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Kentucky coach John Calipari said it was understandable that fatigue could have led to some mistakes by freshman Reed Sheppard after he played all 45 minutes in Wednesday’s 94-91 overtime loss to Florida.
Sheppard had 24 points, his fourth 20-point game, on 10-for-18 shooting along with a team-high six assists, five rebounds, two steals, and one block.
Sheppard also made no excuses for any of his three turnovers or defensive lapses because of fatigue.
“That’s part of it. That needed me to stay in the game and try and do anything I could to help the team win but you got to give a lot of credit to Florida,” Sheppard said. “They played a really good game.
“I was proud of the team. I thought we fought. We did what we needed to do, but just a few things down towards the end of the game that hurt us a little bit but we were able to learn from it. And we have got a couple of days to get ready for a really good game on Saturday (against Tennessee).”
Sheppard said good players know to stay “locked in” mentally no matter how many minutes they have played.
“It doesn’t matter how many minutes you play or what, what’s going on. You can’t be into your own mind. You can’t worry about yourself. You got to worry about the team and do what the team needs you to do,” he said.
“I mean, every team in the SEC is really really good. You know, it’s hard to win SEC games home and away. It doesn’t matter. We’ll keep getting better. And late-game situations on what to do.
“And we were right there today. We just made a few errors, missed shots, and left some guys open. But we’ll be okay. We’ll learn from it and well, we’ll keep getting better.”
41 Responses
We don’t need players from Philadelphia and New Jersey who don’t give a Rats A"" about us or our program.
So you think the Cats should only recruit Ky boys?
Bingo.
Calipari has NEVER given Kentucky boys a fair chance and NEVER will.
He is driven by the high NBA draft forecasts, and nothing else.
It is a shell game on a massive scale that is destroying UK basketball.
Reed Sheppard 27.3 minutes per game.
Truth. Forget Championships. Cal wants to be spotlighted for his NBA grads. May never win another championship at KY with Calipari.
Califraudi continues to tarnish the Magic of Rupp with inability to be coaching anyone up and bone headed decisions during the game. We continue to excel in outr ability to snatch defeat from jaws of victory. We still can’t defend the three, defend the rim with consistency, and make shots at the rim. My guess is that the fans will not be leaving in a good mood on Saturday either.
Ukfanfromwildwest, theprofessor, Mike carpenter, you three are idiots, I get sick of you that don’t know s**t about anything related to basketball pretending to be a UK fan making these kind comments. Dillingham didn’t miss a free throw on purpose. They should fouled when he did. But a young team is going to make mistakes. They win or they Learn. May I suggest you go cheer for a couple ACC schools
I know UK 78…our team is young, but I still like them….keep drinking Califraudi’s kool aid.
Well said!!!
Where are all of the Calipari lovers?
Sore loser. Didn’t you get your participation trophy?
Here’s one. Born and raised in Lexington. Calling Cal a fraud is just wrong. I bet you didn’t complain about one and done when we won it all in 2012.
This team potentially has five or more “as good as 2012”. We have 11+ games to play before March Madness. I hope we all are pleasantly surprised at the end of the season with another banner. And by the way, are you going to shame Sheppard when he goes in the first round of the NBA draft? All these boys have a dream, Coach Cal and his staff help these young men achieve those dreams.
When they win, we win. And IMHO, that makes me proud to be a part of BBN.
Right
I think Cal is a great coach and we the fans are lucky to have him
You guys know of a better option if he decides to retire? We will be ok.you don’t learn how to win unless you know what losing feels like.
Go Big Blue
Cal is a good coach and on the decline, but he is a GREAT recruiter.
Hopefully you are right Michael and that shows up against Tennessee
Well said!
I love Kentucky basketball and Calipari is a great leader for a coach he sure can recruit the best.Love Big Blue
He is a great recruiter Cherylyn
Good game last night
A good game??? We let an unranked team come and beat us on our home floor due to stupid mistakes by Calipari and Dillingham! Our net ranking and seeding in both the SEC and NCAA tourneys took a major hit! A good game??? Only if you are an Alabama fan! Or an Auburn fan, or a South Carolina fan…they really love Calipari!
Criticizing Dillingham is uncalled for. He always plays with great effort. Weplayed against a good team, a little short-handed, and made a couple of errors (everybody makes errors).
However, I would like to see Cal use a zone some.
I like Dillingham too Chuck
Give it a rest old man. The Pitino era died a long time ago. I’ve seen some crybabies in my lifetime but you take the cake. Every single article that pops up you make sure to chime in with your whiny quips and piss takes. Go away
Barry the hater. I saw the Cats make some mistakes, but I never saw Cal on the floor. It’s up to the players to perform. Cal can’t hold their hand.
And remember, we didn’t have Edwards or Wagner available. I can’t wait to see how we look with a full roster available.
Were you sober during the game?
All of you idiots are gonna eat your words when cals really gone. Who in the hell is gonna bring in such talent like he has??? You all are are what’s wrong with uk basketball right now. Please just lay off!!!
It behooves me to say that Cal doesn’t play all 3 bigs when Bradshaw is a true 4 and he Big Z can play the other wing, Ugo as true center. So many possibilities off of front court domination with backcourt so strong. How could you be defended?
I like your thinking Jerry, but there would be a riot if he did that and the Cats lost.
Ball should be in shepherd’s hands at end of game, calipari should have fouled, and shepherd should have locked up on the shooter instead of ball watching ( which is a downfall of his ) We had that game won!
good points Jim
The young coach from Florida that just outcoached him.UK is always gonna get good players being the Wildcats gives an edge Basketball country some of the best fans in the country. Before Cal they were getting good players that were there for development. Now most are one done just there to be showcased for the NBA.There is no development .
The Billy Gillespie era begs to differ. Jodie Meeks was the best we could do then. Same thing goes for Tubby Smith. Rondo was the best player he recruited with Tayshon Prince coming in a distant second. Even Pitino couldn’t recruit at the level of Cal. His major advantage was getting role players to stay. The game has changed and you don’t have "commitments" anymore. Any one team in college basketball can get upset on any given night these days. You Cal haters can’t seem to see the forest through the trees. IDIOTS.
I’ve been watching UK basketball longer than you guys have been living. Cal is a great coach, but he can’t hold the boys hands on the floor. Florida is a very good basketball team with outstanding shooters who got hot when it counted. True shepherd should have had his hands on the ball at the end of the game. Rob is a very good shooter also. He has helped our team many times. I have coached basketball and know how difficult it is to have young talent. Give it a rest. We will be alright. Especially if you ney-sayers would just shut up. National champions get beat Go Big Blue. I love you guys. Speak only good things. Like how good our team did in fighting back again and again. The fact is we were short handed tonight. We missed DJ wagoner with shepherd.. Shepherd need a little rest although I love the way he plays team ball. There is no I in team. Go Cats!!!!!
Good stuff Granny Coach
Right
Granny coach you’re exactly right
I think Cal is a great recruiter especially for the NBA and that appears to be his main concern! I feel he gets lost in a close game and doesn’t know what to do. And really doesn’t care as long as he gets the players recruited to the NBA. I don’t think his number one objective is for Kentucky to win another championship. Sorry Calipari fans!
There biggest issue right now is playing the paint sure the big guys will get an occasional rebound or dunk but absolutely no consistency. They play terrible defense in the middle if any at all with their tails to the bucket therefore chasing the guy through the paint,you can’t do that with out fouling or trying not to foul.If they could get something solid in paint they would a ton better.Have to play in and out ball but have to guard the paint no way around it
Great response to the naysayers!