Kentucky head coach John Calipari will be the first to admit he spread his words after the team’s loss to Auburn on Saturday, but he is behind the meaning of his message.
“What you’re trying to do is not try: I want to win every game I train, but the other side is I don’t try to get anyone’s heart out,” Calipari said of his decision not to start Dontaie Allen and Jacob Toppin , the team’s top two scorers in the half, to open the second half.
At the time, it seemed that Calipari hinted that Kentucky headlines are more important than those of its actors. However, during the Monday evening radio show, the UK coach said he was cautious with the mental well-being of all the players on his team in a way he had never done before.
“Where we are right now is unacceptable, I hope everyone understands. None of us are happy, I’m not happy. If you know anything about me, you know I want to win as much as anyone. This is a really different year, ”said Calipari. “The other night I said some things that didn’t go well, but I try to protect these players. When I said those words, they went wrong, but I’m stuck with what I meant. What happened to these kids and what we have lived all, in addition to COVID, isolation, loneliness, uncertainty, all this, I have to deal with it too.
“When people say, ‘Cal is different this year,’ I am. I’m different. I’m training more emotions than I’ve ever trained in my entire life. As a staff, we all try to stay in tune with their well-being. “I should have done it sooner than ever, but I’m being much more protective of these kids and their emotions than ever before, because that’s the best thing for them right now.”
When he says he “doesn’t try to get anyone’s heart out,” Calipari says he wants to try to balance everyone’s emotions on the top-down list. He started with Dontaie Allen to start the season, but now that the first year of the red shirt has figured out his role on this team and is one of the show’s top contributors, he is making sure the rest stay afloat. .
These are not stars or ratings, there are no favorites. It’s about believing in everyone on the list from top to bottom.
“He’s probably been too protective against Dontaie, he put him in a couple of early games. He wanted him to be 100% physically and mentally prepared for his time, at the time he’d been ready all his life,” Calipari said. “I probably could have thrown it more differently or faster. Right now, he’s found a role and it works. Now, it’s not Dontaie, we have to start the other kids.
“I don’t try to get the children’s hearts out. Let me tell you what I meant by that. For our team, we have to get guys like BJ (Boston), Devin (Askew), Isaiah (Jackson), all these guys who play at a high level. I try to balance the training of your emotions so that they don’t fall into more frustration and anxiety. This is not a normal year. It’s not about names, rankings, or that. I firmly believe in all these children. I firmly believe in what this team can still achieve.
“It’s not communism yet. It takes time to figure things out. If you know me, you know I want to do my best to win. This program is important and for me it is important. I love this show. “
To prove that “it’s not communism yet,” Calipari said he opened the practices today by telling his players that the top five places are ready, as “a couple of guys” took on the UK coach in the your offer. In total, Calipari says we can see up to four new linebackers advancing, with practice on Tuesday confirming some of the changes that will occur on the team’s trip to Georgia.
“Today, in practice, I opened the practice and said, ‘If someone wants to start, master it.’ You know what happened? I had a couple of guys who haven’t started who have moved on to a starting position,” he said. Calipari. “… Seeing all this, we could have four different headlines in this game. We’ll be back tomorrow and if the boys turn on and are ready for the march, have great excitement, fight, shoot, I can to say “let them begin”.
“It simply came to our notice then. Check it out, ”Calipari continued. “It’s the boys who fight and make us better when they participate. It’s not what they do, it’s what they do for us. Until you understand the harm you need, you are basically hurting yourself. Nothing is easy offensively for anyone on this team, as you don’t do anything. … This team wants to win and is hurting with what is happening. “
While striving to avoid distinguishing any player, he mentioned that “BJ (Boston) has roots for Dontaie (Allen)” and “Dontaie is rooting for BJ.”
“I’ll tell you, BJ is rooted in Dontaie, Dontaie is rooted in BJ,” Calipari said. “What we have to do is make them uncomfortable like we did today, but still be careful. I have individual meetings trying to make sure no one goes to this dark place. Keep them in tune, keep them engaged, and keep them off the Internet. This is really difficult right now. If people think this is the wrong approach, that’s fine. I try to do what is best for these kids and this program. These kids love this show, the University of Kentucky loves it. ”
The process has not been quick or easy, pointing out again that the staff has had to be more cautious than usual during such a difficult season and year overall. But as we have seen it done on numerous occasions over the years, it will make adjustments to initial training when needed.
Now may be that moment.
“You do it for a team period, you don’t just do it like‘ Bang, I’m doing it now. ’If you remember last year, it took me 12 games to be part of that team. It was a different lineup (the 2017-18) with Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander). It took me a while to find out I had to be in there, “Calipari said.” It only takes time, but at the end of the day the burning increases. It always does. Sometimes Am I too slow to shoot? Yes, but I wonder if it was your son, Yours son, would you like me to give you every opportunity to step on it? “Please, coach. Love him, treat him like your son ”. Or you would say, “Stop it, take it out, it doesn’t play well enough. Try someone else?
“I practice every day, so I see these kids every day. You may say, “Try it, try it,” but most of the time we’ve already tried it in practice. Other boys will need to have a chance at practice and play to be able to position themselves and do so. It only takes time.
“… I probably could have written what I said the other night a little differently, but that’s what I meant. I’m with these kids. ”