John Calipari happy with vintage roster makeup: "We have really good basketball players"

Kentucky is 2-0 in the GLOBL Jam and secured a spot in the gold medal game with last night’s 93-69 victory over Canada. Even with the caveat that this is summer basketball, there’s no denying the Cats have looked impressive. Between the No. 1 ranked freshman class, incoming transfer Tre Mitchell, and returning veterans Antonio Reeves and Adou Thiero, John Calipari finally has a roster resembling some of his most successful squads, just one reason he’s in such a good mood this week in Toronto.

“I told them, I’ve got a really smart team and I’ve got a bunch of basketball players,” Calipari said in his Sportsnet postgame interview. “Not decathlon or volleyball. These dudes play basketball. And so, I can open up the court and create space and I don’t have to run stuff to get a shot. We can play like my teams have always played, so we’re having some fun.”

He carried that message over to his postgame press conference.

“Ooh, was he good today?” Calipari said of Reed Sheppard, the star of Thursday night’s victory. “The thing that we have, we have really good basketball players. They’re basketball players. And so you’ve got five guys at all times on the floor that can pass and shoot and drive and make decisions.

“It’s my old way of playing, which is, give them space and space the court and fly, which is probably most of my career, 90% of my career, coaching that way. But you’ve got to have a bunch of guys that can play basketball.”

Sheppard was last night’s best example of that. The freshman finished with 14 points on 5-8 shooting (2-4 3PT), 4 assists, 4 steals, 2 rebounds and 2 blocks. Sheppard was most effective in the first half, impacting the game on both sides of the ball. This steal and slam was the highlight of the night, prompting flashbacks of his father, Jeff’s, days in Kentucky blue.

“He, defensively getting his hands on balls. You notice, when he’s in, people fly because they know they’re probably going to get it.”

OH MY REED! Sheppard blocks the three and takes all the way for the dunk!

12 PTS, 3 STL, 2 3PT 😼 pic.twitter.com/UvifAXUIGG

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) July 14, 2023

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“My best teams had veteran players along with freshmen”

It wasn’t just Sheppard that shined last night. Rob Dillingham started at point guard and dished a team-high nine assists to only one turnover. In all, Kentucky totaled 27 assists on 35 made baskets, a remarkable stat. Calipari said that’s what happens when you have four point guards (Dillingham, Sheppard, DJ Wagner, and Adou Thiero) on one team.

“The best teams I’ve coached have had three and four point guards,” Calipari said. “Adou played guard in high school.”

“Now that means, you could have Reed, DJ, Robert, and Adou, you’ve got four point guards. Well, what happens? You get 27 assists and you get 9 turnovers. When you have guys that aren’t skilled that way and you’re playing, it’s a different game. You’ve got to be more, try and create shots and all that. You don’t have to on this kind of team.”

Add in consistent production from super-senior Antonio Reeves, Kentucky’s leading scorer in the GLOBL Jam, and grad transfer Tre Mitchell and that’s a roster Calipari can roll with.

“They’re vets,” Calipari said of Reeves and Mitchell. “And like I say, if you ask me, experience or talent, if you remember, I’ve always taken talent but you’re always looking for experienced talent. Most of that is — but the transfer portal may get you a little bit of that now. It was hard for us because our talent left to go pro, which is why what we do and how we try to get these kids, but now you’ve got a couple of guys like that. My best teams had veteran players along with freshmen.”

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“That’s how it’s supposed to be: Everybody eats”

With a vintage Calipari roster, Calipari trotted out some vintage sayings last night. For the first time in a while, we got to hear what happens when a talented group of players sacrifice egos for the good of the squad.

“Everybody eats. If you think about it, you could say, ‘Wow, DJ.’ ‘Oooh, Reed,’ ‘Did you see Robert do that? He can do and create.’ And then you say, ‘Oooh, Justin making threes and driving,’ and ‘Well, Tre, sheesh, it’s a three-point shooter at the five,’ and then you say, ‘Adou, we didn’t know Adou could do this!’

“Well, that’s how it’s supposed to be. Everybody eats, they share, they create for each other, you’re about each other. It’s easier when you play that way.”

Throughout his career, Calipari has proven to be the best at getting elite talent to play together. Through two summer games, it’s working with this group. It’s early, but Calipari is encouraged.

“Normally, I’m trying to recruit the best players we can get even if [there are multiple in a position]. I had John Wall and Eric Bledsoe; it worked out for both of them. You can have multiple. We’ve had Willie Cauley-Stein, Karl Towns, Dakari Johnson, Trey Lyles and they all played together. They’re all kind of similar. They all did okay. We’ve had wings — ‘Why would you go there? You and that kid are the same.’ Well, they both play, how about that? Then they both play and they both shine. We’ll do the same here.

“Guys are going to have to share minutes. It’s just going to happen…You got a group playing well? Let them play. When you get in, it’s about the team playing well. Just be unselfish and play defense and rebound and fly and you stay in.”

At the rate Cal was rolling last night, I’m surprised he didn’t tell us that Dillingham took the fifth most shots (7) vs. Canada. We’ll make sure that one’s on the BINGO card for Saturday’s game vs. Africa.