If the Wildcats make one or two more passes than is required to create a good shot, they’ll be darned near impossible to defend. Calipari says his players eventually will come to understand this.
“When they really want to win, and that’s all that matters, they’ll do it,” Calipari told Sporting News. “Right now, they’re still trying to establish who they are, who we are.
“It’s all stuff you work through. But at the end of the day, if this group really wants to win, they’re going to talk more on defense, they’re going to be more physical and they’re going to make an extra pass.”
After Saturdays win at LSU, the Wildcats are generating assists on 48.2 percent of their baskets. Compare that to Syracuse, which gets assists on 57.6 percent of scores, or Missouri, which has assists on 57.2 percent of its field goals.
Calipari said the search for an understanding of how the Wildcats fit together leads point guard Marquis Teague (4.4 assists per game) and shooting guard Doron Lamb (1.9) to hold the basketball a beat too long, or forward Terrence Jones to attempt a tough shot because he’s trying to get his game in gear.
“We’re making the shots we need to make,” Calipari said. “I’m still trying to figure out the team. I haven’t figured out them totally, either.”
Calipari said he expects teams to play slower-paced games and employ a lot of zone defense to frustrate the Wildcats.
He is more interested in winning games than putting on an offensive show; he will not be averse to playing patient style late in games if the Wildcats are protecting a lead.
“Hold the ball, play a zone, be really physical and they’re going to hope they make shots and we don’t, Calipari said. That’s how you try to beat us.
“We have to pressure them out of holding. We have to, late clock, really lock down, and then when it’s time for you to grind it when they’re down 10 or 12, you grind them into the dust and make them guard.”
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