Calipari Describes Malik Monk’s Role

Malik Monk comes to Kentucky with an established pedigree as an excellent leaper.  We all know he’s going to dunk on a few guys, but what else is in his repertoire?

Critics call him a streaky shooter, but Calipari expects to see him take and make many shots, filling the void left by Jamal Murray.  The key: taking the right shots.

“My thing with Malik is you must respect each shot because you’re probably going to be like Jamal and take the most shots on our team,” Calipari said at SEC Media Day. “So you must respect that and let the other guys know on this team you respect it. Shot selection and those things; he’s learning and getting better.”

A prolific scorer in high school, Calipari was unsure of his status as a defender.  He’s been pleasantly surprised to see what Monk’s done so far on defense.

“I never saw him play any defense in high school.  Now all of a sudden this kid has become our best off-the-ball defender.  He’s guarding three guys.  It’s incredible.  His mother and brother were at a practice and said ‘we’ve never seen him play this way.'”