John Calipari reveals post-game conversation with players, talks next man up

John Calipari has quite the mess on his hands at the moment following Kentucky’s 89-75 loss to Missouri to open SEC play. The Wildcats sit at an okay 8-4 through their first 12 games. However, considering they’ve lost their four biggest games, they don’t have much of a resume to their name as the season hits January.

That’s why, after the game, Calipari did his best to explain where UK actually is. He said that his team still has a lot of work to do and that, frankly, there are just some parts of their game plan that are not getting done.

“I still like the group, I like the locker room. We’re a work in progress,” said Calipari. “There’s things we’ve got to do that we’re not doing.”

Missouri took control of this game from the jump and never looked back. The Tigers led by as much as 21 on their home floor last night. It was their hot shooting of 49.1% from the field and 40% from deep that ran Kentucky off the floor.

The Wildcat’s season has reached the point where, following the loss, Calipari had to check in on his guys. While he’s sympathetic to them, though, the issues in the loss column are going to force his hand when it comes to rotations.

“I grabbed a couple of guys after by themselves with me (and asked), ‘Are you okay? I love ya. You’ve gotta play better.’ But, losing stinks,” Calipari said. “(I) can’t stand it. But we’ve got to stand up to the plate and maybe play less people…We’ll see.”

No team has ever won or lost the season in December because there’s just so much time left. With that said, those in the Bluegrass had much higher expectations for Kentucky this season. That’s why Calipari and his roster have to find a way to get things straightened out soon because, after their game against Louisville this weekend, it will be a grind the rest of the way.