By LARRY VAUGHT

Here are a few more insights from John Calipari’s media gathering this morning as he continues to prepare his team for Friday’s Southeastern Conference Tournament in Nashville.
On reaching the level of maturity they need in the few weeks left in the season…
Calipari: “Oh I hope so. Well I don’t know, we could have a meltdown and we’ll all look and say that it’s been a heck of a year, and it’s been a fun ride. Now that’s a talk I don’t ever want to give. I just don’t want to give that talk. And I want you to know that I’ve given it to our team five times. From where we were at the beginning of the year to where we are now, the maturity and keeping the emotions in-check, it’s not even close. But it’s got to go more if we’re going to do something special.”

On if there is a different level of play in the conference tournament…
Calipari: “No. We’re doing exactly what we’re doing. I gave them off yesterday; Tuesday is an individual workout day, Wednesday we’ll practice and travel, and we’ll have walk-through and practice on Thursday to get ready for the game, and that’s it. When we go into post-season, whether it’s conference or NCAA we do nothing different. We prepare for every team like we always do. I want them comfortable. I don’t want them to feel like this is different. It’s exactly the same. You’re playing a bunch of weekend tournaments. The problem with this one is there’s no day in between. If you win, you’re playing. If you win, you’re playing, and it’s hard.”

On handling the rotation differently given that it is a conference tournament…
Calipari: “It depends on the game. The best thing that we have is when we talk about Ramon (Harris) and Perry Stevenson being 9 and 10, that could move down if DeAndre (Liggins) doesn’t get that energy back. He’ll probably move back and I’ll put Ramon in there. But we have room for error with foul trouble and other problems, and then one of those two (Harris or Stevenson) step in and play, we are fine. If you have anybody on the front line that’s not doing it, Perry steps in; or somebody in the backcourt that isn’t doing it, in any of those three positions, Ramon steps in. It gives us the depth that we need.”

On what the SEC Tournament means to him …
Calipari: “Well if you’re going to be in a tournament, you want to win it. But our whole thing is that it’s bigger and it’s more important than winning. We’ve got to get ourselves prepared for that next weekend and that’s what we’ll do. Basically everything we do is based on how and where we finish the season. We’re trying to get ready and right physically and emotionally, and in every way so we can go in and do our very best. If you are your best and you do not win, then you can deal with it, as long as you’re your best. I want fresh legs. I want fresh minds. I want a competitive spirit. I want the players to expect to win so that when things get a little crazy, it’s ok. That takes a mature person. They don’t call a foul, ‘Oh well, we’re still winning.’ A player starts talking, ‘Oh well, we’re still winning.’ These kids are 19, they don’t know how to react when things get thrown at them. The good news is we’ve gone through just about everything, and we’re still standing.”

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