All-American Oscar Tshiebwe says UK needs to quit taking “crazy shots.” (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky likely will see a lineup change when the Wildcats take on Florida A&M Wednesday night.
“(Monday) was a day that I made it clear what roles are,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said Monday night. “Probably going to change the starting lineup and have a couple of guys — We’re gonna have a couple of things different.”
The Kentucky coach added that some players are on the floor too much and he will be adjusting the rotation in an effort to get his team into more of a routine.
“We got some guys that are probably playing a little bit too many minutes. They’re still gonna play. Let me just say this as a coach for young people, you don’t just go and blow it all up and think that it’s not going to affect kids mentally. You can’t. But you can challenge guys by saying, ‘You’re coming off the bench.’ The bench is the best teacher there really is.”
Kentucky will try to get back on track when the 19th-ranked Wildcats take on Florida A&M on Wednesday ahead of the Christmas break. Kentucky is coming off a 63-53 loss to No. 13 UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic Saturday.
Senior Oscar Tshiebwe said the team’s mentality hasn’t changed since the disappointing setback.
“We have to stay positive,” Tshiebwe said Tuesday. “We’ve got a good team, we’ve just got to figure out who can play together and not just taking crazy shots – four, five minutes and not score, we cannot win a game like that, but our mentality is good.”
He added the Wildcats needed to overcome adversity and “not lose focus” during certain phases of any given contest.
“We’ve just got to fight,” he said. “It’s about fighting, if you’re not willing to fight (you’re not going to win). You’ve got to just fight until the end.”
Florida A&M is coming off a 61-55 loss to Louisville and the Rattlers will be part of the second unity series between Kentucky and teams in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
The contest is the second in a five-year contract between the SWAC and Kentucky.
