As the proverb has it, curiosity killed the cat. But, for Kentucky basketball, curiosity helps propel the Cats.
That's how John Calipari explained, at least in part, the success he's enjoyed as UK coach. Speaking on a webinar arranged by the National Association of Basketball Coaches on Monday, he said he had benefited by having a curiosity to learn ways to adapt to the talent at hand. That trait will come in handy next season when Kentucky has another new-look roster.
"I have two returning players from last year's team ... ," said Calipari, presumably meaning Keion Brooks Jr., and Dontaie Allen. "We're going to be a totally different team playing a totally different way."
Calipari said that five UK players would enter this year's NBA Draft. Earlier Monday, Immanuel Quickley announced his intention to do so. He joined Ashton Hagans and Tyrese Maxey who did so last week.
The other two? When talking about how UK players improve, Calipari included Nick Richards and EJ Montgomery along with Quickley, Hagans and Maxey.
In the 2019-20 season, Kentucky depended on a lineup that essentially contained three point guards in Hagans, Maxey and Quickley.
Such will not be the case with incoming freshmen like BJ Boston and Terrence Clarke, whom Calipari described as 6-foot-7-ish "dudes."
"Now, all of a sudden, you got a different looking team," Calipari said. "Instead of three point guards, now you got three basketball players with size who can handle the ball. But, they're not locked into one spot. We'll probably play differently. This may be a team where we play a little more dribble-drive, trying to open up the court for a guy who can get downhill and do some good stuff."
Calipari cited earlier examples of adapting a playing style to fit the personnel. In 2014-15, Kentucky had big men like Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein and Dakari Johnson. Hence, there was an emphasis on low-post play (think Towns repeatedly scoring in the low post to help UK rally to beat Notre Dame in the 2015 Elite Eight.
The following season featured three guards capable of ball-handling and decision-making in Tyler Ulis, Jamal Murray and Isaiah Briscoe.
To explain his belief in adaptability, Calipari credited Larry Brown, whom he worked for at Kansas before beginning his head coaching career at UMass more than 30 years ago. Later, Calipari worked as an assistant coach for Brown with the Philadelphia 76ers.
"The best coach in basketball, maybe ever," said Calipari, who acknowledged John Wooden's place in such a discussion. "His attention to detail. He was also a curious coach. Every year was a new year for him. There was no lesson plan from the year before.
"So, now, what happens to me (is) every year I have a new team."
Calipari saluted the contributions of players to last season's success. He said that Quickley played as a freshman in 2018-19, "but he wasn't instrumental in what we were doing." In 2019-20, Southeastern Conference coaches voted Quickley as Player of the Year.
Calipari lauded the improvement made by Hagans in his overall game, decision-making and "other stuff."
Maxey will be a top-10 pick in this year's NBA Draft, Calipari said. While Richards and Montgomery made obvious improvement, he said.
While seeking to adapt to practically a new roster each season as UK coach, Calipari said he also seeks consistency. Guards and "bigs" run the same drills. Every player is coached as if he's a starter. Using two hands to catch, rebound and pass the ball is mandatory.
As he had said earlier this spring, Calipari described Kentucky's 2019-20 team as denied a national championship because of the coronavirus pandemic.
"This team, as much as any team I've had, were so into each other's success," he said. "They were so excited when someone played well. That's why at the end of the year, the vibe of the team, one of those vibes that I've seen and felt before, I thought we were going to win the whole thing."
