John Calipari knows players “have the weight of the world on them”

John Calipari says his players have to block out the "negative." (Vicky Graff Photo)

How hard is it for players to be ready to impress coach John Calipari when they get an opportunity to do so and is doing that more mental or physical? Kentucky coach John Calipari had a lengthy answer to that question after Tuesday’s overtime win over Mississippi State.

Rather than breakdown his answer, here is a significant part of the long answer the Kentucky coach had:

“A lot of these guys have the weight of the world on them, everyone is you’ve got to do this and you’ve got to do that and you’ve got to play like this, you’ve got to say this. I mean, they have got the weight of the world.

“They don’t even tell you that. And so my job, yes, to hold them accountable but also figure out ways, like if — so let’s talk about how we get this done.

“Again I talk to for years, 30 years, I’ve had Bob Rotella, sports psychologist, and work with my team, and recommend players: Go call them, talk to them, get yourself — because most of it is being mind ready, mind fresh. Knowing if things don’t go well, I’ve worked hard. How about positive self-talk.

“Now, it’s hard if all you’re hearing was, I told you so, and that’s the worst, and that’s what you hear, it’s hard for to you have that positive self-talk. But you’ve got to have it. Because if you don’t love yourself, and you’re not good to you, no one is going to be good to you. You’ve got to be good to yourself.

“And that means block out the negative. Be really positive. And that’s what I’m trying to get all these kids to do and what I try to do every year, but this place, it’s big. Like every game is like Auburn, and they are all like this, and every game we play, someone is going to play their best. I mean, last five games, Mississippi State shot 24 percent from the three. What did they shoot today? 31. But they made three at the end of the game to put it to overtime.

“So that’s what’s going to happen. Like, I told the guys, I don’t want to see anybody, don’t call me, we’ve got an off-day. Leave me alone. Let me get my mind set for what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to travel to Kansas? Do we play on the road after we come back from Kansas?

“We’ve got a home game, oh, my gosh, we’ve got a home game? Wow. I thought they would put us on the road after that.”