Maverick Carter doesn"t like Phil Jackson using "posse" to describe him | THE HERD (FULL INTERVIEW)
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) LeBron James respected Phil Jackson"s unmatched coaching accomplishments. That affection has vanished.
"I"ve got nothing for him," James said Tuesday.
James fired back at the 11-time coaching champion and current New York Knicks president for using the word "posse" in a recent interview to describe the NBA megastar"s business associates. James said he lost all respect for Jackson and his comments underline a larger societal issue for young African-Americans trying to succeed in business.
In the interview, Jackson, 71, said James has always demanded preferential treatment and called his departure from Miami as a free agent a "slap in the face" to the Heat organization. Jackson recalled a time when James asked for the team to stay over in Cleveland while on a road trip, a request that put coach Erik Spoelstra in a bind.
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"You can"t hold up the whole team because you and your mom and your posse want to spend an extra night in Cleveland," Jackson said in the ESPN interview .
The word "posse" struck a chord with James, who has surrounded himself with childhood friends during his career.
Jackson"s language also touched a flash point at a time of heightened racial tension in the country.
"We see the success that we have, but then there is always someone that lets you know how far we still have to go as African-Americans," James said Tuesday following the Cavaliers" morning shootaround. "I don"t believe that Phil Jackson would have used that term if he was doing business with someone else and working with another team or if he was working with anybody in sports that was owning a team that wasn"t African-American and had a group of guys around them that didn"t agree with what they did.
"I don"t think he would have called them a posse. But it just shows how far we have to go. But it won"t stop us from doing what we need to do as a group. I"ve put together a great team, I"ve empowered some guys since I was a kid and we"ve all grown together and become one of the people that try to model after, so we"re not going to let Phil Jackson"s comments stop us from doing what we need to do. It just gives us extra motivation. But it"s still sad, though, to see that people at the top always want to try to put guys in power down."
James was offended by Jackson"s flippant use of a term many find degrading.
"If you go and read the definition of what the word "posse" is, it"s not what I"ve built over my career," James said. "It"s not what I stand for. It"s not what my family stands for."
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue played for Jackson and said he doesn"t recall him ever being racially insensitive. Lue also has no intention of brokering any communication between his former coach and star player, and said James has never asked for any special treatment.
"We treat everyone the same around here," Lue said.
Along with close friends Maverick Carter, Rich Paul and Randy Mims, James has built a sports business empire. Among the group"s most prominent successes are landing James a lifetime contract with Nike worth nearly $1 billion and launching a film and TV production company that has partnered with Warner Bros.
Carter handles James" business affairs while Paul serves as his agent and for several other top players and Mims works with the Cavs. They formed LRMR marketing shortly after James turned pro, and the 31-year-old three-time champion was criticized for surrounding himself with friends.
"I"ve tried to put my guys in position to where they can walk in a meeting and go places and they don"t need me because they got to a point where they"ve done their homework," James said. "They"ve studied on what they want to do and they can hold a meeting without me because of the respect that they have and the knowledge they have. That"s just 12 years of hard work and dedication that we put to each other. I know Phil"s in a position of power in our sport, but to criticize me and my guys over that is nonsense."
The Cavs play the Knicks on Dec. 7 in Madison Square Garden, a game surely to be intensified by the Jackson-James drama. James seemed hurt someone of Jackson"s stature would try to demean him.
"It seems like when my name is involved with other people that"s helped build the game, it"s like, "How can we criticize what he does on and off the floor?" instead of trying to help me," he said.
James has been outspoken on social issues and doesn"t intend to stop.
"My whole goal is while I have this platform and this muscle that I have right now is how can I better the youth that looks at me every single day and sees what I do and sees what I say and sees the way I walk and talk and what I wear and use it as a positive way to get out of the situation they"re in," he said. "I"m not going to be that guy that ever downplays somebody or tries to knock someone off just to feel better about myself."
Teen Wolf (Season 6) | #ThisOrThat: Dylan Chooses Your Outfit or Your Playlist? | MTV
In last weeks Supernatural, The One Youve Been Waiting For, Sam and Dean kicked n**i a*s with the help of a fan favorite character whos only appeared once before. Who else is it time for the Winchesters to touch base with?
Supernaturals most recent episode The One Youve Been Waiting For featured the return of the Thule Society, a fun group of guys: n**i necromancers with plans for world domination. In their first appearance in season 8s Everybody Hates Hitler, the remaining members of the society were tracking down a lost ledger that recorded the practices of their predecessors, including every member whod become an undead immortal. This time around, they were h**l-bent on resurrecting the soul of Adolph Hitler which had been stored in a pocket watch at the moment of his famous suicide yes, like a horcrux, and yes, the Harry Potter reference is made within the episode itself.
Someone a lot smarter than me could write a poignant think-piece on the relevance of this episode airing the day after the U.S. election, how it felt to see this mixture of flippancy and terrifying reality play out on screen, how different it might have felt with an alternative president-elect on the horizon, and how, this season, Supernatural is apparently choosing to shout their worldview through a megaphone, but Ill note that once again, Supernatural revisits season 12s theme of humanity at its worst and most totalitarian. Yes, the Thule are using supernatural power, but, I mean, come on its Nazis. Not a metaphor for Nazis, real Nazis and real Hitler, with no punches pulled in the confronting imagery or language or attitude.
Once again, Sam tries to comfort a young character Ellie, the Hitler descendant whose blood allows for his resurrection by comparing the truth of his own cursed history, and once again the Winchesters allow the freedom of choice to a character that may not have got a pass from someone less compassionate in this case, Christoph, the put-upon son of the Thule ringleader, is allowed to walk free and make a new life for himself. Also, Dean gets to kill actual Hitler, or at least Hitler in a new body, an achievement he will be bragging about for the next seven thousand years. All in all, its not very subtle, but apparently America needs reminders this blunt that fascism is, you know, evil.
This episode also saw the return of the Winchesters biggest ally when it comes to the Thule. The most significant aspect of Everybody Hates Hitler was the introduction of Aaron Bass, an unwilling descendant of the Judah Initiative, a Jewish secret society dedicated to fighting the Thule, who inherits a golem from his grandfather. Everything about Aaron was infinitely memorable, from his choice to go undercover by making a pass at Dean (a scene that, according to writer Ben Edlund and director Phil Sgriccia, Jensen Ackles played right down the middle, probably the closest the show will ever come to confirming Dean as something other than straight) to the fact that he used his grandfathers ancient handbook to roll joints, to his incredible relationship with the golem and acceptance of his legacy.
Last weeks Supernatural saw Adam Rose return as Aaron Bass in The One Youve Been Waiting For but unfortunately he didnt play as much of a role as one might have liked him to. He and his golem have apparently spent the past few years using the ledger to track down Thule members and eliminate them, and Winchesters touch base with him from Berlin about the movements of the Thule Society. Its interesting to me that theyd bring in a guest actor as a throwback and only have him do a solo scene on the other end of a phone call no face to face interaction with Sam and Dean but given that the episode didnt actually rely on him being involved (they could have gotten the same information from him via email, not requiring a re-hire of Rose) it was really nice to see him there and just have a little reminder of the breadth of the Supernatural universe and all the people the Winchesters can count on.
Supernatural has always had a host of secondary recurring characters over the years many now deceased, but all playing their part as a regular feature in the lives of the boys, people they consider family, or people theyve introduced to hunting. The current ones who are actually alive include Sheriffs Donna Hanscum and Jody Mills, Jodys teenage wards Alex and Claire, and the hunter-turned-innocent-werewolf Garth. Many of these characters are promised to return both Jody and our new resident Reaper, Billie, will actually appear in this weeks episode Celebrating the Life of Asa Fox, about a hunters wake.
However, every single week the boys meet someone new who ends up finding out a bit about whats really out there and who Sam and Dean really are. Sometimes, we see characters who the Winchesters already know people theyve worked with in the past, which helps paint a picture of what their lives have been like off-screen, and sometimes they add new names to their phone book, promising to keep in contact with a new friend that theyve helped. Aaron Bass was very much one of these, but there are a bunch more people in similar positions who I would love to see the Wincesters catch up with.
In order to keep this from becoming an essay about how both Sebastian Rochs Balthazar and Richard Speight Jr.s Gabriel deserved better (though I pray we see one, or both of them, return in the Speight-directed Castiel backstory episode this season) or an itemized list of reasons why I would watch a Linda Tran spin-off, Ive been very strict about who makes the cut here the characters in question must be currently alive out there somewhere in the world, there must be a plausible way to fit them into the current overarching plot, and they have to have appeared in one episode only. Here are twelve single-appearance characters who should make a return to Supernatural sometime soon.
Missouri Moseley from Home
Missouri, brought vividly to life by the legendary Loretta Devine, was the first natural psychic we encounter on the show. Sam and Dean meet her on a mission in Lawrence, Kansas to exorcise their old family home for the new owners, and her single appearance way back in season 1 resonated deeply with audiences, because shes absolutely integral to the Winchester mythology it was she who introduced John to the truth about the paranormal world after Marys death. Given the trifecta of relevant circumstances her innocent supernatural abilities making her a Men of Letters target, Marys return and the many questions she has about her husbands life as a hunter, and the fact that the boys are now based back in Kansas, there is no better time to bring back this wonderful woman.
Deacon Kaylor from Folsom Prison Blues
This one is, again, mostly here for the potential it would give for some Mary Winchester drama, because Deacon Kaylor probably knew her while she was alive, and would potentially be one of the very few people besides Sam and Dean whod be mentally equipped to deal with the fact that shes back from the dead. Deacon, now a prison warden, knew John in his Marine days pre-Mary but also knew that he and his sons were hunters of the supernatural. This suggests that hed been close to the family for a very long time, and in his episode, Sam and Dean are pretty much willing to do anything to help him out in Johns name, including getting themselves arrested. He lied to the (real) FBI on their behalf and promised to see them again one day in better circumstances. Only on Supernatural would an undead mom count as better, but, you know, swings and roundabouts.
Jesse Turner from I Believe the Children Are Our Future
As an immensely powerful being with the potential to do serious damage, Jesse, an Antichrist (well, actually some sort of odd demon/human hybrid due to the pregnancy of a demon-possessed woman) is a perfect example of a supernatural character to whom the Winchesters gave the choice of personhood exactly the sort of character who, like Magda in American Nightmare, Sam and Dean consider worth saving and the British Men of Letters consider worth killing. This kid would canonically be about 18 or 20 (depending on if you count Supernaturals missing years or not) nowadays, and if the BMoL get ahold of the Winchesters case history, you can bet hed be on their hit list. Hed be an ideal candidate for another murder that makes Sam and Dean realize that their task right now may actually be to protect the supernatural.
Jacob Pond from The Girl Next Door
I have no particular affection in my heart for this frankly rather unpleasant kitsune child, but he also fits the bill for a BMoL victim. However, theres more to this one its some of Supernaturals weirdest unfinished business. After Dean killed Jacobs mother Amy funnily enough, Pond is not their real last name a childhood friend of Sams who turned out to be a kitsune, he carried the guilt for a long time, causing an ongoing rift between the brothers. Amys murder was painted as a very bad moment for Dean, especially juxtaposed against the empathy hes had for other supernatural creatures like his best vampire buddy Benny since. Not only that, Jacob left the scene of Amys death with a promise that hed kill no humans except Dean. As in, one day Ill come back and end you. This episode was directed by Jensen Ackles and written by current showrunner Andrew Dabb, so its not much of a reach to wonder if this is ever going to come up again.
Krissy Chambers from Adventures in Babysitting
Whoops. Im breaking my own rule for this one, because Krissys actually got two under her belt. In her first episode she seeks out John but ends up with Sam and Dean to help rescue her dad, another hunter. She proves incredibly resilient, and the boys advise her father to retire so that she isnt drawn into hunting. Dean and Krissy have some of the best and most immediate chemistry between any two characters in the whole history of the show no, not like that, thank you very much. Quite simply, Jensen Ackles and Madison McLaughlin were born to share screen time with each other, and this is why shes a must-have for me Krissy does not give Dean an inch, she sees straight through him, and their relationship is instantly something special. However, her father ultimately does die, and in her second episode, Krissy and some other teens were being housed and trained by a rather corrupt hunter. Theyre currently living alone, looking after each other as part of the next generation of hunters, and its about time we checked in on them.
James and Portia from Mans Best Friend With Benefits
Lets not sugar coat the fact that this episode about a witch and his shapeshifting animal familiar falling in love was weird as all h**l, and that even in-universe, the relationship between the characters was seen as incredibly taboo. However, James has a really interesting history as a cop, he worked with Sam and Dean on a case sometime in the past, and it was his exposure to them that got him interested in the occult. He ultimately became a very powerful witch, got himself a familiar, and, well fade to black. James and Portia are the victims in this episode, and, with Sam and Deans support, drive off together to find a safe place for a new life. Not only do these two have not-evil powers that could make them allies on a case in future, theyre also next-level BMoL victims the Winchesters are pretty much responsible for the fact that James is now a witch.
Sonny from Bad Boys
In this episode, we learnt that Dean, at age 16, spent two months in a boys home after he was caught shoplifting food when John left them alone to go on a hunt. When Deans crime was reported to his father, John left him to rot in jail, however, as he was a minor, the local county handed him over to Sonnys place. Dean thrived at the farm, and its an example of how much he craved normalcy and structure. Eventually, John decides to come claim his kid, and Sonny offers to fight for Dean to stay, if he wants, but ultimately, its the thought of Sam that sends Dean back on the road with John. On one hand, how wrenching to think of Mary learning more about her sons childhood from this guy Sonny clearly loves Dean and hates John Winchester, which makes him a hero in my eyes, and can you tell that I really want Mary to also end up hating John? and on the other, I just want Dean to spend some more time chilling out with a dude that he really likes and who values him. Given that Sonny was able to reach Dean on his cell during season 9, after G*d knows how many phone changes, it would imply that theyve been in touch all these years.
Marie from Fan Fiction
An infectious mix of Max Fischer of Rushmore and Rachel Berry of Glee, Marie a clever superfan of Carver Edlunds Supernatural books was the writer and director of the Supernatural high school musical featured in the shows 200th episode. Realistic portrayals of fan culture in the media are hard to get right unpopular opinion: I dont actually think the show ever did it that well with Felicia Days Charlie Bradbury but Marie is just perfect, in no small part due to the exemplary work of the young actress Katie Sarife. Her conversations with Dean about what Supernatural means to her, and her quiet, un-star-deal realization that hes the real deal, felt like just the start of a lifelong friendship. Dean and teenage girls, man. I cannot get enough of it. Again, no, not like that. Listen, if wanting Dean Winchester to have totally innocent BFF bunker slumber parties with a bunch of smart teenage girls who constantly call him on his bullshit is wrong, then I dont wanna be right.
Sully from Just My Imagination
Ive written in the past about how this episode was one of the shows most evocative for me, due to Sams interactions with his childhood imaginary friend Sully, who turned out to real a creature called a Zanna, an entirely innocent race of child guardians who help and protect kids in need. Sam may be a grown-up, but he still kind of needs a best friend Dean tends to have more history and one-on-one relationships than Sam does so as ridiculous as it may be, Id love Sully to reappear as an ongoing part of Sams support network. And again, if my theory about Sam and Dean protecting the supernatural from the Men of Letters proves true, this is a being that the British Men of Letters may deem reprehensible and in need of destroying, if theyre the heartless monsters that we think they are. Im still very interested in the concept of more good supernatural creatures not exceptions to the rule, but an entirely benevolent species.
Eileen Leahy from Into the Mystic
During season 11, Sam and Dean met fellow hunter Eileen Leahy while undercover on the same job tracking down a banshee. Eileen is deaf, an aspect of her character which was both plot-relevant and totally normalized, a nice bit of representation very well-handled by the show. Shes also a Men of Letters legacy potentially a British Men of Letters legacy, as her parents and grandparents lived in Ireland which could play nicely into the current plot of the Winchesters and Friends Taking A Stand Against Tyranny. Eileen and Sam had an incredible amount of chemistry, and given the fact that Sam ponders earlier in the same season (in an episode by the same screenwriter as this one, no less) about the potential of settling down with another hunter, if Supernatural is going to endgame a romance for either of the brothers, this would be one that would satisfy a lot of people he pretty much asks her out at the end of the episode, at the very least opening the door for an ongoing friendship. Better her than Lady Toni.
Jesse and Cesar Cuevas from The Chitters
In The Chitters, Sam and Dean run into another pair of hunters working the same case as them, a same-s*x married couple, one of whom lost his brother to the monster of the week twenty seven years ago and and is out for revenge. This time-specific case is to be their last hunt before retiring to the ranch theyve been slowly paying off, a hopeful example to prove that hunters can get out of the life if they choose to, when the time is right. Jesse and Cesar are the first people in a long time that the Winchesters willingly want to invite into their lives the four men work extremely well together hunting the bisaan, and Dean considers asking them to stick around, to join their team in fighting the Darkness and helping Castiel rid himself of Lucifer. In the end, he isnt able to bring himself to do it Two hunters who make it to the finish line? Yeah, you leave that alone. so for that reason, I kind of hope we dont see them again, because if we do, it may mean theyve been called back in. However, in a dream world, Id love their fabled ranch to be the destination of one of Supernaturals few and far between Sam and Dean take a d**n vacation episodes.
Which one-off character would you most want to see make another appearance?
Megyn Kelly on her "Year of Trump," dealing with sexual harassment
8:31 AM PST 11/15/2016 by Hilary Lewis
Megyn Kelly sat down with George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America on Tuesday for the first in a series of TV interviews about her new book, Settle for More, which hits shelves today.
The Fox News anchor made two appearances on the ABC morning show, first joining Stephanopoulos at the top of the program to discuss Donald Trump"s controversial appointment of Breitbart head and his former campaign chair Steve Bannon as his chief strategist.
Joining Stephanopoulos 30 minutes later, Kelly discussed her book, including what she writes about her complicated relationship with Trump over the past year, with whom she had a high-profile, public feud before she met with him in person at Trump Tower and the two moved on.
Kelly and Stephanopoulos also discussed her relationship with Roger Ailes, who, she says in her book, made unwanted advances toward her, including trying to kiss her three times, many years ago, after which she reported his behavior to a supervisor and avoided him.
Ailes has since responded to those allegations by suggesting Kelly is being ungrateful for his support.
Through his attorney, Susan Estrich, Ailes said in a statement, "I categorically deny the allegations Megyn Kelly makes about me. I worked tirelessly to promote and advance her career, as Megyn herself admitted to Charlie Rose.Watch that interview and then decide for yourself. My attorneys have restricted me from commenting further so suffice it to say that no good deed goes unpunished."
GMA aired a portion of that Charlie Rose interview, in which Kelly says Ailes "has been nothing but loyal" and has "had [her] back," after which Stephanopoulos asked Kelly how she could reconcile those two characterizations of Ailes.
"Both things can be true. A woman can be harassed and then go on to have a good working relationship with the man harassing her and that is what happened in my case," she said, pointing out that Ailes stopped harassing her after she avoided him for six months.
"He stopped and we went on to have a healthy working relationship. What he said about promoting me and having my back over the next several years is true. It was one of the reasons why even I found it hard to believe he was a serial harasser. It soon became clear to me upon reading the allegations that at least an investigation was necessary."
When asked if Ailes would still be the head of Fox News if Kelly"s former Fox News colleague Gretchen Carlson hadn"t sued, Kelly said, "I think so."
At the end of the interview, Stephanopoulos tried to get Kelly to offer some insight into her next move, with her Fox News contract up next year. She indicated she doesn"t think her past year dealing with Trump and Ailes poses a problem, saying, "I can go hopefully anywhere I want. I don"t think anything that"s happened this past year has limited that."
"In my opinion, the Murdochs, who are running Fox News Channel now, are honorable men who want to do what"s right and have a great vision for Fox News going forward," Kelly added. "This is my philosophy: Settle for more. So I"m going to do that."
Von Miller: From Draft Pick To Super Bowl MVP | NFL
When you think of the best pass rushers in the NFL, you also think of true technicians who know how to draw holding calls.
Broncos linebacker Von Miller doesn"t consider himself a lobbying expert, though. By an unofficial count, the Broncos have drawn just 11 offensive holding calls from opposing linemen this season.
"I"m not going to be the one lobbying for them anyway," Miller said, via ESPN.com. "I"m always on the next play, I feel like if I get my rush the way I"m supposed to, if I rush how I"m supposed to rush, if they hold me, I"m still going to be able to get there. ... If I get into this game with refs "oh they"re holding me on this play, holding on that play," it"s going to take me away from helping my teammates improve and all the other stuff I have to do in a game."
Sunday"s game (1 p.m., CBS) against the Saints (4-4) will be an interesting convergence of events on that topic. Drew Brees has only been sacked 12 times -- for reference, that is 10 fewer times than Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and 21 fewer times than the NFL"s most-sacked quarterback Andrew Luck.
Furthermore, the Saints are one of the NFL"s least likely teams to be penalized for holding. The Saints are second to last in the NFL with just six called offensive holding penalties for a 55 yards. The league average is roughly 13 and the Raiders lead the league with 25.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll recently brought up the discrepancy in penalties called against the Saints and other teams, though holding specifically is likely just an indication of how quickly Brees throws the football.
We"ll see if Miller can do any better to up New Orleans" average.
Can Blair Walsh Kick A Field Goal? - (Madden 16 NFL Challenge)
Former Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe sure can hold a grudge.
Just a few minutes after the Vikings announced that theyve cut place kicker Blair Walsh, Kluwe tweeted an ungraceful response.
This one goes back to January 2014 when Kluwe wrote that special teams coordinator Mike Priefer used homophobic language around him during the debate over same-s*x marriage in Minnesota.
Near the end of November, several teammates and I were walking into a specialist meeting with Coach Priefer. We were laughing over one of the recent articles I had written supporting same-s*x marriage rights, and one of my teammates made a joking remark about me leading the Pride parade. As we sat down in our chairs, Mike Priefer, in one of the meanest voices I can ever recall hearing, said: We should round up all the gays, send them to an island, and then nuke it until it glows. The room grew intensely quiet, and none of the players said a word for the rest of the meeting. The atmosphere was decidedly tense. I had never had an interaction that hostile with any of my teammates on this issuesome didnt agree with me, but our conversations were always civil and respectful. Afterward, several told me that what Mike Priefer had said was messed up.
Later, the Pioneer Press reported that Walsh was hauled in by team investigators to confirm Kluwes account of the 2013 incident. He apparently refused.
In a five-hour meeting Friday with investigators, Halunen said Kluwe identified Walsh and long snapper Cullen Loeffler as witnesses to Priefer allegedly making homophobic comments numerous times during the 2012 season in meetings with the punter, kicker and long snapper, and that Pico was told about it after the fact. Halunen noted that Kluwe told investigators he is willing to take a polygraph test.
Walsh issued a statement through the Vikings on Jan. 2 in defense of Priefer. But Halunen said Kluwe retained text messages in which Walsh referenced what Priefer allegedly said, including a text related to Priefer allegedly saying, We should round up all the gays, send them to an island, and then nuke it until it glows.
If Walsh is going to lie, this will all be exposed, Im confident, Halunen said. If Walsh is going to lie, thats his choice. But at the end of the day, we believe this is going to come out. We have evidence. So he made that choice, I guess.
The two others who apparently witnessed the coachs outburst were released within a year. With todays news, theyre all gone.
Priefer is still special-teams coordinator for the Vikings.
We might suggest, by the way, that there are better ways to use Twitter. Like this:
Pour some out for Blair Walsh. #Skol pic.twitter.com/QyMUymdROT
The Growler Magazine (@growlermag) November 15, 2016
NEW YORK Forgive the rest of us if we didnt see Nuclear Monk coming, at least not on Tuesday nights big stage, but Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari did.
So what if hed only made 3 of 12 3-pointers in his first two college games? Freshman guard Malik Monk has always been a streaky shooter, and he started feeling it again hours before the second-ranked Wildcats tipped off against 13th-ranked Michigan State at Madison Square Garden.
He had an unbelievable shootaround, Calipari said. Malik Monk had one of the best shootarounds any of my players have had the past few years, and I expected he would go in and play well.
Good call. Monk buried his first three 3-pointers against the Spartans, signaling to teammates that he was cooking and keep it coming his way. They did, and Monk finished 7 of 11 from deep, dropping 23 points and 6 rebounds in a stunningly easy 69-48 win over Michigan State in the Champions Classic.
Had two other players on the team that had so-so shootarounds, and guess what? They had so-so games, Calipari said. Players not named Monk shot 0 for 10 from beyond the arc. And it was a great lesson.
RELATED:What John Calipari said after beating Michigan State.
Monk, a McDonalds All-American and projected lottery pick, is nothing if not confident. He was never too worried about his stroke. But he did realize it needed a little work after nothing would fall against Stephen F. Austin and Canisius.
With help from Calipari and UK assistant Kenny Payne, Monk said he drilled himself on staying low, stepping into the shot every time, not being casual, like Coach Cal likes to say. Try to focus on every shot being the same and just let it go smooth.
It doesnt get much smoother than what Monk did against the Spartans, swishing open and contested shots alike. More of them were open, thanks to Michigan States defense sagging back to stop Monks backcourt mates, Isaiah Briscoe and DeAaron Fox, from penetrating at will.
That wasnt especially effective, as those other two combined for 33 points and 8 assists, but it did give Monk the green light.
They get in the lane too good, every time they can, he said, so I just had to be prepared. They set me up well and I was able to knock down the shot.
Spartans coach Tom Izzo could only shake his head after the barrage buried his overmatched team. They picked a poison and Monk killed them.
If you look at our game plan, we wanted to somewhat contain Fox, Izzo said. Youve got to give Monk credit.
The scouting report suggested it was safe to leave him alone on the perimeter.That probably wont be the case going forward. Monk is a binge scorer who only needs to see one or two shots drop early and suddenly hes locked in and lethal.
I knew he was due for a big game, Briscoe said. I told him that before the game.
Inside Kentuckys locker room, then, confidence in Monks shooting never wavered. The 6-foot-3 guard with a 42-inch vertical leap had already demonstrated his ability to put opponents on posters with crazy dunks, and now if Monk shoots it like that, theyre a real good team.
There will almost certainly be more cold-shooting nights in his future, but there isa lotto work with.
He is one of the most athletic kids that Ive coached, Calipari said. Hes a little antsy right now. His mind moves really fast. When his feet move fast, his mind moves fast. So I gotta slow down his mind and let him see the game a little differently, and thats all Im talking about to him.
Athletically, jumping, speed, all those things,whew.He can defend, hes tough, hes got a curious mind. Hes got a quick mind, he reacts to stuff. Theres things that I cant teach.
WATCH: Calipari, Briscoe and Monk at the podium after beating MSU.
The finale of The Clash of the Corps, an original eight-part series about the world of Drum Corp International that focuses on the Blue Devils and Cadets of Allentown, is Wednesday but fans can get a sneak peak of the first half of the finales on Dwayne Johnsons Facebook page tonight.
All the blood, sweat & tears come down to this Johnson whose Seven Bucks Production company is producing the series, posted on Facebook.
Executive Producer Johnson will host the sneak peak at 8 p.m. today at www.facebook.com/DwayneJohnson, which has more than 57 million fans. The series finale episode will air at 11 p.m. Wednesday on Fuse TV.
The series premiered on Johnsons Facebook in a similar fashion, reaching 7 million fans, including 830,000 video views of the premiere episode. In addition to the sneak previews, Clash of the Corps video content on social media has reached 39 million people with more than 12.8 million video views to date. The series has generated additional viewership across multiple platforms, and is the most viewed original series ever on the Fuse.TV app.
Tapping into the millions of Dwayne Johnson fans via Facebook Live is a terrific way to attract new viewers to this series and to Fuse, says Michael Schwimmer, President and CEO of Fuse Media. We are very proud of Clash of the Corps and its success in reaching new audiences across all platforms.
In the final episodethe Blue Devils are back on top in the battle for the DCI championship as the Cadets try to rank higher and surprise everyone by coming out on top.
