John Calipari expects strong guest list, even better matchup in Kentucky vs. Duke

The Kentucky basketball team spent its first night in New York City watching the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. It was a celebration of UK’s past and present coming together under the same roof.

New York’s roster consists of four former Kentucky standouts in Julius Randle, Immanuel Quickley, Nerlens Noel and Kevin Knox, while former UK associate head coach Kenny Payne is also on the coaching staff. Calipari’s biggest star at Memphis, Derrick Rose, also plays for the Knicks.

Bringing his current players to see his “family” in New York was a moment that meant a lot to the UK head coach.

“It was great,” Kentucky head coach John Calipari said Monday. “Derrick Rose, Julius (Randle) and seeing the guys. Nerlens (Noel) didn’t come out right away, so I didn’t get to see him. I saw Kevin (Knox) and saw Immanuel (Quickley).

“… Then you had Leon (Rose) and Wes (William Wesley) and Kenny (Payne). Kenny looks good. He looks like he lost a little weight. But it was great seeing them. You’re talking family, so it was great to be able to see everybody and I got to sit there with my son.”

The current Kentucky players showed up to support the past players and Knicks franchise as a whole their first night in New York. In return, some popular names will be in attendance supporting the Wildcats Tuesday night.

“Immanuel (Quickley) and Derrick (Rose) I think are both going to come to the game (on Tuesday),” said Calipari. “… How about you walk into the arena and Madison Square Garden is like the old days. People are going nuts. I hit Spike Lee (Sunday) night, ‘Where are you? I’m sitting right here. Where are you?’ So, he hit me (Monday) morning.”

What is it going to be like to see, say, Spike Lee sitting courtside for Kentucky vs. Duke in the Champions Classic? Cool, sure. That’s not the focus, though.

When that ball is tipped for the first time to open the college basketball season, winning the game will be the only thing on the team’s mind.

“Just being a fan of basketball and knowing all the moments Spike Lee has had in the Garden, that’s pretty dope,” Keion Brooks Jr. said Monday. “But once the game tips off, we’re going to be lost in the game. We’re not really concerned who is sitting on the sideline.”

“If you watch basketball, NBA basketball, you know how big of a role Spike Lee has with all the fans and all that out here,” TyTy Washington added. “But once the game gets going, we won’t be worried about who’s in the crowd. We’re just worried about what we can do to win.”

As for the game itself, Calipari sees value in playing on this stage and under this kind of spotlight. It’s Kentucky vs. Duke in the first game of Mike Krzyzewski’s final season, with the game being played at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The headlines write themselves.

This game will highlight which players are ready for that moment, just as it has for players such as Anthony Davis, Julius Randle, Tyler Ulis, Malik Monk and Tyrese Maxey in the past.

“That’s what you’ll learn from this, said Calipari. “You think this guy, that guy, that guy, (but) you don’t know until the game is over and you look and you say, ‘He loved that moment.’ The biggest part of it is, guys like that aren’t afraid to look bad. They don’t care; they’re going to go play. They’re not afraid to miss a shot or take a tough shot or a game-winning shot. It’s not going to change how they see it. They want that play. They want to be in there, mainly because they’re not afraid to miss it.

“And the same defensively; they dig in. It’s not exchanging baskets and what I look like. ‘I’m playing to make myself look better than the other guy.’ So, I’ve had a bunch of those guys and I’ve been fortunate to coach them in a lot of these kinds of games.”

In terms of preparation, though, Calipari wants his team to approach it like any other game. If they play the way they know how to play, everything else will work itself out.

“We approach every game the same,” said Calipari. “… You can’t make it any different. This will be the stage. Our focus is on us. We’re going to play how we play. They’re going to play how they play. And either they’re more advanced than us or we’re a little more advanced than we think we are. But we’ll find out. It’s a great—these are the games you learn about your team. This is it.”

It all starts this evening. Kentucky vs. Duke in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Doesn’t get any better than that.