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Kenny Payne Talks About Next Season’s Game Against Kentucky, John Calipari

Published

3 years ago

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Photo via Michael C. Johnson

Since taking the job at Louisville, Kenny Payne has rejuvenated the Cardinal fanbase with a (so far) underserved belief that they are returning to the top of college basketball, which in turn has somewhat resurrected the in-state rivalry.

In an interview with Jon Rothstein on Thursday, Payne opened up about his new job and talked about his relationship with John Calipari, the UK-UofL rivalry, and potential NCAA sanctions.

Let’s take a closer look at what was said.

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On John Calipari

John Calipari and Kenny Payne worked together for 11 seasons in Lexington and developed a close relationship. In today’s interview, Payne expressed his love and appreciation for Cal, calling him a friend, a mentor, and a person that he has learned so much from.

Unsurprisingly, Payne spoke to his mentor when considering the job and provided Cal’s reaction to the job offer, saying, “Cal was probably one of the first people to say, ‘Kenny it is an unbelievable job, it has great tradition, it has great facilities, it’s a basketball school. It’s your home. You have to seriously consider it and I hope you take it for you and for that community.’”

This shows that Calipari truly cares about Payne and the state of Kentucky as a whole. It is a big opportunity for Payne, and it is important for both the state’s economy and college basketball that Louisville and Kentucky perform well.

Payne also went on to open up about how Calipari influenced his players first philosophy. “Cal was the first real coach that I was around, that said, ‘let’s not as coaches worry about ourselves, let’s put these kids first. What can we do that will make their life easier? What can we do to make their job easier, and understand their success is in our hands?’ and I live by that,” Payne said.

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Kentucky-Louisville Rivalry Game

Given Calipari and Payne’s good relationship, the Kentucky-Louisville rivalry is set to look much different, with Payne even admitting so, saying, “It won’t be the negative hatred of John Calipari for me. It will be a game in that, I am going to try to do everything in my power to help my team win, and he’s going to do the same. I hope I win by 1, but we’ll see how that goes.”

I am sure the Big Blue Nation hopes the Cats win by 90, and Payne did say something to show that Calipari doesn’t want to take it easy on his longtime assistant, “Cal called me after he did a speech and he said ‘Kenny I gotta tell you what I said in this group, There will be one day a year when I am gonna try to beat Kenny Payne’s head in’”.

While the rivalry looks to be competitive once again, there no longer seems to be the negative feelings amongst the coaching staffs that there once was when Rick Pitino coached at Louisville.

Pending NCAA Investigation and Potential Sanctions

Over the last decade, Louisville has received a notice of allegations from the NCAA, seemingly on an annual basis. The most recent of which was was amended in 2021 and contains one Level I charge and six Level II charges, with some dating back to 2017.

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With that said, before taking the job, Payne talked with Louisville athletic director, Josh Heird, about the worst-case scenario.

“Without going into much detail because the case is still pending, when I heard what he said and I listened to it. Think about this, I’m with the New York Knicks. I have a great job, not a good job, a great job with the New York Knicks. If there was something really there to give me pause, I would have never taken the job. I took the job knowing feeling good about whatever they give us, is not going to be so severe that it destroys our program,” Payne said.

After clearing house and a lack of winning as a result, they hope the NCAA will give a softened blow when (if ever) they make a ruling, and Louisville seems confident that will happen.

Listen to the entirety of the interview here.

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky vs. Jackson State: TV/Streaming Info, Keys to the Game, and Betting Odds/Predictions

Published

6 hours ago

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November 22, 2024

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Kentucky players encouraging each other at Rupp Arena.
Chet White | UK Athletics

The Kentucky Wildcats are back in action Friday to face the Jackson State Tigers in the second game of the BBN Invitational.

To put it simply, Jackson State is bad, very bad. Sitting at 0-5 and ranked 321st in KenPom, the Tigers will likely be the worst opponent Kentucky will play all season.

Coached by Mo Williams, one of LeBron James’ old teammates with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Tigers have only finished above .500 twice in the last decade. This season, Jackson State is predicted to finish fourth in the SWAC.

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Mark Pope recently said he wanted to build a standard, regardless of opponent and, and that will be tested on Friday.

Let’s take a look at the matchup.

More 3-Point Attempts

Admittedly nitpicking, one of the things that Mark Pope was not happy with in Kentucky’s win over Lipscomb was the amount of three-point attempts. While they shot nearly 50 percent from deep, going 12-25, Pope wants to see the number of attempts closer to 35.

The Tigers have allowed their opponents to shoot 47.8 percent from deep, the second-worst mark in the country. Pope and the staff will certainly generate a game plan to take advantage of this. Expect to see 30+ attempts.

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Ball Movement

Despite beating Lipscomb by 29 points, the Wildcats had a season-low in assists with just ten. For context, Kentucky had averaged more than 23 assists per game entering the matchup.

“That’s not us. That’s not who we are,” Pope said after the game.

While there wasn’t a lot of selfishness, the ball just wasn’t ‘flying’ as it has been early this season. This is a priority for the staff and this mature group, and they will aim for 25+ assists.

Keep JSU off the Free-Throw Line

Jackson State ranks in the top 100 nationally in one area: Free throws made per game. So, Kentucky, defend without fouling.

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Kentucky’s offense makes headlines, but the defense has played very well to start the season, holding all four opponents to under 73 points. Let’s see if they can get down in a stance and defend well for 40 minutes vs. a team that stresses contact and drawing fouls.

Opposing Players to Watch

C Shannon Grant 6-11, 290 lbs

  • 7.5 PPG
  • 4.8
  • Preseason All-SWAC First Team selection

G Jayme Mitchell Jr 6-5, 190 lbs

  • 15.0 PPG
  • 3.8 RPG
  • 44.4% 3P

F Romelle Mansel 6-9, 220 lbs

  • 10.8 PPG
  • 5.8 RPG
  • 31.7% FG (second most FG attempts on the team)

Kentucky Wildcats Basketball vs. Jackson State Tigers

Time: 7 PM ET on November 22nd
Location: Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY
TV Channel: This game will not be on TV and is streaming only,
Online Stream: SEC Network+, ESPN+, and the ESPN app.
Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens have the radio call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
Replay: WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings).
Rosters: UK | JSU
Stats to Know: UK | JSU
KenPom: UK | JSU
Team Sheet: UK | JSU

Odds: FanDuel Sportsbook has yet to release the odds for the game, so check Thursday afternoon for an official spread. Multiple projections give Kentucky a 99% chance of winning: Bart Torvik (99%), EvanMiya (99.9%), and ESPN (99.0%). The exception is KenPom (92%).

Predictions: KenPom (93-63), Haslametrics (96-63), Bart Torvik (95-61), and EvanMiya (96-59) all are going with a 30+ point victory, Kentucky!

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky Basketball Players Say They Think About Winning National Championship “Every Second”

Published

4 days ago

on

November 18, 2024

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Kentucky basketball players celebrate after their big over Duke.
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The expectations at Kentucky are the highest of any school in the country, and there is good reason why. The winningest college program ever. Eight national titles, under five different coaches. Seventeen Final Four appearances. You get it, a lot of success.

Fans want the players to have those same expectations. Despite not having the elite talent or preseason hype of great Kentucky teams past, this year’s team still has their eyes set on doing something “people will remember forever”, winning a national championship.

Asked on social media, if hanging banner #9 was all the players thought about “every second”, Ansley Almonor had a response.

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“We do.”

It takes a lot to win a national championship, including some luck, but this team is certainly going to be loved for their desire to live out their dream of playing at Kentucky and their unselfishness. Those two things can take them a long way this season .

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart Seemingly Takes Shot at John Calipari, “Anybody Can Recruit”

Published

6 days ago

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November 16, 2024

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Mitch Barnhart sitting next to basketball coach John Calipari.
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John Calipari and Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart had their differences over fifteen years, but success can hide a lot of things. Not that they hated each other, but they each had vastly different personalities. As that success weaned towards the end of Calipari’s tenure, those issues started to be noticed publically.

If you need evidence of that, despite their efforts to dispute it, there is the infamous press conference where Barnhart talked about “entitled” coaches, shortly after Calipari publicly called for a new practice facility. Then, there were multiple times when Calipari expressed that the administration was not on the same page and that he was facing “headwinds”.

That said, Calipari is now at Arkansas, but those differences and some disdain remain. During an interview on the Kentucky Football pregame show, Barnhart seemingly took a shot at Calipari when asked about Mark Pope’s recruiting philosophy and prioritizing fit.

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“I tell people all the time, ‘Anybody can recruit, not everybody can evaluate,’” Barnhart said. “You can recruit. You can be phenomenal at bringing people to your program. But if it does not fit you, it’s really not helpful.”

Of course, Calipari is one of the best, if not the best, recruiters in college basketball history. At times, he prioritized talent and athleticism over fit.

Quite the coincidence.

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