LEXINGTON, Ky. _ Several times Tuesday morning _ before he and his teammates left town for a two-games-in-four-days trip to Las Vegas _ freshman point guard Tyrese Maxey used the phrase "die yourself for the team" to describe his current mindset on the basketball court.
It's, apparently, a mantra that's been passed down from the top, and Maxey is buying in completely to John Calipari's early season message.
As Maxey described it, "die yourself for the team" means to sacrifice individual glory for the good of the whole. As long as one is helping the team win, personal stats are meaningless.
UK's most recent game proved a perfect standard for Calipari to hold up to the rest of his team.
Maxey came to the Wildcats with the reputation as one of the best perimeter scorers in all of high school basketball, something that was only reinforced on his first night in a Kentucky uniform: that sensational, star-making 26-point performance in the Cats' victory over No. 1-ranked Michigan State.
The 19-year-old freshman has been a not-as-spectacular but still solid scorer since that night, but he's hit a bit of an offensive dry spell in recent weeks. First, a seven-point showing in UK's win over UAB, then a two-game stretch _ against Fairleigh Dickinson and Georgia Tech _ where Maxey scored two and six points, respectively, and shot a collective 1 for 17 from the field.
In the win over Georgia Tech on Saturday, he took nine shots. He missed them all.
Yet, Calipari used Maxey as a shining example for what other, struggling players on this Kentucky team should strive to be. And Maxey came to the interview podium Tuesday morning smiling as wide as ever.
"It was an amazing step," he said of his performance against Georgia Tech. "I'm 1 for 17 _ Coach won't let me forget _ for the last two games, but I'm still super, extremely happy. We won those games. I was out there playing defense. Scoring is not _ I mean, we have a lot of guys on our team that are going to be able to score. So I don't need to score every single night. I just want to be able to help my teammates win. Whatever I need to do. Rebounds, assists, play defense _ that was my night to stop the best player, and that's what I feel like I did."
Maxey did exactly that _ and chipped in with seven rebounds and six assists _ and that's why Calipari is perfectly fine looking the other way on his 0-for-9 shooting performance against the Yellow Jackets.
Georgia Tech guard Michael Devoe came into Rupp Arena on Saturday averaging 21.4 points per game, tops in the Atlantic Coast Conference. With Maxey playing a career-high 38 minutes and hounding him for most of the night, Devoe went 2 for 11 from the field, missed all five of his 3s, and finished with just five points. Most importantly: Kentucky won, 67-53.
That showing led Calipari to implore his young players: "Don't be afraid to be Tyrese."
"Go guard their best player, shut him out, and go 0 for 9," the UK coach said Tuesday. "And then they say you're player of the game. You were 0 for 9, and you were the player of the game. Don't be afraid to be that. And then the other stuff will happen."
Calipari acknowledged that some of his players have gotten off to slow or inconsistent starts.
Sophomore forward EJ Montgomery appeared to turn a corner with highly productive games against UAB and Fairleigh Dickinson, only to go scoreless in 20 minutes against Georgia Tech. Freshman guard Johnny Juzang is struggling to find consistent playing time early in the season.
Another freshman, Kahlil Whitney, is also off to a slower-than-expected start. Like Maxey, he came to UK projected as a possible one-and-done lottery pick. Whitney is averaging just 5.3 points and 2.8 rebounds through nine games and played a season-low seven minutes Saturday.
Calipari said he, specifically, needs to take the, "Be like Tyrese" approach and affect the game in other ways.
"Kahlil's gotta play at a level that he's capable of playing for us to be what we need to be," Calipari said. "And everybody knows it. Everybody's watching it. And it may take time. So what if it takes him a month? Who cares? They're only going to watch him at the end of the year. And at the end of the year is when this stuff really counts."
The UK coach fully expects for things to click with Whitney at some point. So does Maxey. "He has a really good attitude about it," Whitney's fellow freshman said. "He don't have to score all the time. I just tell him to stay connected, play good defense, and do what's best for the team."
That's the message as Kentucky heads west to play late Wednesday night against Utah and then Saturday against Ohio State, which is coming off a loss to Minnesota but might still be the best team in the country.
As for Maxey, that sensational scoring should be back soon.
He said he's never gone 1 for 17 over a two-game stretch in his life. He said, until Saturday, he had never played a game without making a shot. "But it's OK," he added with a smile.
As long as he's doing the other stuff.
"You can't really worry about scoring on this team," Maxey said. "If it comes, it comes. We have a lot of different pieces, so if you don't have it going that night, it's OK. As long as you're contributing in other ways _ rebounding, passing the ball, and, especially, playing defense on the other end _ it'll be fine. And have a great attitude about it."
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