With Kentucky again having a freshman-oriented team, Coach John Calipari emphasized the need to make up for the lack of experience when UK advances deep into the NCAA Tournament.
When asked on a SEC teleconference Monday about lessons he learned from last season, Calipari said, “You can win a lot of games. But thoselast three games with a young ream” make a big difference.
By last three games, Calipari said he mean the region final, national semifinal and national title games.
Noting the poor shooting against West Virginia in the 2010 East Region final, Calipari said, “We were just too young and started breaking down defensively.”
Calipari linked that experience to a central goal for this coming season. “How do we finish it off?” he said. “We did everything short of the last few games.
“If the rules don’t change, we’re going to have a young team just about every year.”
Calipari again voiced his opposition to the rule which requires players coming out of high school to wait at least one year before being eligible to enter the NBA. But if the rule stays the same, Calipari indicated he would continue to recruit one-and-done players.
Jerry Tipton of the Lexington Herald- Leader has covered Kentucky basketball since the 1981-82 season. That time includes five coaches, five Final Fours, four athletic directors, two interim athletic directors and many memories. Before coming to Lexington, Tipton worked eight years for the Huntington (W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch. He covered Marshall’s basketball team for two seasons before coming to the Herald-Leader.
