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UK's Alex Poythress makes contact with a Marshall player during the Cats' win Saturday. (Victoria Graff / December 22, 2012) |
LEXINGTON - Alex Poythress showed flashes of brilliance during Kentucky's last home game of the calendar year.
Poythress just missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds Saturday in the Wildcats’ 82-54 rout of Marshall at Rupp Arena. The freshman forward also had a blocked shot and an assist in 21 minutes, and his nine boards were a new career high.
“We always bang with each other, and we were ready to bang with somebody else,” he said. “It was good and we were ready for it.”
Although Poythress was active on both ends of the court against a physical Marshall squad, he also had bad mental lapses at times, a trait that Kentucky coach John Calipari frowned upon. Those bad spells came on the defensive end, resulting in unnecessary fouls.
“Alex Poythress did some good things, and then he reverted at times,” Calipari said. “He just grabbed a guy on a foul, wanted to stop playing, left his feet three times because he was late getting to the guy. Instead of being ready, you can close with your hands up or you can stand straight up and down (and) be late going to the shooter so you've got to leave your feet, which he did three or four times.”
Poythress knows what his coach expects and is willing to eliminate the mental lapses as the season progresses.
“He thinks I played decent in spurts,” he said. “He thinks sometimes that I should be playing better. I see where he is coming from sometimes. Sometimes I do have mental lapses, and I've just got to decrease those mental lapses and I should be fine.”
However, he is starting to get the message from his coach, and he credited Calipari's intense practices during the past two weeks to his improvement. In regard to his mental letdowns, He also said that he needs to just play instead of pondering his next move in the post or the next possession.
“I'm thinking more instead of reacting,” Poythress said. “We're making strides. Everybody is seeing improvement in their game and improvement in their conditioning, also in areas like shooting and rebounding. We're becoming a better team.”
Eleven games into his collegiate career, Poythress is starting to understand his role on the team and wants to build on his performance against Marshall.
“I just need to rebound, make plays offensively and defensively, and we should be fine,” he said.
Calipari liked the way the Thundering Herd tested the Wildcats from a physical standpoint and the way his players, especially Poythress and Noel, responded to the challenge.
“We needed (to play) a physical team and a big team,” he said. “I'm pleased. We're a long way from home, but it shows that this team — and I keep saying — has more upside than any team in the country.
“The thing I liked about Marshall, they (were very) physical, a bump-and-grind team that we outrebounded and they were big. That's what we needed. We needed a game like this. We needed a team that would play that way.”
Poythress agreed.
“I feel like we needed a physical game, so we can get used to the Southeastern Conference and get ready for the big game next week,” he said. “When we get back we’ll have practice, we’ll have our three practices. We’ll just get ready for them.”
That big game will be against intrastate rival Louisville Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center. Poythress knows a little bit about the Cardinals and thinks the Cats will be prepared for the showdown once they return from their Christmas break.
“It’s just building our confidence,” he said. “We’re trying to get our confidence up so we can get prepared for the battle next week.
“I’ve seen a couple (of Louisville) games. They’re a good team, very athletic team, well-coached team. They have great guards, they have size, and it’ll be a great game.”
Poythress just missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds Saturday in the Wildcats’ 82-54 rout of Marshall at Rupp Arena. The freshman forward also had a blocked shot and an assist in 21 minutes, and his nine boards were a new career high.
“We always bang with each other, and we were ready to bang with somebody else,” he said. “It was good and we were ready for it.”
Although Poythress was active on both ends of the court against a physical Marshall squad, he also had bad mental lapses at times, a trait that Kentucky coach John Calipari frowned upon. Those bad spells came on the defensive end, resulting in unnecessary fouls.
“Alex Poythress did some good things, and then he reverted at times,” Calipari said. “He just grabbed a guy on a foul, wanted to stop playing, left his feet three times because he was late getting to the guy. Instead of being ready, you can close with your hands up or you can stand straight up and down (and) be late going to the shooter so you've got to leave your feet, which he did three or four times.”
Poythress knows what his coach expects and is willing to eliminate the mental lapses as the season progresses.
“He thinks I played decent in spurts,” he said. “He thinks sometimes that I should be playing better. I see where he is coming from sometimes. Sometimes I do have mental lapses, and I've just got to decrease those mental lapses and I should be fine.”
However, he is starting to get the message from his coach, and he credited Calipari's intense practices during the past two weeks to his improvement. In regard to his mental letdowns, He also said that he needs to just play instead of pondering his next move in the post or the next possession.
“I'm thinking more instead of reacting,” Poythress said. “We're making strides. Everybody is seeing improvement in their game and improvement in their conditioning, also in areas like shooting and rebounding. We're becoming a better team.”
Eleven games into his collegiate career, Poythress is starting to understand his role on the team and wants to build on his performance against Marshall.
“I just need to rebound, make plays offensively and defensively, and we should be fine,” he said.
Calipari liked the way the Thundering Herd tested the Wildcats from a physical standpoint and the way his players, especially Poythress and Noel, responded to the challenge.
“We needed (to play) a physical team and a big team,” he said. “I'm pleased. We're a long way from home, but it shows that this team — and I keep saying — has more upside than any team in the country.
“The thing I liked about Marshall, they (were very) physical, a bump-and-grind team that we outrebounded and they were big. That's what we needed. We needed a game like this. We needed a team that would play that way.”
Poythress agreed.
“I feel like we needed a physical game, so we can get used to the Southeastern Conference and get ready for the big game next week,” he said. “When we get back we’ll have practice, we’ll have our three practices. We’ll just get ready for them.”
That big game will be against intrastate rival Louisville Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center. Poythress knows a little bit about the Cardinals and thinks the Cats will be prepared for the showdown once they return from their Christmas break.
“It’s just building our confidence,” he said. “We’re trying to get our confidence up so we can get prepared for the battle next week.
“I’ve seen a couple (of Louisville) games. They’re a good team, very athletic team, well-coached team. They have great guards, they have size, and it’ll be a great game.”
