Aaron Bradshaw: “We all love each other”

Aaron Bradshaw has not had the kind of freshman season most anticipated he would have at Kentucky and certainly not the kind of season a McDonald’s All-American and one-time projected NBA draft lottery pick expected.

Not only that, but he had to deal with a foot injury suffered in the McDonald’s All-Star Game that even led to some speculation that he might not play this year at Kentucky. He did recover and got inserted into the starting lineup. However, he fell behind Ugonna Onyenso and Zvonimir Ivisic at the center spot.

Bradshaw had a “breakout” game against Arkansas Saturday when he went 4-for-4 from the field, including a 3-pointer, and 6-for-6 the foul line to score 15 points in only 12 minutes.

If he had been giddy after the game, no one could have really blamed him. But that is not Bradshaw or the way he’s handled the whole season.

“I’m proud of my boy (Big Z), proud of him because just like me, we’re both dealing with the same thing. Seeing him get that block and push the ball, man, I just love it,” Bradshaw said.

Bradshaw at one time was the highest rated player in UK’s No. 1 recruiting class. However, he’s averaging only 5.0 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. He has 17 blocks in 21 games. Those are not the numbers he expected this season but he’s remarkably mature about his role and now being behind Ivisic and Onyenso.

“If he’s playing better than me, I have to realize that he’s playing better. It’s not his fault, it’s my fault. Him (Ivisic) playing better than me or Ugo playing better than me, it’s not — that’s selfish, you feel me? If they got it going, they got it going,” Bradshaw said.

“It’s really unique because a lot of other schools or players, they hate on each other. Us, we don’t do that. We all love each other.”

Kentucky coach John Calipari didn’t hear what Bradshaw said about his teammates after the Arkansas game before he did his press conference. However, the freshman’s attitude has impressed his coach.

“Instead of blaming, or doing any of that, he’s taking responsibility and he’s playing better,” Calipari said. “I mean, he really played well.”