Western Kentucky coach Travis French says UK coach Craig Skinner is the "real deal." (UK Athletics Photo)
Kentucky has lost seven matches this season and did not come into the NCAA Tournament as a team considered a real threat to win the national championship like it did two years ago.
However, after the Wildcats swept Western Kentucky Friday night to advance to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, Western coach Travis Hudson said to be careful about writing off the Wildcats.
“My first comment is this, Kentucky is playing at an extremely high level right now. Craig (Skinner), Anders (Nelson) and that whole staff are some of the best people in this profession and you know they’ve had their share of adversity as well. They’re playing well at the right time,” Hudson said.
“I think they’re a team that can go deep in this thing. They have every piece that it takes and so we wish them well. We truly wish them well as they move forward in this tournament.”
That’s strong praise from a veteran coach who often watches Kentucky volleyball because of his friendship with Skinner, UK’s coach for 18 years now.
“We were laughing when I got here. We were at the Lexington Country Club playing golf back in the summer, laughing about and wondering if we’ll see each other again in December (in the NCAA Tournament),” Hudson said.
“And when Craig and I shook hands before the match, he said, ‘Here we go again.’ We’ve had some pretty memorable ones in the past against them. But again, they’re an example too of a lot of right things in college athletics – they have endured injuries.”
But this is about more than overcoming injuries. It’s about the culture/team chemistry Kentucky has.
“They have kids that have had to sacrifice. You’ve got kids that are playing at a high level that can’t get on the court for them right now. They all are accepting of roles, and they all do their role at a high level – they’re the real deal,” the Western coach said.
“I’ve watched them at different times in the year when they were dealing with injuries and different things like that, and you didn’t know where they would land this year. But seeing them whole again and seeing all those pieces come together, they’re a terrific team.”
Hudson said Kentucky is lucky to have a coach like Skinner for many reasons.
“You’re in this business long enough you start to see coaches for who they really are. I know all you people in Lexington know this, but Craig Skinner is one of the real ones,” French said.
“He’s a phenomenal human being. He’s a good father and a good friend and he’s the real deal and I can do nothing but wish him well.”
One Response
I’ll be pulling for the cats when they played again next week