Redshirt sophomore Dominika Paurova joined myself and Anthony White on WLAP Sunday Morning Sports Talk. (Camiran Moore Photo)
Dominika Paurova’s mother might be in the Czech Republic but she plays an important role daily in her daughter’s life at the University of Kentucky.
The 6-foot-1 redshirt sophomore guard transferred to UK from Oregon State a year ago but missed the 2024-25 season after suffering a knee injury. Now she’s expected to play a key role for coach Kenny Brooks this season but still has one fear — oversleeping.
“No, that’s true. That’s 100 percent truth,” said Paurova on WLAP Sunday Morning Sports Talk. “In summer you have early morning workouts, and I’m just scared I will not wake up and my alarm will not go off because it happened a few times in the past.
“I’ve been waking up several times during the night and I am just stressed checking the time. What time is it? And that wasn’t really good sleep.”
That’s where her mother has helped.
“My mum told me that she can wake me up every morning. So she calls me every morning,” Paurova said. “In the evening, I text her a time when I want to wake up in the morning. Then she calls me in the morning. Thanks to time change (the Czech Republic is six hours ahead of Lexington time wise), it’s not like she would be waking up at 6 a.m. because of me. It’s like noon there, so it worked really well.”
Sleep is important to Paurova. She spends time with teammates but also is very conscious about getting her rest.
“I need my 10 or so hours of sleep. I am really big on that, so I have energy for the next day,” she said.
While there might be nights she will only get six hours of sleep, 10 hours is the standard. She has only one class this summer, so it’s not hard to get her rest and go to bed early.
“During the season and stuff, it’s usually around eight to nine (hours of sleep),” Paurova said.
