Kentucky responding to John Calipari's new mindset - however he wants to define it

For the second game in a row, Kentucky won, and for the second game in a row, John Calipari looked like a different coach on the sidelines. As in the win over Louisville on Saturday, Calipari was a calmer version of himself vs. LSU, smiling and praising his players instead of screaming and stomping. More “Good Job,” less “Gooooooo!”. It’s a mindset shift stemming from a conversation with Oscar Tshiebwe a week ago in which Oscar encouraged Calipari to be more positive with certain players, specifically Jacob Toppin, who has since broken out of a slump.

After the 74-71 win over the Tigers, Calipari refused to say he’s being more “positive” with his players, instead calling the new approach a shift in accountability. Rather than pulling a guy out after he makes a mistake, Calipari is willing to let him play through it.

“What I told [Toppin] is, ‘I believe in you and I’m holding you accountable but you’re capable of doing whatever you choose to do. But you’ve got to believe in yourself,'” Calipari said of their conversation following the Missouri game. “And I told him, not more positive, ‘If you screw up, I’m just leaving it alone. So I’m not going to try to correct you in the game. We’ll correct you after.'”

Whether it’s positivity or accountability, it’s working. Toppin is the most obvious example, scoring 45 points over two games. Kentucky’s offense has notably improved thanks to a new “deliberate” style of play, with the Cats shooting above 50% for the second game in a row and dishing 15 assists to only six turnovers vs. LSU. The rotation has shortened, last night to just seven players. Those on-court changes are big but equally as important is the body language on the sidelines. Calipari may not like to use the worst “positive” to describe it, but his players do.

“Continue to be the same person, continue to stay patient with us, and having a great mindset is something he’s talked about, and him being positive,” Sahvir Wheeler said. “We’ve got the pieces to win. We’ve got the pieces to win the SEC and compete for a national championship but it takes time and not every team is at its peak in December or November. We’ve got the pieces. We’ve shown flashes of what we can be.

“I think he’s starting to notice if he’s patient, he’s just with us, guiding us, being positive with us then we can be a really good team.”

“He wants this to be a player-driven team, says that he wants the players to take control,” Toppin said. “So he’s kind of given that opportunity to us as a group as we’re starting to play better to take over that role. So it’s good for us. It’s obviously helping us win games.”

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Jacob Toppin: “The connectivity of the team right now is at an all-time high”

That patience means holding your tongue and saving the in-game criticism for the practice court. Scrimmaging has become a focal point of recent practices, even on gamedays, which Calipari typically doesn’t do this late in the season. As he said a few weeks ago, cry during practice, laugh during games.

“One of the things that I’ve done with this team that I’ve never done is we’re scrimmaging for at least an hour the day before the game. Now, you understand that’s dangerous. I’ve never done it before. This team needs it.”

“I was kind of mean yesterday morning,” Calipari continued. “They will tell you. Oh, I was telling guys straight up, and I got a little tough in the practice. Same way. Wasn’t positive. It’s holding them accountable.”

“He’s a little tougher in practice,” Wheeler said. “He’s getting on pretty much everybody, holding them to a higher standard, but in the games now, it’s so much more, not necessarily free-flowing but such a positive, ‘Hey, we’re good. What are you guys seeing? Tell me what you’re seeing.’ And he’s adjusting to how he’s coaching from here and it’s helped.”

“We’re scrimmaging before games but we’re really dialed into executing, like I said, and just really playing as a whole,” Toppin said. “The connectivity of the team right now is at an all-time high. We’re connected. The chemistry is there. We’re just going to continue to do that moving forward.”

For his part, Oscar Tshiebwe is helping with “laughing during games.” In a postgame conversation with Goose Givens, Oscar said he’s made it a point to bring more — wait for it — positivity to the court. The body language throughout last night’s game was great, with players celebrating each other on the court and from the bench.

“Absolutely. That’s why you see me laughing, running, I do everything, sprint out. I say, let’s have fun. We needed to have fun. This is Kentucky. I told my teammates, you come here, you wear this Kentucky [uniform] for a very good reason. You’re not coming here just to joke around. You come here for a mission. Let’s get this mission done. And you get out here and make everybody happy. So I’m just happy to be here.”

“Really good,” Toppin said of the team’s mood. “Even in practice, we have great chemistry and we’re back to enjoying basketball, so that’s a good thing.”