, ‘I wouldn’t want to do this. I’d be out of rhythm. I want my 35 minutes.’ These guys have performed at a high level, cheering for each other, comfortable in their own skin.”

Kentucky point guard Andrew Harrison was the only player for either team to score in double figures, with 10 points. All 10 Wildcats in the rotation played in the 17-to-21-minute range.

But it was the first unit that did the most damage, collecting 38 points, 25 rebounds, seven blocked shots and just three turnovers in a combined 98 minutes.

“We have 10 starters on this team,” Calipari said. “That’s what we have.”

If any of the 10 have a problem with the system, they don’t show it by the energetic, smart way they play. How does Calipari get them all to believe in the system?

“Trust,” post player Willie Cauley-Stein said. “We trust in what coach is telling us and we trust in each other. At the end of the day, if we’ve got each other’s backs and everybody’s having fun it doesn’t really matter who’s on the floor. And if you’re winning and everybody’s got the same stats kind of,  everybody’s on the board with some staff, everybody’s going to be happy. It’s just that simple.”

Said Karl Anthony-Towns, who plays the other post position with Cauley-Stein: “I really love it. It gives everyone a fair chance. At the same time it  … allows us to go real hard all the time.”

And Calipari insists it does not strip the players of their motivation.

“I told these guys it’s not communism,” Calipari said “If someone deserves to play more, they will play more.  If someone is playing themselves out of time, I’ll deal with that. If one of the platoons is playing so good one game, they’ll play 25 minutes or 30 and if the other team’s not, they won’t. Now, will I ever go to playing eight guys or seven, I hope not. I’m not trying to do this to be a genius. I’ve never coached this way. What I’m doing is this is what’s right for these 10 players.”

Everything was right for Kentucky on this night.


More news and notes from Kansas-Kentucky basketball


PREV POST

How former Jayhawks fared in NBA games of Nov. 18, 2014

NEXT POST

45514Calipari: Waves of Wildcats wore KU down