Jacob Toppin, left, and Chris Livingston are two UK players playing with more confidence. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Jack Givens might have been speaking for a lot of Big Blue Nation on the UK Radio Network after Kentucky beat Tennessee Saturday.
It was UK’s eighth win in the last 11 games and second win in a month over top 10 Tennessee. It was also the second Quad 1 win in four days and helped take Kentucky off the NCAA Tournament bubble list for now.
“I know it has been a tough season for coach Calipari but I have to give him credit for the confidence he instilled in this team. Patting them on the back and telling them not to listen to all the negative stuff has made a difference,” Givens said.
“He just would not let his team believe some of that nonsense. Give his team credit for coming on. Who will know what happens the rest of the season but they have shown they can really play some good basketball.”
Yes Kentucky has and, like Givens and many UK fans, I didn’t see that coming after a lackluster loss at Georgia following a second-half collapse against Arkansas. Then UK built a 13-point lead at Mississippi State to get a win and dominated Tennessee in the first half Saturday.
Now comes the big if — can Kentucky keep that same passion/intensity Wednesday when it plays at Florida. Consistency has been a huge issue for Kentucky this season. With Florida star center Colin Castleton (25 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three blocks in first game against UK) out with a hand injury and the Cats coming off two huge wins, can they maintain that intensity?
“You just need to refuse to lose. I like to listen to Michael Jordan, I never lose any game in my life, I only run out of time. If we have more time I could have won that game,” UK center Oscar Tshiebwe said. “So the same way we’ve just got to keep fighting.”
Tshiebwe said even with injuries, Kentucky has a good team and is showing that.
“We’re missing CJ (Fredrick) who’s an elite shooter and we’re missing Sahvir (Wheeler) but that’s whatever, we just have to make good passes, create shots for people. If we just play together like this with this mentality, just fight in the end,” Tshiebwe said.
5 Responses
There is a lot of people that won’t give Cal credit for anything. Cal the "fraud", the "used car salesman", the "snake oil salesman". I think bringing in Ulis was also a great move by Cal. They Are going to need Wheeler and Fredrick back to make a run in the tournaments. I’m glad Jack gave Cal credit for this team coming around. The negative comments all over net has affected these kids in my opinion. The Cats pretty much dominated Tennessee and there were people posting only about the negative parts of the game. That’s pathetic! The Cats are about to peak. I am going to enjoy ride. Go Cats!!
I’m going to enjoy the ride as well Jim.
I have been enjoying the Roller Coaster ride all year(you can’t win them all). And I am not getting off til it’s over! Negative comments after a Big Win are no surprise. They never have been. Everyone is entitled to their opinion(passion as Larry likes to call it).
I only listen to the games since the SC loss(too much BS said by commentators for me). I love listening to them talk. Jack was noticably frustrated by the 2nd half free throw shooting. He was like "come on, you got the guys you want at the line so make them. Don’t go to the line trying not to lose. Go with confidence and close this thing out" or something like that. Loved it! But I just like the radio call. Reminds me of sitting with my grandma drinking Orange Crush, eating Ritz Crackers with Cheese Wiz and listening to Cawood! !
So Jim and 79 I will see you on the Roller Coaster with hands in the air!!
Go Cats! Keep Up The Good Work! Go Blue or Stay Home!
Goose is doing a great job working with Tom Leach on the radio broadcast. They have to
be two if the best in the business.
Kentucky is not for everyone. Isn’t that what Cal says all the time. Everyone knows what they are getting into when they go to Kentucky. More so now than ever with social media. When things are going great it’s great here and when things head south they go south . It’s the nature of the beast.