Calipari open on struggles, not Skals status
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There was plenty to take away from John Calipari's 45 minute conversation with the media on Wednesday, but UK fans will focus on just two talking points.
Calipari said "everything was good" regarding freshman sensation Skal Labissiere, and didn't say much more on the matter.
And while that's far from reassuring, point No. 2 is also not good news for Kentucky fans.
Calipari, who's entering his seventh season as Kentucky's coach, believes the Cats have a long way to go.
"Like we have no habits right now that will win you championships," Calipari said. "We have no habits. My guys returning, they do, but none of these new guys."
Sadly for Calipari, he's going to have to ask a lot from his new guys. Kentucky lost seven players to the NBA Draft last spring, and is adding six new players to the program.
And as so many teams do, Calipari predicts his Cats to improve as the year plays out.
"We're not going to look like the same team in March," he said. "As a matter of fact, some of you should keep the tapes, go back in February, look how we're playing in February. You'll come up and one of your questions will be, 'Coach, you're not even playing anything like you did in November.' Yeah, we're trying to figure it out. We've got all new guys."
The Cats added Isaiah Briscoe, Charles Matthews, Jamal Murray, Isaac Humphries, JUCO Mychal Mulder to join the No. 1 player in the class, Labissiere.
Lately, whether or not the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2015 would play college basketball has been highly debated.
Last winter CBS' Gary Parrish wrote that Labissiere's guardian, Gerald Hamilton, was accused of asking an AAU coach how to profit off a basketball player.
ESPN's Jeff Goodman wrote last week that the NCAA has yet to clear the 6-foot-11, 215-pound forward.
Labissiere, and Calipari, have always manifested there would be no serious issues that would jeopardize Labissiere's eligibility.
Calipari did more of the same Wednesday.
"Everything is good to go," he said. "… There's probably 50 players that have a review. Last year we had five players have a review. A couple of them got cleared the week before the game. This year there was more than one.
"… I think my team will be fine and you guys will figure it out when we go out there the first day and everybody's got uniforms on. You'll know, 'Oh, they must have been cleared.'"
Labissiere has been practicing with Kentucky. He participated in UK's NBA Combine on Sunday and will go through Big Blue Madness festivities on Friday.
And while Big Blue Nation anxiously waits to see if, and when, the Haitian native will be cleared by the NCAA, Calipari has been coaching him like he's the next big thing.
How can you tell? Labissiere has been receiving the majority of Calipari's angst.
"Like right now, I'm on Skal harder than any other player in the building," Calipari said. "You coach your best player harder than everybody. If you ask Karl (-Anthony) Towns, he'll tell you."
The fun-loving Labissiere laughed when talking about Calipari's scrutiny.
"I always wanted to come here and I expected it to be that intense," Labissiere said. "It's the fit for me, and Coach Cal is on me more than anybody else. I take a whole lot. I enjoy it because I get better, I feel myself getting better every practice. I love it, I really love it."
Maybe it makes it easier for Labissiere to shut up and take the criticism given Calipari's track record with bigs.
"It's always good to have someone push you consistently and Coach Cal has been that person for me," Labissiere said. "… He tells me I need to fight more. He wants me to be a presence."
Whether or not Labissiere has thought about talking back to his head coach he wouldn't say.
"No comment on that," Labissiere said laughing.
Calipari realizes the Cats may go as far as Labissiere takes him, but UK has a unique roster for this upcoming season.
Labissiere is a skilled big that will likely be a top five draft pick, but the Cats strength is in the backcourt.
UK will likely play three guards for the majority of the season, and that means playing fast.
"We are definitely going to be a fast-paced team," Marcus Lee said. That is something that our freshmen and underclassmen are starting to learn is that we don't play very slow here, but they are learning the hard way. Our guards are learning that we can't just walk the ball up the court. I love playing fast. I can't deal with being slow."
While Calipari has stated there's plenty of work to do, Kentucky's mistakes aren't the typical freshmen mistakes.
"We're not turning it over ugly, which is normally what it usually looks like to me," Calipari said.
"We're not turning it over ugly because we've got good guards. Our turnover-to-assists or assist-to-turnovers is really good right now in practice."
Kentucky's mistakes, while not sloppy turnovers, are still concerning.
"But the other stuff, defensive principles, habits," Calipari said. "Oh, my gosh. Rebounding, toughness, rotations, communication. How much time do I have to keep going on this?"
When Calipari was talking about Kentucky's mistakes, he had all the time in the world to talk, but when the conversation was direct back to Labissiere's eligibility Kentucky's coach was finished.
"I'm not answering it," Calipari said. "I already answered that stuff. You're done. Next question."
Labissiere will continue to be a question for Calipari and the Cats, and even when he's cleared, assuming he is, then the attention turns to play on the court.
It might be ugly early on, but the Cats are OK with taking bumps in November if it leads to success in April
"We just try to win every game," Alex Poythress said. "We just try to win games and win that final game. That's what we're really trying to do."
