Hood glad to be in the neighborhood
(By Keith Taylor)
Jon
Hood doesn’t mind standing in the shadows. He’s just glad to be part of
one of Kentucky’s top recruiting classes in more than a decade.
Hood
didn’t arrive with the same fanfare as John Wall, Eric Bledsoe and
DeMarcus Cousins, but admitted that he’s excited to be part of an elite
class and has been impressed with each player from top to bottom.
“Everybody
has impressed me,” he said. “Everybody brings something new to the
table – something different and that’s something only they can do. They
have their specialties and that’s what they do. Nobody can change that.”
Hood
and teammate Darnell Dobson are considered by many as the two best
long-range shooters on the team. Hood doesn’t know what his role on the
team will be, but is willing to do whatever it takes to win.
“Whatever
coach (John Calipari) wants, that’s what I’ll do,” he said. “If I need
to be a rebounder, a defensive player, shooter, passer or whatever,
that’s something I want – I want to win, so whatever it takes to win.
We really want to get coach Cal over the top and be successful like he
has been in the past.”
Hood likes Calipari’s “Dribble, Drive
and Motion” offense. Hood also was a fan of former coach Billy
Gillispie’s scheme, but has gotten used to Calipari’s unique approach.
“I
like it,” he said. “It’s unorthodox and it’s fun. It’s a complicated,
but it works. I really like it, it’s a lot of movement – I like that, a
lot of movement and a lot of freedom. We get open shots and that’s
something I haven’t had in three years and that’s something I really
like.”
Even though the Wildcats are back on the national
scene with the arrival of Calipari and the team’s recruiting class is
comparable to Michigan’s Fab Five squad that shook the college
basketball world 18 years ago, Hood said the team can’t get complacent.
“That’s
what it seems like on paper,” he said. “We’ve still got to put in
blood, sweet, tears and whatever you want to call it and I just can’t
wait to start.”
About John Hood: Hood is a
graduate of Madisonville-North Hopkins, is the state’s Mr. Basketball
and is known as a sharp-shooting guard. As a senior, Hood averaged 29.4
points, 12.9 rebounds as a senior. In addition, the 6-foot-6 guard
pulled down an average of 3.3 assists and 3.1 blocked shots per outing
and had 18 double-doubles in 22 games.