Jacob Toppin attributed Kentucky’s startling turnaround to one factor: Swagger.
After only nine assists and 2-for-19 three-point shooting in the loss to Notre Dame, Kentucky has amassed 47 assists and made 17 of 35 three-point shots in the last two games.
“After Notre Dame, Coach (John Calipari) emphasized the word swagger,” Toppin said Tuesday. “Since that day, everyone has tried to (have) swagger. Everyone’s confidence is building from that.”
Swagger was not previously on the players’ minds, he said.
“I think we worried about just winning basketball games,” he added. “. . . That led us to being very cautious about what we do. And you can’t play cautious because that’s when you make mistakes.
“After that game, we realized that we just need to go out there and play basketball.”
The next challenge is Southeastern Conference play, which begins Wednesday night against Missouri.
Kentucky begins at the shallow end of the pool. As of Tuesday, Missouri had the worst NET among SEC teams (No. 235).
Still, point guard Sahvir Wheeler spoke to teammates at Monday’s practice about the difference conference play makes: more physical, more engaged opponents.
Wheeler told the UK players that when he played for Georgia, he was “super excited” to play Kentucky, TyTy Washington said.
“We’ve got to be ready and stay sharp,” the freshman said.
Special guests
Fifty-four people who were affected by the tornadoes that devastated western Kentucky this month will attend Wednesday night’s game. They are expected to be seated where the UK pep band usually sits and be recognized.
“They’ll be honored at that game, and they certainly deserve the honor and recognition,” said Beth Mann, who owns The Edge Media Group, which helped organize the ticket distribution. “They just need the opportunity to get away and do something that’s stress-free and hopefully something that creates a new fond memory for them.”
The special guests are from Caldwell County. Mann said that the tornadoes on the night of Dec. 10 demolished about 300 homes in the Princeton, Ky., area.
Princeton Mayor Kota Young announced last week that UK Athletics had offered game tickets and a chartered bus to take people on a round-trip to the game.
Radio station WPKY (FM 103.3), which is owned by Mann, coordinated the drawing for tickets Tuesday. Relief efforts included Louisville radio stations working with people in Princeton to deliver and distribute a truckload of toys last week.
“We’re really blessed in so many ways,” Mann said. ”We’ve just had an outpouring of support from all over the world.”
‘Sprint coordinator’
Calipari said that UK now has what he called a “sprint coordinator.” After each game, this person assesses how well and how often each player sprinted from offense to defense or vice versa.
“Guys with the best numbers in the sprints per game are our best players on the team right now,” Calipari said.
After hinting the sprint coordinator was the slowest runner on the staff, Calipari identified the sprint coordinator: his son, Brad Calipari.
Rotation unsettled
Calipari had a direct answer when asked if he had settled on a player rotation.
“No,” he said.
The UK coach continued to speak of players improving or worsening their prospects for being in a regular rotation.
He credited Lance Ware for making a difference in the victory over North Carolina.
He said Bryce Hopkins could contribute physical play and get to the free-throw line. Or as the UK coach put it, “He can be that car crash.”
Not for the first time, Calipari said he spoke to fan favorite Dontaie Allen about having the chance to be a regular. Allen has not played in the last three games. Calipari linked greater playing time to playing well.
Of any player being fixated about playing time, Calipari said, “That’s ego. High school.”
Looking up
By blocking seven shots, Western Kentucky big man Jamarion Sharp made an impression against Kentucky.
When asked after the game what it was like to compete against a 7-foot–5 opponent, Oscar Tshiebwe said, “It was a little bit of a nightmare.” Three of Sharp’s seven blocks came on shots by Tshiebwe.
Sharp leads Division I with an average of 5.0 blocks per game.
Missouri has a 7-3 player in Jordan Wilmore. He has made a less imposing impression so far this season. He’s averaging 9.4 minutes, 2.6 points and 2.0 rebounds. He’s blocked a total of six shots.
Etc.
Kevin Fitzgerald and Dane Bradshaw will call the game for the SEC Network.
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