Bryce Hopkins (Photo by Jeff Houchin)
Freshmen Bryce Hopkins and Daimion Collins might not look like they are improving to UK fans who see them play in games but assistant coach Jai Lucas says both players have made “tremendous strides” in the last month.
“One thing that is different this year is that our team is a lot older,” Lucas said. “Prior Kentucky teams, those guys would be playing minutes because there would not be older guys ahead of them. You would be seeing them more and seeing them grow in games.”
“Now they are growing in practice and in workouts. You aren’t seeing them because we have four really good guards and then Jacob (Toppin) and Keion (Brooks) both have experience. It’s hard not to want Oscar (Tshiebwe) on the court every minute. So they just don’t have a lot of opportunities.”
Kentucky coach John Calipari has said he needs both players to develop into players he can trust to play and help UK win by postseason tournament time.
“What I love is that they both continue to have great attitudes,” Lucas said. “They really are getting a lot better. You are not seeing them on the court but it’s not something they are not doing keeping them off the court. They just have people in front of them playing well.
“Now when they do get an opportunity, they have to be ready to perform. We preach that to them and they understand and have a great attitude about that.”
