The UK Basketball team was finally able to put away one of those early season opponents Wednesday night with a 96-58 win over North Dakota.
Five Wildcats were in double figures in the game. Afterwards, three of them arrived in the media room to talk about the game. Here were some of the questions they were asked and their answers.
#3, Keldon Johnson, Freshman, Guard
On overall play tonight …
“We all did really well. It was a good game for PJ, great game for Tyler. We bring it all together to win.”
On if there was increased intensity in the game tonight …
“Definitely. I think we took defense personally tonight and I think that’s how it should be every night. I think we just had a good time tonight and it shows that when we play defense, we get easy offense.”
On Coach Calipari being more intense tonight …
“I would say so. That’s his collar. He always wants what’s best for us.”
On how much of Coach Calipari’s coaching is teaching rather than yelling …
“It’s always teaching. He’s always getting his point across and always trying to make you better as a player. So even though people look at it as yelling, he’s definitely teaching or getting his point across to us.”
On what area of your game does he get on you most about …
“Driving and kicking. Making the right read. It doesn’t always have to be a shot when I get in the lane.”
On Coach Calipari’s different demeanor in practice since Duke game …
“He’s a lot more intense. He was intense before, but he jumped it up a notch because we know what happened in that Duke game.”
#14, Tyler Herro, Freshman, Guard
On the team’s preparation …
“Yeah, we’ve been practicing all week, just on rotations and stuff like that. I think tonight we came out with a lot more energy. We rotated a lot better tonight and I think it showed with our deflection and steals.”
On one of the focuses in practice …
“In practice, all of the coaches have been on us about rotating and being more active and not being late to the rotation, so just working hard and just coming out with more energy and being active with our hands.”
On focusing on basic skills in practice …
“I think we deserved it after the Duke game and how we played. They’re (the coaching staff) just being hard on us and want us to be better. They know how good we can be.”
#25, PJ Washington, Sophomore, Forward
On the difference in tonight’s game versus the first two …
“I feel like the first two games I got into foul trouble really quick. I just tried to be solid and to get rebounds and just try to create for everybody. Just try to knock down some shots. I feel like once I saw a couple go in, it kind of just opened up for me.”
On team’s defensive intensity …
“That’s the biggest thing we have been working on is just team defense. We do a drill that’s called the ‘Perfect Stop’ and it’s 30 seconds you have to play to beat the whole time and can’t let them score and get in the paint. I think we did a good job of applying that drill to the court today.”
On going back to the basics in practice…
“That was the main focus for us. We worked on setting screens, rebounding and that was pretty much it. Those two were the main focuses and our defense as well.”
