Kentucky Wildcats Basketball Notebook: November 16

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Kentucky is no stranger to playing with the proverbial bullseye on its chest.

Typically, however, it's from being stalked as the No. 1 team in the country.

The target has a different feel early in the 2017-18 college basketball season. Opponents, fans and media alike may be sizing the Wildcats up as vulnerable due to a starting lineup that features five freshmen and a main rotation that includes two sophomores and another freshman among the top eight.

So even though they played No. 4 Kansas down to the wire in a 65-61 loss on Tuesday night at the Champions Classic in Chicago, some are already dismissing the Cats' long-term chances this season. ESPN analyst Jay Bilas even went so far to declare that UK does not look like a Final Four contender despite a No. 7 ranking.

Even UK coach John Calipari admitted Thursday that he thought the Cats might “get smashed” by the veteran Jayhawks. “A lot of people thought we might get smashed up there, but these kids fought.

“We had a chance with a bunch of guys who were on their senior prom six months ago.”

The skepticism seems to boil down to that youth and inexperience more than raw talent.

"We're all young. I don't want to say that's a factor," UK redshirt freshman guard Hamidou Diallo said prior to Thursday's practice. "Once we get on the basketball court, we're all basketball players. Age doesn't play a factor in it, to me at least.

"I just feel like we're a good team. Many people doubt us. We go out there and we're showing people that you guys can doubt us all you want but at the end of the day we're just trying to be the best team that we can be."

"Who's doubting you?" a local reporter asked.

"Everybody," Diallo responded.

Really?

"Definitely."

Are the Cats using that as a motivating factor?

"That's not something that we worry about, just a buzz that's in the air," Diallo said. "Cal brings it up sometimes. We just know that we're a young team, everybody knows we're a young team, and there's going to be a bunch of question marks. We're just trying to prove them wrong."

Diallo concedes, however, that UK has a lot of work to do and that sometimes young players don't realize how much more complex the college game is than the high school ranks.

"I've got a lot more learning to do," the Queens, N.Y., native said. "I was surprised how much more there is to the game than just playing."

NOTES:

* Calipari was asked Thursday is sophomore center/forward Sacha Killeya-Jones had earned a spot in the starting lineup with his performances against Kansas (8 points, 9 rebounds) and Vermont (6 points, 4 rebounds). "You know, I just have to keep watching him," the UK boss said. "He was really good (against Kansas)... What I liked was his energy. He tried. (And) he was in the gym after we got back that day. I opened the window, and he was down there on his own shooting free throws, so he's more committed than he's ever been in his life. And everybody's got to accept that he's still young now. He was 17 last year. Now he's like 18, the age of a freshman. Proud of him."

* Consider the UK coach no fan of playing mid-week games that tip off near 10 p.m. ET like the Cats and Jayhawks did Tuesday night. Calipari noted that he got home at almost 3:20 a.m. and that his players had to be up for class early in the morning. "Why are we playing games this late?" he asked. "I have no idea." Calipari added that every player on the team went to class on Wednesday. "I can't believe it. I wouldn't have went to class. I'm just telling you. You couldn't have dragged me out of bed in four hours and said, 'OK. Get up. You gotta go to class.' But I've got a great group of kids." When it was suggested UK turn down some TV money to avoid such late tips, Calipari quipped, “I would do it just so long as they don’t cut my pay. I’m all for it.”

* Speaking of scheduling... Kentucky will play a game on a Friday night for a third consecutive week when East Tennessee State comes to Rupp Arena for a 7 p.m. ET tipoff. The Cats played exhibition games against Thomas More and Centre College on the previous two Fridays. “Why are we playing Friday games?” an incredulous Calipari asked. He noted that it’s not given the Cats enough time between the Kansas game and ETSU to address some of their issues.

* Kentucky announced the signings of three high school standouts on Thursday: guards Immanuel Quickley and Tyler Herro, and forward Kelton Johnson. He described the trio as “competitive fighters who wanted this in the worst way.” Asked about his priorities for the remainder of the class in the spring, Calipari said much will depend on how the current roster looks at that time. He estimated they could take “one, maybe two, maybe more.”