Like his best teams, John Calipari says Kentucky hasn't had a bad practice

Kentucky is playing its best basketball of the season, with the latest example being an 18-point blowout victory at Kansas. It’s now being reflected in the latest AP Poll, as well, with the Wildcats now ranked No. 5 in the nation. Taking a look at the latest KenPom rankings, UK sits at No. 3 overall with the third-best offensive efficiency in college basketball.

The numbers and rankings are now matching what the eye test has revealed in recent weeks. It’s also matching what John Calipari has seen in practice from day one.

“My best teams here — and you’ve heard me say this before — never had a bad practice,” Calipari said during his call-in radio show Monday evening. “You’ve heard me say that. This team hasn’t had a bad practice. Not one.”

It’s been a range of “really good” to downright “ridiculous” practices, creating an expectation of success and continued growth at the Joe Craft Center every day.

“Some of them are way better, like ‘wow,’ but the other one is really good. It’s just not ridiculous,” Calipari said. “We’ve had some of the most ridiculously good practices since I’ve been here. We have not had a bad practice. Every day, I walk in and I have an idea of what to expect.

“… Now, we still have some guys that are learning. It’s not that they’re fighting the system, they just never played this hard for this long with this kind of energy and fight. They’ve never had to focus on a game plan. Our team right now, we don’t have a whole lot of breakdowns. … Confidence starts with competence.”

Calipari’s best teams have been empowered, usually earlier rather than later. This group is yet another example.

“Here’s why I’m seeing them being empowered,” Calipari said. “We have older players, so most of these kids are not listening — most of them — to the clutter. They’re not they’re not buying it. They’re also talking in huddles, they’re talking at halftime, they’ll ask me questions during the game or they’ll say, ‘let’s do this.’ That’s when they’re empowered, and this team is doing that.”

The Wildcats have learned to ignore the outside noise and trust one another. They hold each other accountable and push each other toward one common goal. It allows them to avoid the pressure and anxiety that comes with being at a place like Kentucky.

“It happens over a period of time, when they become comfortable with each other,” Calipari said. “This team, they’re cheering for each other. They’re comfortable, they’re starting to understand, ‘these guys are for me.’ It’s hard, but these guys at times feel the weight of the world, everything around them. ‘You’ve got to do this, you’ve got to do that, you’ve got to make it,’ and all of a sudden, the rim shrinks. You can’t make a shot, can’t make a play, you’re nailed to the floor. Anxiety.

“And then again, when they break through and they understand, ‘everybody’s for you, but we can’t do it for you,’ now all of a sudden, you see guys get to that next level. It’s hard here.”

Calipari said from the start that he thought this team could be special if they bought in. Now that they’ve done that, they’re starting to reap the benefits in the form of on-court success. Continue to avoid the “rat poison” — both praise and criticism from the general public — and the sky is the limit.

“We’re getting closer, I just don’t want them to eat the rat poison,” Calipari said. “I told them today, ‘don’t do it.’ … I told you from the beginning, I like this team. We’ve got really good guards. You ready? And we’ve got a beast (in Oscar Tshiebwe).”