Bright lights for Cats
John Wall has no trouble rattling off the names of basketball luminaries who have turned in vintage performances at Madison Square Garden.
“A lot of great players have played there,” the Kentucky freshman said. “Michael Jordan set records. Kobe Bryant set records. LeBron James set records. That is where all the stars come out and you just have to come out with your best performance.”
The budding superstar will get his chance tonight when the fourth-ranked Wildcats (8-0) take on No. 14 Connecticut (6-1) under the bright lights at the Garden.
Wall will be hard-pressed to repeat his performance in last Saturday’s win over defending national champion North Carolina. he scored 16 points – including the game-clinching free throws – while shaking off a bout with cramps and knee tendinitis.
He doesn’t expect cramps to be a problem going forward, and said the tendinitis is something he’s been dealing with for the last two years.
“I don’t know where it came from (but) that is a terrible pain to have,” Wall said. “It doesn’t affect me that much, although it can slow you down because you can’t really jump like you want to or move like you want to.”
Wall admits he wasn’t quite 100 percent when he returned to the floor in the second half against the Tar Heels. Kentucky had enough of a cushion to hold on, though coach John Calipari is hardly impressed with his team.
“We are not ready to sustain effort,” Calipari said. “We play casual at times. other times we aren’t even casual. We just stop playing.”
Maybe, but never long enough to lose. The margin for error, however, appears to be closing as the level of competition climbs.
Calipari is well-versed in the rugged ways of the Huskies and remains skeptical of his team’s toughness.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we went up there and got knocked in the mouth,” Calipari said. “It wouldn’t surprise me at all because they are going to come out playing like it’s the Super Bowl and we better do the same.”
The Huskies will focus on trying to keep the ball away from Wall, something the Tar Heels did with great effect while nearly erasing a 19-point deficit on Saturday.
“It’s good for us, because we’ll see how we play,” Calipari said.
And they’ll see how they’ve matured. Though Calipari has warned his players about the dangers of an emotional letdown following arguably the biggest regular season win in recent memory, the Wildcats know it’s something they have to experience for themselves.
“That is something we are going to find out tomorrow,” Wall said. “We just had a tough game and we are going to come out and see if we are as prepared as we were against North Carolina. I feel like if we let down at the beginning it is going to be tough haul because they are a pretty good team.”
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