Marquis Teague has a confession to make: For the first time in his life playing point guard doesn’t come easy.
“Honestly, yes,” the Kentucky freshman admitted. “Most of the time I could break my man down and do whatever I wanted. I could push the ball and run past people. Here, you have to run your team and I’m playing with some of the greatest players in college basketball so you have to make sure they’re getting touches, too.
“It’s been the hardest time in my life trying to play point guard,” Teague continued. “Cal expects a lot from his point guards. You have to run this team, and still get yourself going. It’s pretty tough.”
Teague has struggled mightily in some games, but there was a glimpse of daylight Wednesday when he had five assists vs. two turnovers in an 88-40 rout of Radford at Rupp Arena. He entered the contests with 11 assists and 18 turnovers through the first four games.
“It felt good to just come out and play good one game, not turn the ball over as much,” Teague said. “And, of course, we got the win.”
Teague has no problem citing his struggles at point guard, perhaps best summed up by “all of the above.”
“Playing too fast. Turning the ball over too much. Not being a leader on the floor. Thinking too much and trying to do too much. Trying to make the hardest play instead of the easiest play, trying to make a fancy play and get a highlight.
“Coach Cal was telling me some things that he wanted me to do and I was going out there to make sure I did it to perfection. I didn’t want to mess up, but that was causing me to mess up,” Teague said. “It was real frustrating. I was getting real upset with myself because I play with a lot of emotion, ever since I was little. That’s just how I am. But everybody just talked to me and told me to calm down.”
Teague’s own list of issues is long, but the source of the problem is quite short – playing point guard for Calipari is no mission for the feint of heart.
DORON LAMB
“Cal is really hard on point guards,” said sophomore Doron Lamb, who must slide over from shooting guard to the point when Teague is in the doghouse. “I just tell him, ‘Do what he says. He’s only trying to help you, he’s not trying to hurt you. Don’t be scared to make mistakes. If you make a turnover, just get back on defense and try to redeem yourself on defense. If you see an open shot, drive or take it. Just be patient and let the game come to you.’”
Lamb added that Teague may have gotten a false sense of security early in the season, and that maybe the horror stories had been exaggerated.
“At the beginning of the season, coach Cal wasn’t really saying anything to Marquis and Marquis was thinking it was going to be like that the whole season,” Lamb said. “But I told Marquis, ‘When game time comes he’s going to start getting on you.’ He knows coach is on him now because it’s getting time for big games. Marquis has to take the yelling, work hard and do better.”
“I’ve never had a coach get after me like this,” Teague admitted. “But I’ve gotten used to it now. I know it’s going to happen so you can’t fight it. Just listen to what he says, not how he says it. He’s really coaching me and doing good things for me so I appreciate it.”
One saving grace is that Teague is treading over familiar turf with the Point Guards of Seasons Past. Last year, Brandon Knight had nine assists and 18 turnovers in his first four games. Before that, John Wall had 28 assists to 18 turnovers but opened hiss career with 11 assists and 11 turnovers in his first two games.
“It lets me know that I’m going to be all right,” Teague said. “I’m not the first one to come out playing like this. Honestly, it keeps me confident.
“You can’t compete with the fact that it works. What he’s telling me is the right thing to do. So I’m just going to listen.”
The master himself has even said he’s going to ease off on the reins a bit.
“I told him I'm going to give him one flub a half,” Calipari said. “One a half we can deal with. So he had five assists, two turns. He would have had three other assists but guys weren't prepared to shoot the ball. I thought he played in control, he went when he had to, and now he scores points without trying to score points. It was good.”
Teague will take that one free pass.
“I still don’t want to make that turnover,” Teague said, “but I do know when I make it, he’s not going to yell at me about it. But when I do make it, I know I have to be careful.”
It’s all part of the growing process, one that is familiar to Calipari but a rude awakening for the next UK freshman point guard in line.
“I've got to coach him better,” Calipari said. “I've got to be more prepared to really break down tape with him and show him and talk to him during the games. He's got to be right near me, at least for the next month, and then he'll be fine.”
