Kentucky guard PJ Washington slams home the ball during the Wildcats’ 76-66 loss at Auburn earlier this weekend. The Wildcats host Alabama at 2 p.m. Saturday at Rupp Arena. (UK Athletics Photo)
By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
Mired in a four-game losing streak, John Calipari hasn’t given up on the season. Neither have his players.
“Let’s use this as fuel (and) have it make us stronger,” Calipari said Friday. “Talk about coming together. You’re not going to be able to bust through by yourself.”
Although in the midst of the longest losing streak in Calipari’s nine seasons at the school, the Kentucky coach is optimistic for a breakthrough starting with Saturday’s game against up-and-coming Alabama.
“I really believe if we can win one, things start changing for us, but you’ve got to win one,” Calipari said. “There’s nobody going to give us anything. (When other teams) get a chance to bet us, they’re going nuts. That’s how it is. … We’re not that far, but you’ve got to win games. Close losses don’t do it. You’ve got to win some games.”
The Wildcats (17-9, 6-7 Southeastern Conference) haven’t won a game this month, despite holding a lead in the second half during recent setbacks to Tennessee, Missouri, and Auburn.
“In a bunch of these games, it’s not that they were taken, but they were given,” Calipari said. “We’ve got to get out of that mode. Because of that, even watching the last game, we’ll have a spell of three to four minutes where instead of us being up 10 to 12 (points), all of the sudden it’s anybody’s ballgame. We’ve got to get through that.
“This is the hard part of it. It could make us what we’re going to be at the end of the year or this could break people down.”
A big part of the late collapses has been an inability to remain calm during times of adversity. Freshman forward Jarred Vanderbilt said the main issue has been a lack of trust. In order to improve, Vanderbilt said the Wildcats must “buy into what (Calipari) is telling us.”
“(We need to improve) in communication and just trusting each other,” Vanderbilt said. “That’s the main thing right now. It isn’t so much our abilities, we just have to trust each other and become one as a team, fighting for each other for a full 40 minutes. Once we get those (accomplished) and clicking on all four cylinders, we’ll be a better team.”
Kentucky guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander agreed.
“I just think obviously we haven’t been (trusting) and it’s not working,” he said. “We’re losing and no one likes losing, so something’s gotta change. I think that’s probably one of the biggest things. We all gotta trust (John Calipari) and know that what he’s asking us to do will work and we’ll see the results once we trust him.
Calipari added that knowing when not to make a magnificent play, compared to trying to be the hero in a slump has bogged the Wildcats down, especially in close games. Calipari said the Wildcats just need to “tone it down” as individuals during times of adversity.
“If you’re not playing as well as you need to play — this is where they won’t listen — and you’re not on your ‘A’ game, you simplify everything,” Calipari said. “You fall into the team and you make the plays the team needs to make until you get going.”
Alabama (17-9, 8-5) carries a two-game winning streak into the contest and is 5-1 against ranked teams this season. The Crimson Tide manhandled No. 18 Tennessee 78-50 in Tuscaloosa last weekend and is in a three-way tie with Florida and Missouri for third place in the current conference standings.
Although Alabama will present a challenge, Calipari is focused on his own team and not outward distractions.
“All I’m focused on is these kids,” Calipari said. “I’m not worried about convincing the fans of anything. I would hope we’ve established enough of a relationship, I have, this program has, with the vast majority of the fans, that they trust the program is in good hands (and) stuff happens and we’ll deal with it.”
“This is one of those things, obviously, I haven’t gone through in a long time and this program hasn’t gone through in a long time, but guess what? You go through (tough times). You look across the country and everybody is getting beat. I’ve just got to get this team right.”
Gametracker: Alabama at Kentucky, 2 p.m., Saturday. TV/Radio: CBS (Channel 27), 98.1 FM, WBUL, Lexington.
Keith Taylor is sports editor for Kentucky Today. Reach him at keith.taylor@kentuckytoday.com or twitter @keithtaylor21.
