By Keith Taylor
Special to NKyTribune
MEMPHIS — John Calipari hasn’t forgotten his time at Memphis.
Calipari, who compiled a 214-68 record in nine seasons as coach of the Tigers, had a reception with a “couple hundred people,” many of them close friends, Wednesday night and reminisced about the good times as his Kentucky team prepares to take on UCLA in the South Region semifinals Friday night at FedExForum.
Kentucky coach John Calipari and the Wildcats take on UCLA Friday night at FedExForum in Memphis (Keith Taylor Photo)
“It was a a terrific ride,” Calipari said. “We loved our time here.”
During his tenure at Memphis, Calipari said three different programs offered him a job but he didn’t budge until Kentucky sought his services following Billy Gillispie’s disastrous two-year tenure in Lexington on April Fool’s Day eight years ago. Although Memphis became more like a second home, Calipari couldn’t turn down the opportunity to lead one of the premier programs in the nation.
“It’s Kentucky,” he said Thursday. “It’s Kentucky.”
Although Calipari wasn’t caught off-guard by questions concerning his return to the city the late Elvis Presley called home, he wanted to spend more time talking about his team’s game against UCLA, one of the more intriguing matchups in the Sweet Sixteen. The two programs have combined for 19 NCAA titles, with the Bruins leading the way with 11 national championships.
“This is about two unbelievability talented teams,” Calipari said. “That’s what this is. People are going to watch this game, not because I’m coaching, not because I came back to Memphis and not because (Steve) Alford is coaching. They’re going to watch it because this is a (game between) talented two teams — both teams and it should be a lot of fun.”
The Wildcats (31-5), the No. 2 seed in the South Region, carries a 13-game winning streak into Friday night’s showdown, while the third-seeded Bruins (31-4) have won 12 of their past 13 games. UCLA has won the two in a row between the two blue-blooded programs, including a 97-92 triumph over the Wildcats on Dec. 3 in Lexington.
Since then, both programs have vowed they’ve gotten better on the defensive end of the floor. Kentucky’s offensive numbers have fallen three months since the loss to the Bruins, while UCLA remains one of the top scoring teams in the nation, averaging 90.2 points per game.
“We definitely focus more on our defense,” Kentucky senior Dominique Hawkins said. “Our defense has definitely improved (since the first game against the Bruins). Earlier on, I just felt like our defense broke down a lot and it was early in the season. You have to change a lot early on.”
Bruins coach Steve Alford, who has guided UCLA to the Sweet Sixteen three times in his four seasons as coach of the storied program, said the Bruins also have made strides defensively.
“I think both of our teams are better,”Alford said. “I think when you look at the December game, we had 18 turnovers. I’m sure Cal was disappointed with some things that his team did in that game as well. I just think we’re better. “
UCLA standout Lonzo Ball agreed.
“Our defense was way better than it was back then, and if we want to win, we can’t give up 92 (points),” Ball said.
Kentucky senior Derek Willis said Kentucky’s experience in playing tight games, including a 65-62 triumph over Wichita State in the second round last weekend at Indianapolis, has prepared the Wildcats for the second leg of the tournament.
“Every environment we went and played in was crazy,” Willis said. “It all just prepared us for the postseason. (We) felt comfortable in situations (last weekend) and I think that’s just kind of how we’ve been prepared all season long.”
Willis added the Wildcats are hitting their stride going into the much-anticipated showdown and said playing on the next-to-last final weekend of the season will be and exciting experience for the Wildcats.
“I feel like we’re peaking at the right time,” Willis said. “We’re playing really well and a lot of us are playing the best basketball we’ve ever played. It’ll be a fun game tomorrow night, though, It’ll be fun.”
Gametracker: Kentucky vs, UCLA, 9:40 p.m., Friday. TV/Radio: CBS, 98.1 FM WBUL.
Keith Taylor is a senior sports writer for KyForward, where he primarily covers University of Kentucky sports. Reach him at keith.taylor@kyforward.com or @keithtaylor21 on Twitter
