Kentucky head coach John Calipari will be the first to admit that he groped his words after the team lost to Auburn on Saturday, but he is behind the meaning of his message.
“What you’re trying to do is I don’t try to – I want to win every game I train, but the other side is that I don’t try to take anyone’s heart away,” Calipari said of the decision not to start Dontaie Allen. and Jacob Toppin, the team’s two top scorers at halftime, to open the second half.
At the time, it seemed that Calipari was beginning to understand that Kentucky’s rookies were more important than his players. However, in his radio show on Monday night, the head coach of Great Britain said that he is careful with the mental well-being of all the players in his team in a way he has never done before.
“Where we are now is unacceptable, I hope everyone understands that. None of us are happy, I’m not happy. If you know anything about me, you know I want to earn as much as anyone. This is a really different year “, said Calipari. “I said a few things last night that didn’t go well, but I’m trying to protect these players. When I said those words, they came out wrong, but I’m waiting for what I meant. What these children went through and what we all went through, besides COVID, isolation, loneliness, uncertainty, all these things, I have to deal with that as well.
When people say, “Horse is different this year,” I am. I’m different. I train more emotions than I’ve ever trained in my entire life. As staff, we all try to stay in tune with their mental well-being, more than ever. I probably should have done it sooner, but I’m much more protective of these kids and their emotions than I’ve ever had, because that’s best for them now.
When he says that “he is not trying to take anyone’s heart”, Calipari says that he wants to balance the emotions of everyone on the list from top to bottom. He started with Dontaie Allen to start the season, but now, when the red-haired freshman has sculpted his role in this team and is one of the most important collaborators of the program, he makes sure that everyone else stays afloat.
It’s not about stars or rankings, there are no favorites. It’s about believing in everyone on the list from top to bottom.
“I probably protected Dontaie too much, I put him at the beginning with a few games. I wanted him to be 100% physically and mentally prepared for his moment, the moment he was prepared all his life. “Calipari said. “I could have thrown him there sooner or later. Right now, he’s found a role and it works. Now, it’s not Dontaie, we have to take the other children.
“I am not trying to take the child’s heart. 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 playing at a high level. I try to balance my emotional training in a way that doesn’t slip into frustration and anxiety. This is not a normal year. It’s not about names, rankings, any of these things. I have a strong faith in each of these children. I have a strong belief in what this team is still capable of achieving.
“It is not communism yet. It takes time to figure things out. If you know me, you know I want to do everything I can to win. This program is important and important to me. I like this program. ”
To prove that “it’s not communism yet,” Calipari said he opened training today by telling his players that all five starting spots are at stake, with “a few guys” taking the British coach on offer. In total, Calipari says we may see up to four new beginners in line advancing, with Tuesday’s practice confirming some of the changes that have taken place in the team’s trip to Georgia.
“Today, in practice, I opened the practice and said, ‘If anyone wants to start, go dominate.’ Do you know what happened? I had some guys who didn’t start this, who moved into a starting position “, said Calipari. “… Looking at all this, we could have four different beginners in this game. We go again tomorrow and, if the boys go into the fire and are ready to leave, they have a special emotion, they fight, they shoot, I can say “Let them start”.
“It simply came to our notice then. Check “, Calipari continued. “The boys fight and make us better when they are in the game. I don’t do what I do, I do it for us. Until you understand how badly you need each other, you practically hurt each other. Nothing is slightly offensive to anyone on this team, because you don’t think about each other. … This team wants to win and suffer with what is happening. ”
While trying to avoid selecting a player, he mentioned that “BJ (Boston) has roots for Dontaie (Allen)” and “Dontaie is root for BJ”.
“I’ll tell you, BJ roots Dontaie, Dontaie roots BJ,” Calipari said. “What we have to do is make them uncomfortable, as I did today, but still keep an eye on things. I have individual meetings, trying to make sure no one enters that dark place. That they stay in tune, they stay employed, they stay out of the internet. It’s very hard now. If people think this is the wrong approach, that’s fine. I try to do what is best for these children and for this program. These kids love this program, they love the University of Kentucky. ”
The process was not quick or easy, again noting that staff had to be more cautious than usual during such a difficult season and year in general. But, as we have seen him do on numerous occasions over the years, he will make adjustments to the starting line when necessary.
Now might be that moment.
“You do it in a team period, you don’t just do it like ‘Bang, I do it now.’ If you remember last year, it took me 12 games to settle on that team. It was a different starting lineup (in 2017-18) with Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander). It took me a while to realize that he must be there, “said Calipari. “It only takes time, but at the end of the day, the cream grows. Always. Sometimes I’m too slow to trigger? Yes, but I ask you, if he were your son, your Son, would you like me to give him every chance to pass? “Please, coach. Love him, treat him like your child. Or you might say, “Stop, take him out, he’s not playing well enough.” Are you trying someone else ”?
“I’m in practice every day, so I see these kids every day. You can say, “Try this, try this,” but most of the time I’ve already tried it in practice. They will need other guys an opportunity to practice and continue in the game so they can sit there and do it. It only takes time.
“I probably could have said a little differently what I said last night, but that’s what I meant. I sit next to these children. ”