“You’re going to have to go in and fight like hell and have fun playing and competing at a high level. I’m anxious to see it. I don’t know what will happen, but I think people will say, ‘Wow, this team has a chance.’”
It’s the first message John Calipari had for his team when the Wildcats arrived in the Bahamas for their four-game exhibition tour. Players were huddled together on the sectional sofa and surrounding cozy seats in the Kentucky head coach’s palatial suite, wide-eyed with open ears hearing their first official pregame meeting of the season.