UK women's soccer head coach Jon Lipsitz announced his 2012 signing class on Thursday, which was tabbed in the top five nationally. Hear what Lipsitz said about his new Wildcats at the press conference Friday.
Terrence Jones had 20 points in UK's SEC opener against South Carolina on Jan. 7. (Chet White, UK Athletics)
He bases his evaluations mostly on instinct developed over two decades as a head coach and his gut tells him his 2011-12 Kentucky Wildcats are doing just fine, to use an adjective Calipari himself is very fond of.
"Probably about where they should be, so I'm not going to tell you we're behind but I'm certainly not telling you we're ahead," Calipari said. "We're not ahead. Some of the guys need to take everything up a notch. We're still trying to figure out where we're playing, how we finish plays off. We're not quite there yet but it's February and we're playing like a February team."
At least at this point, the Cats are playing a little bit better than the other February teams out there.
Top-ranked UK (22-1, 8-0 Southeastern Conference) comes into Saturday's road rematch against South Carolina (9-12, 1-6 SEC) having won 14 games in a row, the last three of which have come by an average of over 20 points.
The Wildcats are playing better than they have all season in becoming a nearly unanimous pick as the No. 1 team in the land. the fact that they have Calipari saying they're playing how they need to playing at this point in the season is amazing in and of itself. When it was pointed out to him that it was the first time in three years at UK he had said anything like that, Calipari backed down slightly, but with his typical sense of humor.
"What is today, the second (of February)?" Calipari said, to which the throng of media in attendance at his pre-game presser responded by telling him it was, in fact, the third.
"So they're playing like it's the second of February," Calipari retorted.
A few weeks ago, Calipari likely would have rattled a list of ways his team needed to prove under a similar line of questioning, though he could still likely do the same now.
Even so, UK's improvement is obvious, particularly on the defensive end. For the first time since 1950-51, the Cats have held three straight opponents to 50 points or less. However, that streak has a lot to do with the way UK has elected offensively down the stretch.
"One of the things that's happening is we've got a pretty good lead so we're grinding it out at the end, which gives that other team probably six less possessions, which is what we're trying to do," Calipari said. "That's helping us."
Point guard Marquis Teague has grown by leaps and bounds in running UK's half-court offense that is helping to shorten games, but attributing UK's scoring defense to pace alone does not tell the whole story. The Cats' last three opponents have failed to reach 40-percent shooting from the field and UK is allowing an NCAA-best 38.2-percent shooting from 2-point range on the season.
The defense got the job done the last time Wildcats and Gamecocks matched up on Jan. 7 in Rupp Arena. UK won 79-64 and South Carolina managed to hit just 39.1 percent from the field. Since that game Darrin Horn's team has lost five of six in SEC play, but Calipari sees a team that is getting better and is more than capable of upsets down the stretch.
"They've got a little bit of everything," Calipari said. "I'm a little bit surprised at their record, but I'm telling you, when you see they beat Alabama, had Mississippi beat, played Florida on the road and had their chances to win the game, I think you see them moving in the right direction and I think they're going to start knocking people off. I just hope it's not us."
A big part of that progression has been sophomore Bruce Ellington. The diminutive guard also suited up for the Gamecock football team this season and has been playing basketball exclusively for just a month. Ellington has struggled in his three career games against UK, scoring just 25 points on 7-for-35 (20 percent) shooting, but Calipari expects to see a confident player on Saturday in Columbia, S.C.
"When he missed a few (shots), it led him to miss another one, another one, another one," Calipari said. "He's not doing that now. He'll miss two shots and come back and make a shot or two. He's playing physical. He's better with the ball. His decision-making is better than it was then so he'll be an issue for us."
With five of their final seven games after Saturday against ranked teams, the Cats would seem to be in danger of overlooking Ellington and company, but this game isn't any different to Calipari, who remembers well what happened the last time UK took a No. 1 ranking into Colonial Life Arena.
"We approach every game the same and I'm going to go in there today like we played North Carolina or anybody else," Calipari said. "We're going on the road. It's going to be a hard game."
Hood not expected to return this season
With the first month of 2012 already in the books and his knee still healing from reconstructive surgery, it doesn't appear Jon Hood will suit up this season.
"I don't think he'll play this year, not at this late a date," Calipari said. "There's no reason to use up a year of eligibility because of that."
Calipari reported the junior guard from Madisonville, Ky., has only recently begun to run on a treadmill, saying he is still "a ways away" from returning. Since he has not played in a game this season, Hood has the option to apply for a medical redshirt and a fifth year of eligibility.
Doron Lamb
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Eloy Vargas
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Eloy Vargas
On the road trip to Georgia last month, John Calipari took advantage of a bonding opportunity for his young team. Since the game didn't tip until 9pm on Tuesday night, Calipari kept his guys up later than usual the night before by taking them to see a movie--"Red Tails," the story of the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II.
"First of all, to let them understand what has been done before them to give them the opportunities that they now have as a team," Calipari said of the movie choice in his pregame radio interview.
The film tells the tale of the all-black corps that was finally given its chance (and they succeeded brilliantly) after being denied that opportunity because of bigotry.
"I always say, if there is injustice for one, then at any point there could be discrimination for any of us. And the other thing was how they were together," Calipari said. "That, that was a family. They were a team. They had to look after each other. They had to take bullets for each other. They had to have each other's backs. They weren't expected (to succeed). They weren't in environments where people thought they could make it and they did. It was a good movie. I thought it would be good for them to see and it was."
Wiltjer developing
Freshman Kyle Wiltjer had five rebounds against Tennessee, his best SEC performance in that category, and his improved defense has allowed him to stay on the court for longer stretches in the past couple of weeks. Coach Calipari is pleased with how Wiltjer is coming along and ESPN recruiting analyst Dave Telep salutes Wiltjer for challenging himself by coming to play at UK.
"You never want to make a ridiculous decision if you are the fifth power forward where they only play three in the program," Telep said on "The Leach Report" radio show. "But I think Wiltjer stepped out of his comfort zone just enough where he feels he will be a better basketball player for playing against Terrence Jones, Anthony Davis and going up against guys like that. He knew he wouldn't be a one year guy and I think he is putting himself in a position to succeed long term."
ESPN's Andy Katz likes UK's road performances
Kentucky goes back out on the road to start the second half of the league schedule, at South Carolina Saturday night. ESPN national college basketball reporter Andy Katz was quite impressed with what the Cats showed in their last road win, at LSU.
"I think more than anything, it was their fight," Katz told "The Leach Repot" show earlier this week. "They haven't gone to three toughest places yet but the previous road games, they'd been closer than anyone projected. They really control at LSU. Anthony Davis got knocked around and yet these guys just showed a little more toughness than we'd seen and they continue to grow and develop.
"As far as Terrence Jones, it's almost like sometimes you forgot he has that potential and then when it arrives, you realize he's one of the best players in the country when he's on like that."
Katz says UK, Ohio State, Syracuse and North Carolina are the four best teams right now and he'd been stunned if this season played out like last year and none of the top-rated teams make it to the Final Four. He also noted that all three of Calipari's teams at Kentucky have been different while still succeeding at a high level.
"This team has different advantages that the other teams didn't," Katz said. "They didn't have a shot-blocker like Anthony Davis. They have more scoring options. They don't have as much as strength as they had two years ago. They don't maybe have the same level of point guard play, but this is a year where there aren't a ton of elite point guards, so you can maybe get away with that and win the national championship."
"First of all, to let them understand what has been done before them to give them the opportunities that they now have as a team," Calipari said of the movie choice in his pregame radio interview.
The film tells the tale of the all-black corps that was finally given its chance (and they succeeded brilliantly) after being denied that opportunity because of bigotry.
"I always say, if there is injustice for one, then at any point there could be discrimination for any of us. And the other thing was how they were together," Calipari said. "That, that was a family. They were a team. They had to look after each other. They had to take bullets for each other. They had to have each other's backs. They weren't expected (to succeed). They weren't in environments where people thought they could make it and they did. It was a good movie. I thought it would be good for them to see and it was."
Wiltjer developing
Freshman Kyle Wiltjer had five rebounds against Tennessee, his best SEC performance in that category, and his improved defense has allowed him to stay on the court for longer stretches in the past couple of weeks. Coach Calipari is pleased with how Wiltjer is coming along and ESPN recruiting analyst Dave Telep salutes Wiltjer for challenging himself by coming to play at UK.
"You never want to make a ridiculous decision if you are the fifth power forward where they only play three in the program," Telep said on "The Leach Report" radio show. "But I think Wiltjer stepped out of his comfort zone just enough where he feels he will be a better basketball player for playing against Terrence Jones, Anthony Davis and going up against guys like that. He knew he wouldn't be a one year guy and I think he is putting himself in a position to succeed long term."
ESPN's Andy Katz likes UK's road performances
Kentucky goes back out on the road to start the second half of the league schedule, at South Carolina Saturday night. ESPN national college basketball reporter Andy Katz was quite impressed with what the Cats showed in their last road win, at LSU.
"I think more than anything, it was their fight," Katz told "The Leach Repot" show earlier this week. "They haven't gone to three toughest places yet but the previous road games, they'd been closer than anyone projected. They really control at LSU. Anthony Davis got knocked around and yet these guys just showed a little more toughness than we'd seen and they continue to grow and develop.
"As far as Terrence Jones, it's almost like sometimes you forgot he has that potential and then when it arrives, you realize he's one of the best players in the country when he's on like that."
Katz says UK, Ohio State, Syracuse and North Carolina are the four best teams right now and he'd been stunned if this season played out like last year and none of the top-rated teams make it to the Final Four. He also noted that all three of Calipari's teams at Kentucky have been different while still succeeding at a high level.
"This team has different advantages that the other teams didn't," Katz said. "They didn't have a shot-blocker like Anthony Davis. They have more scoring options. They don't have as much as strength as they had two years ago. They don't maybe have the same level of point guard play, but this is a year where there aren't a ton of elite point guards, so you can maybe get away with that and win the national championship."
Bria Goss led all scorers with 19 points in UK's 82-41 win over Ole Miss. (Chet White, UK Athletics)
Kentucky was coming off a "subpar effort" in 82-68 win over Alabama on Sunday, and Mitchell wanted to see his Wildcats respond with energy.
The Cats were tied 16-16 with 11:39 to play in the first half against a Rebel team that came into Thursday night's game in Memorial Coliseum on a four-game losing streak in conference play. Even so, the message Mitchell delivered when the Cats came to the sideline was a positive one.
"It was just tremendous energy and commitment from the players," Mitchell said. "They just stayed it all night and they kept hustling. Even when we were struggling scoring, I was not upset. I was so happy with the hustle because they hustled from the opening buzzer to the final one."
Shots simply were not following for the Cats, but the intensity they were lacking agaisnt the Crimson Tide was back with a vengeance. Mitchell was certain it would pay off sooner or later.
"If they would just keep hustling and try to turn turnovers into transition points, it would all work out for us and they did," Mitchell said. "They hung in there and kept giving great effort and we finally got on track there."
The Cats never relented.
No. 6/5 UK (21-2, 10-0 Southeastern Conference) came away with a dominant 82-41 win over Ole Miss (12-11, 2-8 SEC). Kentucky forced 36 turnovers, most of any game in SEC play this season and an in-conference record in the Mitchell era at UK. Bria Goss led all scorers with 19 points and Kastine Evans added 12 points and a career-high seven steals.
With a 21-7 burst to end the first half, UK held a 37-23 halftime lead. The Cats continued to build on it after the break, turning the final minutes into a prolonged celebration of the best start to a season in school history.
For the Rebels' head coach, the way UK played was far from unexpected.
"It definitely wasn't a surprise," Renee Ladner said. "Kentucky is a very good basketball team. Their team is on a mission. Their style of play affects everyone obviously in this league. Tonight, we got bit by the same bug: turnovers, pressure."
The party was punctuated by an announcement of South Carolina's 64-60 win over Tennessee that gave UK a two-game advantage in the loss column over the Lady Volunteers in the race for the SEC title. The players and coaches likely would have heard quickly of the news after the game if not for the announcement. They instead found out during one of the final timeout huddles of the game.
"I heard the crowd go crazy," Goss said.
With that cushion and a victory over Tennessee already in hand, the Cats are firmly in control of their own destiny in the conference race, which jibes with what Ladner saw on the floor from them.
"I believe they are (the best team in the SEC)," Ladner said. "I would say so, yes. They're definitely the hardest team to play against because of their relentless pressure and their ability to sub so deep. They wear you down."
For the players, hearing that kind of praise from an opposing coach is satisfying.
"That's good to hear because Coach wants us to be the toughest team and the fastest team and all these other adjectives that he says," Goss said.
The journey to get to this point in the season has been a long one and it began long before the first game of the season or even Big Blue Madness. Now that those goals are drawing nearer, the Cats aren't about to let them slip away without a fight.
"We've really been practicing like this ever since the summer," Goss said. "I guess that's when it really started. Now we're getting closer and closer and we want to take advantage of this opportunity that we have."
Of course, adding some padding to their SEC lead is a nice feeling, but Mitchell know it's not something UK should linger on.
"It's just a two-game lead and we have a bunch of games left so it's a positive development for us, no question about it, but it's nothing we can focus on or spend any time thinking about," Mitchell said.
Mitchell's message has been received: praise from opponents and seeing "Kentucky" atop the standings isn't going to get to this group's head.
"We're not overlooking anyone," Mitchell said. "Anybody can be beat. We're not going to be arrogant about anything and we are focusing on winning the championship."
Inspirational national anthem performer kicks off evening
Marlana Vanhoose brought the crowd of 7,429 to its feet with a stirring rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before tipoff. Once she had finished the national anthem, Mitchell greeted her at mid-court to thank her.
"That was really moving," Mitchell said. "I just thought it was tremendous and I told her before tipoff that really brought tears to my eyes. I thought it was the best performance we've ever had here in Memorial Coliseum."
Vanhoose would have an encore of sorts as she returned to the floor after the game to sing "My Old Kentucky Home" to similar cheers.
The 16-year old was born with Cytomegalo virus and is blind due to an optical nerve that never formed. In spite of not being expected to live more than a year, she recovered from the virus and taught herself to play piano before the age of two.
To read more about Marlana, visit her website.
Assistant coach Molly Johnson is UK's all-time leader in home runs and batting average. (Barry Westerman, UK Athletics)
Sean Cartell of the SEC Digital Network posted an in-depth feature on the record-setting shortstop and current UK coach. Here's an excerpt:
Not only is Johnson a former Kentucky player and current assistant coach. She is the first and only All-American in program history and, in her first season in the coaching box, helped lead the Wildcats to their best-ever season with a 40-16 overall record and the school's first-ever NCAA Super Regional appearance.
Not only does Johnson play for Team USA, she also led the United States in batting average during the Pan Am Games - in which the US won the Gold - with a sizzling .706 clip. She was 12-of-17 at the plate in eight appearances with four doubles and eight RBI.
Not only is Johnson a student. She is pursuing her master's degree in sport leadership at which she excels at the highest level in the classroom and was an NFCA Academic All-American during her playing days.
Bottom line, Johnson just gets the job done.
LINK: SETTING THE STANDARD FOR UK SOFTBALL
Johnson and the No. 13/18 Wildcats are just a week away from opening their season with a trip to Los Angeles, where they will face UCLA three times and Pacific once.
John Calipari coached seven first-round picks in his first two seasons at Kentucky. (Chet White, UK Athletics)
The parade of talent that has come through Lexington since John Calipari arrived in April 2009 is unprecedented in recent college basketball history.
In each of his three seasons at Kentucky, Calipari has coached that talent to an Elite Eight, a Final Four and now a No. 1 ranking with his 2011-12 team despite sending his stars off to careers at the next level each June.
With all that talent over just a three-year period, how scary of a starting five could be fielded if you combined it all?
It's a conversation that's been had around the Bluegrass as well as on Twitter and message boards, but we wanted to formalize it a bit. For a while, I tried to wrestle with it myself to put together my own Coach Cal UK Dream Team, but the decisions were too hard.
Should I pick a back court with two point guards? Do I go with a lineup with offensive firepower or the ability to shut down opponents? Is outside shooting or the ability to penetrate more important?
Ultimately, I had to call on people who know more than I do. I solicited the opinions of four college basketball experts, two local and two national, to weigh in and pick their All-Calipari starting five from the group of UK's nine recent draft picks and the top six contributors from this year's team, listed in alphabetical order:
Eric Bledsoe; DeMarcus Cousins; Anthony Davis; Josh Harrellson; Terrence Jones; Enes Kanter; Michael Kidd-Gilchrist; Brandon Knight; Doron Lamb; DeAndre Liggins; Darius Miller; Daniel Orton; Patrick Patterson; Marquis Teague; John Wall.
The four experts were asked only to put together the five players that would make the best starting group for the college game. No restrictions were put in place based on positions. Here are the results:
Gary Parrish, CBSSports.com, @GaryParrishCBS on Twitter
John Wall
Doron Lamb
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
DeMarcus Cousins
Anthony Davis
"John Wall, Michael-Kidd Gilchrist and Anthony Davis are no-brainers because they give you an elite point guard, an elite wing (who can guard and dunk) and an elite shot-blocking big. I then went with Doron Lamb at shooting guard over Eric Bledsoe (and even Brandon Knight) because I want a shooter in that spot, just somebody who can keep defenses honest. And then I completed the starting lineup by reluctantly taking DeMarcus Cousins over Enes Kanter and Patrick Patterson. He's just so talented and dominant at the collegiate level. The reward outweighs any risks, real or imagined." - Parrish
Matt May - CatsPause.com, @TCPMattMay on Twitter
G - John Wall
G - Brandon Knight
F - Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
F - Anthony Davis
F/C - DeMarcus Cousins
"With apologies to the other players who could easily have made this team, this is the five I believe would provide the most balance, versatility and defensive prowess. Wall's ability to get into the lane would be a perfect match with Knight's spot-up shooting stroke and alleviate the responsibility of having to run the show. Knight was much better when he could work off the ball to find shots and those two would be a blur in the open court. Kidd-Gilchrist gives you a defender with size who could guard the opponent's best perimeter scorer, while also rebounding and not caring about how many shots he gets. Davis and Cousins would be as dominant a 1-2 punch in the post you could find, with Cousins as the enforcer and offensive threat, while Davis has a bit more freedom to roam and use his athleticism." - May
Larry Vaught - Danville Advocate-Messenger, VaughtsViews.com, @vaughtsviews on Twitter
John Wall
Brandon Knight
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Patrick Patterson
Anthony Davis
"When picking what five players to put on my All-Calipari team, talent was not an issue. All the players are good and any five playing together would be great. So I went with five I thought would play the best together. Give me John Wall (passing and quickness) and Brandon Knight (ball handling and outside shooting) at guard. At center, it has to be Anthony Davis, the best shot-blocker Kentucky has ever had and a versatile offensive player. At forward, give me non-stop Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who has never seen a loose ball or rebound he can't get and Patrick Patterson, who has the muscle and overall game to team with Kidd-Gilchrist perfectly. These five could blend together easily because all have one huge common trait -- each values winning over individual numbers." - Vaught
Chris Dortch, Editor, Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook; SEC Digital Network columnist; NBA.com columnist; @cdortch on Twitter
"PF--So far, Anthony Davis, who's leading the nation in blocked shots, is the odds-on favorite to be chosen the national defensive player of the year, and he's got a chance to win player of the year honors in the nation and the SEC. He'll get better and better as he continues to show other facets of his offensive game.
Backup--Patrick Patterson.
SF--Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is my choice, but whenever Terrence Jones pulls off one of those games like he had at LSU--27 points, nine boards, three blocks, two steals--it makes me hedge a bit. Ultimately, MKG wins out because of his motor that's stuck on high speed and his competitive fire. I swear, when I saw him knock down that clutch 3-pointer at Tennessee last month--and it was right in front of me so I got a good look--he reminded me of a young Michael Jordan.
Backup--Terrence Jones.
C--Mr. Double-Double, DeMarcus Cousins, is the only choice here. Critics wondered whether a perceived lack of maturity would hamper him in college. Apparently it didn't. He was a first-team All-American.
Backup--Josh Harrellson.
SG--Brandon Knight. He played point guard in his only season at Kentucky, but he's a natural scorer who could have racked up a lot more points if he had been freed of the responsibility of running the offense.
Backup--Doron Lamb.
PG--John Wall was a first-team All-American, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NBA draft and he started a dance craze. Not bad for his only year in school. He's the most athletic point guard to play the game since Dr. Naismith hung his first peach basket.
Backup--Marquis Teague."
Among our four experts, John Wall, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Anthony Davis are each unanimous choices. Brandon Knight and DeMarcus Cousins both got three votes, while Patrick Patterson and Doron Lamb got one. All told, there are no bad choices in this debate.
Now, I open the floor to you, the fans. We want to see your Coach Cal UK Dream Teams and your reasons for your choices. Leave your starting fives in the comment section below or, if you want to take the debate to Twitter, tag your tweet with #CoachCalDreamTeam and we'll retweet selected submissions from @UKAthleticsNews.
