By ADAM ZAGORIA
SEC coaches may be privately celebrating Kentucky’s dismal 1-6 start to the season, but publicly they’re saying the Wildcats will still prove to be “dangerous.”
“It’s young players, man, we understand that this game is about experience and obviously they’ve had a ton of success with one-and-done types and I think they have some guys that are probably characterized as some one-and-done types on that roster now, so we feel like they’re definitely going to get better,” Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse said Monday on the SEC conference call. “They obviously got off to a slow start, but there are so many factors that play in to why they possibly did that.
“But we know that the talent is there and it could click on at any time. I hope it doesn’t click on two games from now when we play them but we know that the talent is there and we’re going to approach it that way because they’re going to be dangerous before it’s all said and done and I think everybody around the league believes that.”
Jerry Stackhouse on @KentuckyMBB : “They’re going to be dangerous before it’s all said and done and I think everybody around the league believes that” pic.twitter.com/l0TwTRjnxy
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) December 28, 2020
Mississippi State coach Ben Howland had similar sentiments.
“Kentucky is Kentucky, it’s one of the iconic, all-time winningest programs in the history of college basketball,” he said. “They played a very difficult schedule, it’s not like they’re starting off with a bunch of cream puffs and building their way up. They do the same thing every year, they played a very tough schedule. Even a game like against Richmond is incredibly difficult, they had three graduate transfers. They’re an older team that knows how to play. That’s a tough game for everybody….
“I’m not worried about Kentucky having success this year, they’re going to have success. I just hope that when we play them, we get a chance to beat them.”
Six teams have already beaten Kentucky this year, and Howland’s team (5-3) will get its shot in Kentucky’s SEC opener Saturday.
“Obviously, we’re struggling,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said Monday. “There are unhappy people here, including me, and there are a lot of happy people around the country…
“And it’s not going to get easier, we’re in a tough league. No one is going to give us a game, and no one feels bad for us. We’re going to have to go take one.”
Calipari added that the team has no locker room issues and that freshman Cam’Ron Fletcher “is back now” and has a “smile on his face” after briefly being told to leave the team.
“The biggest thing is our execution on offense has got to get better, and we’ve got time to continue to work on it,” he said.
“I haven’t lost any faith in the team, I wish we would’ve won a couple games.”
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