‘It’s got to be Cal.’ Dan D’Antoni describes UK basketball’s free-flowing offensive style
Dan D’Antoni isn’t a stranger to high-level basketball.
The head coach of the Marshall Thundering Herd men’s team and the older brother of legendary NBA head coach Mike D’Antoni, the elder D’Antoni has been the head coach at Marshall since 2014 and won a game with the school in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
The 76-year old has been around the game in plenty of different capacities as well: Legendary high school coach, NBA assistant and now college head coach.
Safe to say, D’Antoni’s words carry weight in basketball circles, and he said plenty on Friday night after his Marshall team lost 118-82 to No. 16 Kentucky at Rupp Arena.
Kentucky scored its most points under head coach John Calipari in the win, which featured six players scoring 10-plus points. This was the first time a UK team had six players score in double figures since November 2021.
After this decisive Wildcats victory, here’s what D’Antoni said:
Opening statement:
We got our butt beat. (Kentucky) played really well, the way they pass the ball, they shoot it, they played better basketball than we played.
I hadn’t seen Cal do that, I’ll give him his due. He’s coming into the modern time, passing that ball and throwing it around, shooting 3s. I didn’t know that was Calipari. You should be proud of that team, they’re a good ball club, he’s done a really good job with them. They played really, really well.
Not to make an excuse, but to defend my team a little bit, it’s hard to be on vacation for three weeks and come in here and have to play. We were in the Cayman Islands, touched down, one night of sleep, got on the bus and got here. We were in the Caymans five days and right before that we were at the Greenbrier.
It’s tough. Somebody asked me if I felt good about this game, because we used Kentucky to help us see what we need to do. And they showed us. You’ve got to give them credit for that, they let us know, ‘This is what we’ve got to do.’
But I got a better handle on my team. It reminds me of my son (who went to) West Point, and I asked him, I said ‘Would you go to West Point again?’ He goes, ‘No, but I’m glad I went.’
I think if it came time to sign this game again after what we did I’d go, ‘No,’ but I’m glad we came here because I feel better coming out of here with what we’re going to do...
When we executed, we scored. We know that if we keep our game in, we (can) compete with teams, even this team, although (Kentucky) is very, very good and you should be very proud of them.
Question about trying to defend a Kentucky team with balanced scoring and lot of assists.
You think I had a chance to prepare? We just got home (laughter)... I’m not big on, ‘Let’s watch the other team.’ I’m more big on let’s watch our team...
When we executed it was right. We just are a growing team. We got poached last year by people like y’all, who spend all your money and OK, that’s fine, that’s the way the landscape is now.
But, you know what, we’re going to be alright. Like I said, I felt a lost worse coming out of the Caymans and our team, than I do now.
We’re going to be alright. We’re big. We’re athletic... Not to make excuses because every time you make excuses you take away from (Kentucky), and I don’t do that. They played extremely well.
So, did we prepare? Obviously our team prepared, they’re a good team. Any good is hard to prepare for, but they shoot the ball extremely well, they spread the floor...
Question about limited playing time for Marshall’s Wyatt Fricks and Cameron Crawford.
I’m Al McGuire, I go by the seat of my pants. We weren’t playing very well, we played better with this team...
After we realized we were going to get beat, I’m trying to figure out ‘OK, how are we going to get better when we leave from this game?’ So I’m testing people. We put a pure freshman on the floor, and (it) didn’t faze him a bit. He got where he needed to get, drew about three charges...
Question on how Kentucky shares the ball.
I guess it’s got to be Cal. He starts it. He’s the head of the stick. I just think they’ve done a great job coaching and teaching them to move the basketball. They keep it simple too, as fast as that ball’s moving they kept it simple, they don’t make hard plays.
They’re a talented group of people, obviously, but they keep the ball moving and they have four shooters, four knock-down shooters and a couple more that are capable.
Should be fun for them. We knew going in that we’d have to score a little... We’re just not at that level yet, but I didn’t think we got beat athletically. I know that we’re not probably quite as good a shooters as they are, but we have capable shooters, and like I said when we ran our stuff, we scored. They didn’t stop us. We have enough athleticism and we have enough skill to pull it off...
Question about modern basketball and how this Kentucky team exemplifies it.
Well, (Kentucky) is playing the way my brother (Mike) started. You can thank my brother for your team.
I like good basketball. I like good basketball. They’re playing the way you should. It’s fun. It’s entertaining. It’s good for the fans. I’m not into this sumo wrestling basketball. These are athletes that are moving the ball, sharing the ball, (who) are skilled, it’s fun to watch win or lose. Fun to watch.
Like I said, before Mike came they were all sumo wrestlers. But now they’re learning, they all learned...
Basketball is a great sport. They want to change it, you know it’s a sport, but we’re going to compete and that doesn’t mean you’re soft. You’re not. I’m not. I’ll step on your throat if I can out there. It doesn’t make you soft to enjoy the game, regardless.
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Aaron Bradshaw has returned to Kentucky practice. His debut could be coming soon.
