Coach Justus’ Pregame Comments Prior To Hofstra
UK MEDIA RELATIONS MEN’S BASKETBALL
JOE CRAFT CENTER
Kentucky Assistant Coach Joel Justus
On the health of the team with the big stretch of games coming up …
“I think we’re improving. During any season, you’ll go through your ups and downs. Our guys are doing a good job of taking care of their bodies. The folks here are doing everything they can to get our guys in the best position to be healthy and ready to go on game day.”
On what the team took from the UCLA loss into the win against Valparaiso …
“Anytime that you go out and compete, especially against a team as good as UCLA, they’re going to make you be as close to your best as you need to be. What we were able to do was find out through the film the things that we needed to do to beat a really good team. The focus continues to be on what we need to do and ourselves, not just in the games, but every single day to be the best collectively and also individually. That’s the best thing. If our guys are going to be their best, it has to be a daily thing. You come to practice and have to be focused on what you can to do to become better and help yourself and the team.”
On what he tells the freshmen about what’s coming in Camp Cal …
“You have to embrace it. As we go through the recruiting process, a big part of coming to Kentucky is to be the best version of you. Whenever classes end and you can focus solely on basketball – (practicing) a couple of times a day, getting a chance to work on your skills, and allowing the coaches to focus at that time of year after playing 10 or 11 games – you really settle in and say, ‘OK, this is what I look like when I’m at my best.’ If you embrace that and are excited about it, it’s a fun time of year. After that, the game seems to maybe slow down for our freshman because they’ve gone through a bunch of practices and then it’s game after game. Let’s slow down, talk about you and us, and not really have to focus on anything else.”
On if this period of time during winter break could be a big jump for the young guys …
“You hope so. It is a time when there really is no other thing going on other than basketball. We’ll have a couple of practices. They get to go out as a team and rest. Cal mentioned playing video games. It’s a time for them where they can just focus on basketball. By that point, a lot of the stuff that we’re trying to focus in on as a team is in. Now it’s getting back to the individuals and becoming the best version of you. They’ve seen 10 and 11 times in the games and after 50 practices they know, this is what Cal wants me to be. This is what it looks like. Now we get to do that a couple of times a day.”
On players understanding their roles at this point in the season …
“That’s something that is a piece that has been communicated individually. It still takes time for it to really sink in. Even now, there are different lineups. There are different combinations. There are times when guys are playing extended minutes or not as many minutes, whether that’s through foul trouble, learning and making mistakes, or playing through mistakes. It’s one of those things that isn’t etched in stone. But, I think we have an idea and Cal has an idea of what everybody looks like at their best.”
On any evidence of a “breakfast club” starting with this group …
“I know guys are working, but I don’t know if we’ve gotten to that point yet to where there’s anything that’s established. As a group of guys, this group is working. They love to be in the gym and they love to be around each other. They drag each other, whether it is to the weight room, to watch some film, or to get up some extra shots, this group is working hard and it’s contagious. They love to be in the gym and have a tremendous thirst for that. I think that goes back to Isaiah Briscoe and his leadership with this group, and I think that is something that we’re trying to continue to get him to drag us. For us to be our best, he needs to continue to be that guy. Cal has said that and hats off to him for doing that.”
On the big games coming up …
“I think they’re all big. For our guys and young guys, even the exhibition games are big. When you walk out to 23,000 people in Rupp Arena for an exhibition game, it’s a big game. It’s a big game for the opponent, so I think our guys are still getting used to the fact that we have Kentucky on our shirt, and you walk out there and it’s the biggest game. Whether it’s Hofstra, Chapel Hill or anyone else, we’re going to play in the upcoming games. It’s a very big game for the guys on our team. I think that’s what we’re focused on.”
On bringing energy into every game …
“I don’t think I can say why it was lacking against UCLA, but I can say that Isaiah Briscoe was a big part in getting that back for us the other night against Valpo. He was tremendous. He had a big smile. One thing that Cal wants us to do is talk, touch, and he was all over the place. He was engaged in the huddles and pregame. That’s Isaiah at his best. As someone who’s on the team with him, it was great to see. I was happy. It was great to have him being his best. That was a lot of fun, and he was a big reason why we were who we were the other night.”
On the development of Bam Adebayo …
“Bam is one of the first guys to practice every day. He is another guy who wants to get better every day. He asks questions. He is inquisitive. He is a guy that just wants to engage you in any way so that you can help him get better. He is always a guy that is listening. When you first get to know him, he’s a very bright kid and that is the thing that I, and we as a staff have been the most impressed with him – how much he wants to learn, how great he listens and how much he wants to improve every day.”
On if there’s one more key to improving Adebayo’s game …
“I don’t think it just could be one thing. I think he is a guy that, like I said, is in there with Kenny (Payne). Cal is working with him. He asks everybody questions. He comes by the office. He just wants to be around. For someone that age, that shows tremendous maturity on his part. If he keeps that up, he is going to go further than any of us can limit right now. By just putting one thing that he can improve, he is going to be that guy – like some of the guys we have here – that just goes beyond and you just go, ‘Holy cow.’ ”
On Adebayo and Derek Willis defensively …
“I think that they are improving. That is coming as a staff that Cal is asking us what we need to do and how we can help them daily. How can we help them individually? How can we help them within the framework of the team and individual drills? Those guys are both working really hard themselves doing things individually. They are here. They are there. They are doing different things, guarding guards and guarding bigs. That is a good thing for them that they are embracing it. Some guys maybe run from that challenge. Those guys are really embracing the fact that they are going to improve and that we are at our best when they improve in those areas.”
On if other teams are going at those guys defensively …
“I can’t speak for them. There are times when our guys are probably all getting picked on and maybe that has to do with how they see their strength. I don’t know that you can pick on one guy on this team because we do such a good job of helping, and our help defense is something we talk a lot about and pride a lot about. We’re not going to let someone get picked on.”
On what has made Dominique Hawkins so much better this year …
“Dom is a guy that has put a lot of time in. He has a great sense of self about what he brings to our team, and is confident in who he is and what he feels he can bring to our team every day. He’s making us better. I think everyone can see what he does on game night, but it’s what he’s about to do in practice that no one sees. That’s what is making this team and our other guards go. That’s the biggest thing that he’s done for this group is in the practices. I think that’s where he’s gaining his confidence, and in the games is by what he does every day in practice.”
On Isaiah Briscoe’s court sense this year …
“The biggest thing is energy. When he comes in and has the energy, both on the offense and the defensive end, that’s when he’s at his best. This team is different than last year’s team. How we’re playing is different, and I think you can just look at the numbers of how fast we’re playing and how the ball is moving. I think that is a part of something what (Briscoe) does. The biggest thing for him is when he comes in and he’s got that big smile and he’s laughing and talking and touching and bringing that competitive spirit to practice. That’s when we’re at our best.”
On how he sees Hofstra on film …
“It’s going to be a good game for us. Obviously they have a group that has some experience and youth that can take advantage of some of our weaknesses, but I also think what we can do can take advantage of some of their weaknesses. We go against the team with the biggest rebounder in this game and last game the second-leading scorer in the country. I think it gets our guys attention when you can throw those numbers out. For us, what Cal wants our guys to really know is that it’s about us. As long as we keep doing what we need to do and Isaiah keeps doing what he needs to do, we’ll be fine.”
