Coach Cal's Mailbag, Week 3

I'm just going to include the whole press release below.

Coach Cal’s Mailbag: Week 3

Click here to view Coach Cal’s Mailbag on FOXSportsSouth.com

FOX Sports South and the University of Kentucky Men’s Basketball Coach John Calipari have partnered to launch "Coach Cal’s Mailbag," an exclusive, interactive webpage on FOXSportsSouth.com. 

"Coach Cal’s Mailbag" features Calipari in video responses to reader-submitted questions every week throughout the 2010-11 college basketball season.   Readers can submit questions by visiting FOXSportsSouth.com.

In addition to the latest Wildcat basketball news and videos, "Coach Cal’s Mailbag" will also feature live monthly chats with Calipari, the first of which will take place on Monday, November 29 on FOXSportsSouth.com. 

Upcoming University of Kentucky men’s basketball games on FOX Sports South include:

·         November 30 – vs. Boston University Terriers – 7 p.m. ET

·         December 22 – vs. Winthrop University Eagles – 1 p.m. ET

·         December 28 – vs. Coppin State University Eagles – 7 p.m. ET.

Please check your listings for channel location.

Another incredible recruiting class.  WOW! Where does it rank talent-wise among the best in your career? – Sandra, Memphis, TN

Coach Cal – "This class will be a little different; it’s the biggest class we’ve recruited.  I know Daniel Orton, John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins were big, but this class is big….In the old days, every other year or every third year you had to have a good class, you didn’t have to do it every year.  With the rules the way they are right now where kids can leave after a year, you better be ready to bring in another solid class that can step up like the three freshmen did our last game against East Tennessee State."

Give your team a grade for the East Tennessee State Game.  What is the most important area you need to improve on? – Jimmy, New York, NY

Coach Cal – "Post defense, pick-and-roll defense, finding shooters were all areas that we broke down.  We gave up some gaps for lay-ups, things that we’re not going to be able to do as we move forward.  But that toughness, that rebounding edge that we needed, we stepped it up in this game.  We got 19 offensive rebounds and we didn’t give them many.  But our post defense really needs to be improved upon."

We know Terrence Jones has skills but where did that passion come from vs. ETSU? Did it take you by surprise?  Pam, Lexington, KY

Coach Cal – "The one thing I’ll tell you with Terrence is the one thing that will set him apart from being "that guy" will be the viciousness he comes into every game with.  It’s not only Terrence, it’s also Doron.  There’s got to be fire; you’re not just here to play, you’re here to beat the guy that’s playing against you.  It’s you and him and us against them."

How many underclassmen on this year’s team could potentially make the jump to the NBA after the season? – Thomas, New Orleans, LA

Coach Cal – "You don’t know at the beginning of any year.  The only thing you do know as a coach, in my case, is when the year ends, it’s going to be about those young people.  During the year it’s about our team.  The minute the season ends it’s about each individual player"

I know athletes are superstitious.  Do you have any pre-game rituals?  Is your routine different on the road? – Trent, Philadelphia, PA 

Coach Cal – "I’m not as superstitious as I used to be; I used to be pretty superstitious.  I may have a favorite tie, and it’s more based on who gave me that tie and I want them to see me in that tie.  I always exercise on a game day.  I do a bunch of things on a game day that I do almost every other day."

The regional sports networks serving the Southeast – FOX Sports South, FOX Sports Carolinas and FOX Sports Tennessee – collectively reach more than 12.9 million cable and satellite television households in seven states in the Southeast and are the television home of the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Hawks, Carolina Hurricanes, Charlotte Bobcats, Memphis Grizzlies and the Nashville Predators, as well as the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Southeastern Conference.  SportSouth reaches more than 10 million homes in six Southeastern states and is the television home of the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Thrashers and Southern Conference.  SportSouth also offers expanded coverage of the University of Georgia, University of South Carolina and University of Tennessee.  Combined, the four networks produce more than 800 live local events each year.  For more information, please visit FOXSportsSouth.com, FOXSportsCarolinas.com and FOXSportsTennessee.com.