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Cody Fueger Recaps Kentucky Summer Practice and Is Cautiously Optimistic, “We Got a Chance to Be Really Good”

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3 months ago

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Kentucky basketball assistant Cody Fueger recaps summer practice and believes Kentucky "can be really good" this season.
Chet White | UK Athletics

August is here. That means college football is just on the horizon, but it also means the end of summer practice for Kentucky Basketball as players go home to spend time with their families before the start of the fall semester.

To recap, during the two months of summer practice, Cody Fueger sat down with Sources Say to discuss offensive/defensive strategies, in-game adjustments, and recruiting philosophy.

The first takeaway? “We got a chance to be really good, but there’s a lot of stuff that we got to get better at,” Fueger said.

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In regard to the latter, he notes that the players are “really coachable,” and that will be extremely important as the staff continues to install their system and principles heading into the season.

The first three things they want to get established, specifically on the offensive end, are the transition offense, taking care of the ball, and crashing the offensive glass. As for the defensive end, there are four things the staff wants to build: Transition defense, “guard your yard,” ball-screen defense, and defensive rebounding. Fueger notes that those seven things are going to be Kentucky’s mainstay this season.

Installing these principles happens before the ball is ever tipped, but what about the adjustments during the game? Fueger talked through that process, and it is very analytically focused, emphasizing points per possession on both sides of the ball.

“We’ll go through this first (half), chart down every possession offensively and defensively, What’s going on, how they’re scoring, what shots they’re getting. Then, the same thing happens offensively. How they’re guarding, what’s really getting us defensively. We’ll see it a lot in-game as it’s going on, but analytics is everything, right? Points per possession, it’s everything.”

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Fueger talked about in-game adjustments and the system, but how do Pope and the staff want to build future rosters?

During his introductory press conference, Pope assured that Kentucky would continue to pursue the best of the best, The ‘Burger Boys’ in high school and the best transfers. However, contrary to John Calipari, retention will be a big factor in how Pope builds his future rosters. Fueger went as far as to say it is “everything.”

“What we’ve done best as we’ve been going is retain guys,” Fueger said. “That’s super important for us, and we are going to do that at Kentucky, retain guys.”

Not having a choice this season, they had to bring in 12 new players, consisting of nine transfers (seven with just one year of eligibility) and three freshmen. Despite having two of the most well-regarded recruiters in the country, Alvin Brooks and Jason Hart, it was a group effort to build this roster.

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“At the end of the day, we’re all in it together,” Fueger said. “We know as soon as we start recruiting a guy, we send out the number to everybody else on staff, and we’re all hitting him up. It’s a team effort over here, just like BBN.”

That led to a bigger point: “We’re all in this together.”

“We want everyone to feel a part of this. We’re only gonna go as far as you guys (BBN) want us to go. We need everybody, and we’re all in this together. That’s how we are as a staff. That’s how Coach Pope is. He’s got no ego. He just wants to win at the highest level, do it all together, and see us all succeed.”

The ball has yet to be tipped, and the on-court product is the most important thing, but it’s clear that this staff understands and is embracing Kentucky Basketball.

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Also published on A Sea of Blue.

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Men's Basketball

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

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3 days ago

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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”

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5 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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ESPN’s Jay Williams Gives Message to Kentucky Fans, “You’re Not Going to Like It…”

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6 days ago

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November 15, 2024

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ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Williams gives a message to Kentucky fans after the Wildcats win over Duke. "You won't like it."
ESPN

Back in April, opposing fanbases like Duke, told Kentucky fans to “cope with Pope” following the hire of Mark Pope and the corresponding initial shock. On Tuesday, those same fanbases had to watch as Mark Pope outcoached Jon Scheyer and Duke in the final minutes of the Champion’s Classic to get his first marque win in just his third game at Kentucky.

Of course, shortly after the game, Duke fans began to rationalize the loss by highlighting their team’s youth. While true, it sounded like an echo chamber of what Kentucky fans said for years under John Calipari. One notable example was former Blue Devil Jay Williams.

At halftime, while Duke was leading 46-37, Williams called this year’s Duke team the most talented since the 2001 team that he was a part of at halftime. To his credit, he complimented Kentucky on the comeback victory, specifically on their offense and maturity, but then 36 hours later he posted a message to Kentucky fans on social media.

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“Let me put you on to something,” Williams started. “Whether you like it or not, networks are going to sell Cooper Flagg. He’s going to be the number one pick in the draft. You’re going to talk about whether he won the or whether he lost the game, regardless of the outcome.”

“You’re not going to like it. There should be more kudos to Mark Pope and Kentucky,” Williams continued. “Regardless of whether you won the game or not, they’re still going to sell Cooper Flagg because he is selling the sport. Sorry.”

William’s statement is true. That said, it comes off as ‘sour grapes’ about losing. Cooper Flagg is a great talent and will likely be the first pick in the NBA Draft, but most Kentucky fans would say they would much rather have the win than the marketing.

Futhermore, Kentucky and its ‘brand’ has raised the level of multiple players and coaches, and will continue to do so. A deeper impact than Cooper Flagg will have on Duke in just one season.

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