Dakari Johnson – photo by Walter Cornett | WildcatWorld.com
John Calipari had plenty to talk about in the locker room with his team down 40-37 at halftime to Mississippi State.
The Bulldogs’ 10 fast-break points surely came up, as did Kentucky’s 14 3-point attempts. He talked about carrying over the camaraderie the team had built during “Camp Cal” through better communication, as well as taking better care of the basketball.But there was another message, delivered to a specific player, likely unanticipated by most.”
Before the second half started, Coach Cal told me he was going to put me in and just to post up and try to make moves because they were playing, I think, a 1-3-1 zone or a 2-3 zone so there were a lot of openings,” Dakari Johnson said.
Johnson had played all of one minute in the first half, registering only a personal foul on the stat sheet, but Coach Cal sensed opportunity for the 7-foot, 265-pound freshman.
