LEXINGTON, Ky. — As his Kentucky team sits at 1-5 for the first time since the 1926-1927 season and endures its longest losing streak during his tenure, Wildcats head coach John Calipari thinks he knows how teams are viewing UK.
"People are seeing blood in the water and you're Kentucky," Calipari said. "This is their chance and I'm not talking specifically about Louisville's. I'm talking about every team in our league. This is our chance to smash these dudes."
It's been Kentucky smashing the series with the rival Cardinals, winning 11 of the past 13 meetings with Calipari as the head coach. A fourth-straight win over their biggest rival might be just what this Cats team needs to figure out its issues. But Calipari isn't seeing it that way.
"I'm not sure when you have most of the kids not from the state of Kentucky if it’s like the game to end all games," Calipari said. "It really isn’t. It’s not a league game. But it’s because we’re so close. That creates that rivalry with us. I’m not looking at it like, 'OK, this is the game we have to win.' I don’t coach any game that way. This a game we’ve got to start playing better. This is a game we’ve got to finish the last four minutes like we have been coached. And again, most of this comes back to me."
So he's trying to correct some of the Cats' problems by delegating some leadership to his players. While not identifying his choices, Calipari said he's picked three older ones to get rid of "all the non-negotiables, attitudes, how you accept coaching."
"I'm not dealing with any of that now," Calipari said. "The players are going to deal. So that’s off my plate. I'm trying to get them to be more in control of how we’re playing offensively and less of it me."
“Controlling your attitude," senior guard Davion Mintz explained. "Can I make this play for someone else?’ He said something like, ‘Not thinking less of yourself in terms of who you are as a person, but at the same time thinking less of yourself when in terms of it’s time to help someone else.’ A lot of those things are non-negotiables. Like when he’s talking or when he’s trying to teach us, he’s been here before. Thirty years. His résumé speaks for itself. It’s time to listen. Those things right there are non-negotiable.”
"I want to have fun doing this," Calipari said. "That’s the secret sauce in what we do. Yeah, I’m aggressive and I hold them accountable at a high standard. But I’m having a ball and I think they can feel that. And right now, there’s been a frustration level because of things that normally are non-negotiable in this program.”
He feels like it's a way to empower his group and have a moment like the Wildcats did last season on Jan. 18 against Arkansas after Calipari was ejected. Kentucky won that game 73-66.
"I got thrown out of the game and Ashton (Hagans) puts his arm around me and says, ‘Ok. Coach, we’ve got this. Coach, I’m telling you just go. We got this,'" Calipari recalled. "And I walked off the floor and we outscore them by 20 points in 10 minutes. At that point, we became empowered. That team had a chance to win the national title. We lost two games in Vegas. We lost to Evansville. We should have lost to Utah Valley. They become empowered. I’m trying to do that."
"There's super-high emotions," Mintz said. "You’re always going to be upset. I’m sure all of you guys that are asking me questions are upset when things aren’t going your way. I just love this team. I love where I see things going. I love the attitudes right now. It’s just special to see right now even when things aren’t the best. We’re still working together and trying.”
If Kentucky wants to change its fortune, it'll likely have to start by slowing down Louisville's best player in Carlik Jones. The transfer guard leads UofL in points and assists, scoring 16 points per game and dishing six assists per game. But while he brings a veteran presence for the Cardinals, they're also as young and inexperienced as the Wildcats.
"They’ve got inexperience like we do," Calipari said. "So, they’ve played better than we have. No question about it. They’ve been more specific in how they’re playing, mostly through Jones and putting him in pick-and-rolls and doing stuff with him. But everybody on that team has accepted their role. We’re still trying to figure out who is who right now.”
If they can, it could be the start of a change in their season, where any win is needed to get on track.
"We understand the magnitude of this game," Mintz said. "We know what we’re representing. This is our chance. This is our time. Like coach mentioned, we’re going to get the best from everybody, and especially from a team that really wants to play us. We’re super-locked in and focused on Saturday.”
