Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
In Wake of Poythress Injury, Calipari Non-Committal on Future of Platoons
In the wake of the season-ending ACL injury to junior forward Alex Poythress, Kentucky coach John Calipari may opt to discontinue his now famous platoon system.
“And some of this is going to be just throwing – at some point, ‘All right, let’s try this lineup, see how they work'” Calipari said Friday. “I’ve got to be willing to do it.”
Alternatively, as beat writer Jerry Tipton pointed out, Calipari could opt to shift the platoons to move Trey Lyles up and add Derek Willis.
Still, Calipari downplayed the notion of another frontcourt player such as Lyles or Willis having to step up to fill in for Poythress.
“This is our team dealing with this,” he said. “It’s not fair to put it on one player.”
While Poythress is lost for the season, the good news for Kentucky is that both Ulis and Booker practiced Thursday after missing time with sickness or injury.
That could prove to be critical against a North Carolina team (6-2) which has beaten a No. 1 team 13 times in history, including seven by current head coach Roy Williams.
Calipari acknowledged that his undefeated team could be “dinged” with a loss this season.
“There’s going to be some ups and downs,” he said. “We’ll probably get dinged some. I hope not Saturday, but it could be Saturday.”
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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
In the wake of the season-ending ACL injury to junior forward Alex Poythress, Kentucky coach John Calipari may opt to discontinue his now famous platoon system.
“And some of this is going to be just throwing – at some point, ‘All right, let’s try this lineup, see how they work'” Calipari said Friday. “I’ve got to be willing to do it.”
Alternatively, as beat writer Jerry Tipton pointed out, Calipari could opt to shift the platoons to move Trey Lyles up and add Derek Willis.
Still, Calipari downplayed the notion of another frontcourt player such as Lyles or Willis having to step up to fill in for Poythress.
“This is our team dealing with this,” he said. “It’s not fair to put it on one player.”
While Poythress is lost for the season, the good news for Kentucky is that both Ulis and Booker practiced Thursday after missing time with sickness or injury.
That could prove to be critical against a North Carolina team (6-2) which has beaten a No. 1 team 13 times in history, including seven by current head coach Roy Williams.
Calipari acknowledged that his undefeated team could be “dinged” with a loss this season.
“There’s going to be some ups and downs,” he said. “We’ll probably get dinged some. I hope not Saturday, but it could be Saturday.”
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