Seven notes from Cal's press conference

After bailing on the postgame press conference in South Carolina, John Calipari knew that all eyes would be on him today to address the team’s problems. Earlier today on the SEC Coaches Teleconference, Calipari accepted responsibility for the team’s struggles so far, a theme he carried through this afternoon. Here are seven notes:

“At the end of the day, I take responsibility.”

Cal shouldered blame for the team’s struggles, saying that “at the end of the day, I take responsibility. I never put it on these kids, it’s on me.” He even accepted responsibility for the team’s immaturity: “This team is young because we recruited a young team, so it all comes back to me.” However, until the one-and-done rule is gone, don’t expect Cal to change the way he recruits:

“In the environment we’re in, you can either convince kids to stay that should leave, or recruit players who aren’t quite good enough to be here and compete. I’ll recruit a top 50, he thinks he’s one and done, too. That’s why the rule–I keep coming back to it–I’m hoping this rule changes and goes back to two years.”

“My mind about this team hasn’t changed.”

Calipari said that two weeks ago, he thought his team had it all figured out, but two weeks later, they’re back at square one. Yet, he still believes in the group, which just needs a few tweaks: “My mind about this team hasn’t changed. We just have to get them in a little different mindset.” Some of those tweaks may come from the man in the mirror: “I’m willing to be whatever they need me to be,” Cal said.

Cal says he didn’t get thrown out of the game on purpose, but was happy with the results

A common debate in the BBN has been whether or not Cal purposefully got thrown out of the game Saturday. Cal says he didn’t, but was pleased with how they banded together in his absence. “I didn’t do it on purpose. But after that point, hopefully I led well enough that they don’t need me out there and they can perform. That’s leadership,” Cal said. “I think that was important for them to see.”

“It’s hard to have fun playing ball here.”

Seeing this team have fun on the court is a rare sight these days, something that Cal said is just the lay of the land for a Kentucky basketball player. “It’s hard to have fun playing ball here,” Cal said, reminding reporters of how John Wall came to him back in 2010 and complained about not enjoying himself even though the team was 19-0. “You’ve gotta make it fun, and today, when we met, it looked like they were good with each other. They know playing at Kentucky is not easy. It’s a tough deal.” No word on if he’s rolled the dodge balls out.

“If you don’t hold your guys accountable, you lose your team.”

Cal repeated this phrase three times throughout the presser, and said it’s the most important thing for a coach to do. “You talk for a while, you have them in the office, you yell, you scream, you sit them out of games, you take ’em out. You do whatever you have to. Everyone on the team needs to know everyone is being held accountable. If you don’t hold them accountable, you lose your team.”

Jon Hood and Jarrod Polson will start tomorrow

Per tradition, the seniors will start their last game in Rupp Arena. Sadly, no one asked if Chrisi Polson will sing the National Anthem. #OhSayCanChrisi

Your John Calipari/Jerry Tipton interaction of the day

It wouldn’t be a Cal press conference without some zingers between Cal and Jerry Tipton. Given recent events, today’s exchange was a little testy:

Jerry: “John, they seemed to play well in South Carolina when John Robic, he was calmer–”
Cal: “He’s a better coach than me, Jerry. He’s a better coach than me. He’s a better coach. They should let him be the coach.”
Jerry: “So when are you resigning?” [Awkward laughter]
Cal: “As soon as you retire.”
Jerry: “We’re stuck with each other.”

Don’t retire anytime soon, Jerry.