Vicky Graff Photo
Tyler Ulis will be making his head coaching debut next week when he guides La Familia, Kentucky’s alumni team in The Basketball Tournament (TBT) at Rupp Arena.
The former UK point guard was Southeastern Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year his sophomore season in 2015-16 before leaving for the NBA. A car accident derailed his pro career and he returned to UK on John Calipari’s staff as a graduate assistant the last two years.
He’s finishing classes now to graduate and then will rejoin Calipari in Arkansas as part of his staff.
Ulis said Tuesday during a media call to promote La Familia that he didn’t “really have any influences” on his coaching style before praising Calipari.
“Cal is the only guy I have been up close to and I have learned from. Coach Cal, I believe, is the greatest coach in history. I have the best mentor next to me,” Ulis said.
Ulis was a fierce competitor who controlled both the offense and defense at Kentucky. However, he admitted Tuesday that Ulis the coach would be a little more nervous than Ulis the player was.
“As a player, you have more control. But as a coach, you sit back and watch these guys and just try to prepare,” Ulis said. “And get these guys ready. And then they have to take that game plan and do what they can do. So, a little bit of nerves. This is my first experience, but I’m excited. And I’m ready to have a lot of fun.”
Many UK fans were hoping coach Mark Pope would add Ulis to his staff when he took over from Calipari.
“We had one conversation early on, when he first got the job,” Ulis said about Pope. “I’m happy for him. He’s a Kentucky guy. He has a national title. So you know, hopefully he has something in store. We’re still supporters of Kentucky basketball. But I have other things ahead of me with coach Cal. So, I can’t wait for that.”
Ulis said he felt Calipari was the “guy who really wanted me” on his staff. That’s why he said there was not a lot of conversation with Pope even though his specific role on Calipari’s staff is still not finalized.
Ulis said he’s already how many “countless hours” Calipari and his staff put him “getting guys better” and that’s why he wants to “keep learning from those guys” he’ll be joining at Arkansas.
However, La Familia’s players all played at UK — under Calipari — and Ulis is still true blue.
Sam Malone, La Familiar assistant general manager and a former UK walk-on, asked Ulis if he was still a “Kentucky Wildcat for life” since he was heading to Arkansas.
“Oh, for sure. That’s for life,” Ulis quickly said. “I have a Kentucky jersey tatted on my back. So I wouldn’t do that if it wasn’t something that I was in for life.”
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La Familia plays July 19 at 8 p.m. in Rupp Arena against 305 Ballers, a Miami-based team of overseas pros.
Tickets to the TBT in Rupp are available via Ticketmaster.com. La Familiar plays again July 21 and July 23 if it keeps winning.
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Mark Pope encouraging a 3-point barrage: ‘If you don’t shoot the ball, you’re gonna sit’ Story by Zack Geoghegan
Since his hiring in April, we’ve heard the new Kentucky head coach mention multiple times how that strategy will follow him to Lexington. And when you look at the players he’s pulled to Lexington ahead of year one, you quickly understand why. Of the 12 scholarship players on the 2024-25 roster, only three of them have hit under 34 percent from deep throughout their college careers (or in the case of the three freshmen, their high school careers).
For Carr personally, the 6-foot-9 stretch forward hit 37.1 of his three-pointers last season on 97 total attempts. One of his main focuses (which is being encouraged by the coaching staff) going into 2024-25 is getting the number of attempts well into the triple digits. With how fast Pope wants to advance the ball in transition or after a defensive stop, there shouldn’t be much of an issue firing up three after three for Carr or any of the other slew of shooters at his side. “If you wanna guard us, you’re gonna have to be in shape,” Otega Oweh, who shot 37.7 percent from deep as a sophomore at Oklahoma on limited volume, told reporters.
“I think it’ll be really, really cool just to be able to play super fast and have the freedom to be aggressive as early as possible in the clock,” Carr added. “We always talk about getting the ball over the court in the first three seconds. It’s a really fun way to play and not many coaches are telling you, if you don’t shoot the ball, you’re gonna sit next to me.” There shouldn’t be a shortage of options to make this happen, either. Let’s quickly rank each Kentucky player’s career three-point percentage going into this season:
・Koby Brea: 43.3% Trent Noah: 43% (2023-24 at Harlan County)
・Travis Perry: 41.7% (2023-24 at Lyon County) Ansley Almonor: 38.5%
・Collin Chandler: 37% (2019-22 at Farmington) Kerr Kriisa: 36.8%
・Otega Oweh: 36.8% Andrew Carr: 34.4% Jaxson Robinson: 34.3%
・Lamont Butler: 32.1% Amari Williams: 30.8%
・Brandon Garrison: (has not attempted a 3 point shot in a game) Team AVERAGE: 37.2%
My take: I can see a lot of shots taken in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock. With Pope’s motion offense, whoever has the first open 3 will take it. We won’t make 60% of them, so there will be plenty of rebound opportunities for putbacks or kickouts for another 3…and a lot of free throws. This will be paired with a smothering defense as well, but with 12 kids capable of contributing, fouls and fatigue shouldn’t be a problem. This reminds me of Pitino’s first Kentucky team, but this team has shooters, defenders, and rebounders! Not bad for a team that only had one commitment after the middle of April. Kentucky will once again be feared every time we take the floor! It will not surprise me to see this team average 100+ points per game…for the entire season! Kentucky basketball is back! Go CATS!!!
P.S. Thank you Arkansas for helping us get rid of the FRAUD!!! John WHO??? I can’t wait for the Hog barbeque that will take place in Rupp Arena this season! Let’s see if we can top the whooping that Kansas gave Pitino’s first Kentucky team…150 – 95. The all time margin of victory for a Kentucky team took place in 1956 against Georgia…143 – 66. It would be so appropriate for that record to be hung on a Calipari coached team!
I am so excited for our new coach and entirely new team. Coach Cal has joined the right team, the Hogs (aka pigs). He looks so weird in that yukky red; however, appropriate. I must say in his first few years, he was great. I shall never forgive him for saying, right off the bat, that the players were not playing for the name on the front of the jersey, but the back. But in the end, I guess things turned out for the better as for the last few years, especially after that debacle in Indy against Wisconsin, he has (sorry for this word, which I deplore) sucked. GO CATS.