John Calipari builds up Kenny Payne and the challenge of playing Louisville

Heading into Saturday’s rivalry game in Rupp Arena, Louisville Basketball is historically bad with only two wins all season, against Western Kentucky and Florida A&M in back-to-back victories in mid-December. The Cards failed to win or cover the point spread in the other 11 games to date, ranking 334th nationally in scoring margin and 345th in the new NET rankings, which has some UofL fans already calling for Payne’s job before January of Payne’s first season at his alma mater.

But John Calipari won’t let facts get in the way of defending an old friend and on Friday he made a point to speak highly of his former assistant before the two meet head-to-head for the first time as head coaches. It’s no surprise Calipari took up for his longtime colleague when given the opportunity, but Calipari’s assessment of his next opponent may be just a bit off to anyone following Louisville’s tumultuous start to its 2022-23 season.

On Friday, Calipari did his best to speak highly of Payne’s Louisville by saying, “Let me just say this about Louisville. Ken’s doing a hell of a job. Now you could talk record and Cal you’re doing this–no, watch the games. Their team is getting better. They play hard. He’s trying different things defensively. You can see, if you coach, what he’s doing.

“They’re not getting buried. They’re in every game they play. They have a chance to win every game. Making shots, you know, so this is a game, that I imagine they’re coming in expecting to win. Like, they think they can beat us, and you know what, I watched tape and we’re gonna have to play to win the game. It’s going to be a hard game for us to win.”

Not a single thing in this 40 second clip is true but Cal is gonna Cal and I respect it. pic.twitter.com/pqr1MK1iCn

— Nick Coffey (@TheCardConnect) December 30, 2022

Later in the press conference when Calipari had already begun his goodbye to the room, he went back to his praise of Payne one more time.

“And just to tell you, Kenny, I know the record,” Calipari said again. “I’ve had teams that started poorly, but I also know, just watching, he’s coaching his team. He’s building people up. He’s trying to figure out how they play together. He’s doing some things defensively. He’s doing a 2-2-1. He’s doing a little man press. He went to a zone, a 2-3 zone. They’re denying everything and they’re playing tight, trapping pick-and-rolls and sometimes going–he’s trying different things, so he’s doing good stuff.”

Maybe so, but Big Blue Nation expects a lopsided game without a worry in two-win Louisville’s first trip to Rupp Arena since 2019, not the “absolute war” Calipari expects.

It’s gonna be a war? Have we descended this low? pic.twitter.com/G85IbglC3x

— Barstool Kentucky (@BarstoolUK) December 30, 2022

“I don’t know when it’s gonna kick in. I hope this game, but I can’t tell you.”

Also from Calipari’s pre-Louisville game press conference, he admitted some of the issues holding Kentucky back go far beyond one person.

“I think some of this stuff is contagious,” he said, before expressing his uncertainty about when the Wildcats will get things going, and more about the challenge of playing Louisville.

“I don’t know when it’s gonna kick in. I hope this game, but I can’t tell you. I mean (Louisville) is making shots and they play hard and they run good stuff and they got some guys that can break you down and score. Kenny’s done a hell of a job of how– coaching is when things don’t go right. How are you now?”

Kenny Payne on the importance of the rivalry

In all the talk about Louisville on Friday, Calipari didn’t have a lot to say about the importance of the rivalry. In fact, he said part of his message to his team is Louisville will likely come out of the gate like Missouri did, but, “it’s not life or death; it’s basketball… we’re alive; we didn’t die. Now what are we going to do?”

During Kenny Payne’s press conference, he stressed the importance of the Kentucky-Louisville rivalry and what it means for all parties to be a part of it.

“The first part is the rivalry, understanding what this means to all the people involved,” said Payne. “The Kentucky fans, the Louisville fans, the schools, the administration, the state of Kentucky, all of that. They need to understand that.”

Read more on Payne’s comments here or watch Calipari’s entire press conference below.