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Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 10-28-2015, 09:19 AM:

For a team ranked No. 1 in some preseason polls, Kentucky did a lot of good things in Tuesday’s Blue-White intrasquad scrimmage.

Just don’t tell coach John Calipari that because he said managing lofty expectations is easy after the way the Wildcats played in Rupp Arena when fans — and a SEC Network audience — got their first real look at this year’s team.

“I mean, you have guys that made 47 out of 50 free throws, and then go today and go 1-for-8 when there's people in the seats and the popcorn's popping. We probably shot 30 percent from the foul line. How do you do that and win?” said Calipari.

“Believe me, these guys know where we are. They know the hype of this program sometimes. They know. They all know we have to fight. We just talked about it. Raise your hand if you know we're not — they got to fight each other. Fight means before you catch the ball, you're getting ready to play. Before you have to guard a guy, the opponent, you're playing him before he catches it. A shot goes up on a rebound, you're moving before the ball hits the rim. If there's a 50/50 ball, you're getting that ball. You're diving on the floor. You're making an extra effort, you're fighting.

“We're not doing any of that right now. We're not rotating. When a guy goes to block the weak side guy, we're not getting down yet. So there's a lot to work on.”.

Senior Alex Poythress showed no hesitancy or fear coming off knee surgery last December that ended his season. He had 17 points and seven rebounds. He went 3-for-4 from 3-point range. He took a hard hit on the floor in the second half but showed noe ill effects when he got up. He showed versatility that UK needs.

“He's still not there yet. But I just want him to focus on rebounding. He made some shots. I'm telling you, if that takes away from his rebounding -- get that back first -- then I would rather him not make any shots,” Calipari said. “Get that rebounding back. That's going to bring your confidence in yourself physically. Go rebound every single ball, be a beast. Make an outlet. Fly down the court and get that first.

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[ 10-28-2015, 09:20 AM: Message edited by: catmandoo ]