Calipari looking for some respect

Memphis Coach John Calipari seems to have a theme for his pep talks this week: Disrespect.

Hmmm. Wasn’t that the theme last week too?

The Tigers (37-1) play UCLA (35-3) Saturday in the first of the NCAA national semifinals in San Antonio, and Calipari said Monday he has noticed Memphis flaws have been overplayed and over-hyped -- especially the idea that his players are bad free-throw shooters.

This season, the Tigers have shot 60.7% from the line, but they made 56 of 72 (nearly 78%) in beating Michigan State and Texas last weekend.

“When the majority were picking us to lose every game we played and are focusing on one area of our basketball -- and I mean focusing to the point of the ridiculous -- I laugh about it and say, ‘You’re helping us, and if you continue to want to help us, keep doing it,’ “Calipari said.

“You saw what was written and what was said and what we were doing -- our style, we roll out the balls, no organization to what we do. Our kids are seeing it and hearing it.”

Calipari said he respects UCLA Coach Ben Howland’s defense and noted that two years ago Memphis beat UCLA, 88-80, in an early-season game and then was held in check in a 50-45 loss to the Bruins in the NCAA West Regional final five months later.

“When we played Ben early and beat them in New York,” Calipari said, “Ben was just getting them going. Between that and the final game there was a cultural change. There was a basic change in the mentality of the team, which meant the kids bought in.

“Now they have the thing they’ve been missing, their Bill Walton, their Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar]. The center. They’ve got one now in Kevin Love plus all that [defensive] mentality is still there.”

That defensive mentality, Calipari said, is easy to describe but hard to deal with. “It’s body to body,” he said, “mano a mano. . . . You’d better be ready to play a man’s game because that’s how they play.”

Calipari was also impressed with the strength of Love’s outlet passes.

“When Kevin takes it out he has an arm like John Elway,” he said. “He just fires it and the ball doesn’t have a side spin on it. It just goes.”

-- Diane Pucin