Calipari develops master plan of success for Meleek Thomas

Calipari wants to help his team become comfortable in their weakness, developing them into well rounded players.

Thomas spent most of his career as a ball dominant combo guard, especially during his time at Overtime Elite in Atlanta. He averaged an astonishing 32 points, nine rebounds and four assists per game during the regular season while shooting 38.1% from 3-point range.

His performance as a senior helped soldify his 5-star McDonald's All-American status and top 15 prospect in the country, according to 247sports.

Calipari has excelled as a coach for over 40 years at college and professional levels and knows what it takes to mold a team in togetherness.

There's no showboating, one-on-one iso on each possession or hero ball. It's a team effort which is something Calipari is trying to teach Thomas early in his freshman year.

"He likes to bounce, bounce, going this way, step through, do this, and then he'll throw one like that," Calipari said. "It better go in. Now go ahead. You can do it. But if they don't go in, you're coming out. You're not playing that way."

Thomas has proven to be a strong scorer off pick-and-rolls and ball screens while being the main facilitator. Working alongside point guards such as D.J. Wagner, Billy Richmond and fellow true freshman Darius Acuff, it will take pressure off Thomas to be more effective as a sharpshooter.

"Here's what I try to tell the kids. It's not what you want to show. It's what they want to see, and you're way off. They don't want to see that. This is what they want to see. 'Yeah, but you know, my game is–.' They don't want to see that. They want to see this. It's easier, but I'll tell you what makes it harder."

"You're so wide open when you miss it, you're kind of embarrassed. So, 'I'll shoot the hardest shot I can shoot, and I'll make it one out of five. But that one I make it, man, they go crazy.' I've done this so long. I've seen it a hundred times."

There's no denying just how good the Northeastern scorer at the college level. It's all about blending in to a scheme and playing as a complete unit for the ultimate prize.

Calipari is confident that Thomas will figure out and completely buy in to what his coach is trying to teach him.

"But he is a bucket-getter, and I'll tell you what else he is, he's a gym rat, and he lives in the gym," Calipari said. "So, he's going to be fine. I just got to kind of point him in the right direction and let him go figure it out."

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