How a Players-Only Meeting Changed Kentucky's Mindset Ahead of Triumph Over Tennessee
Winning and losing is at the core of what makes sports so special for many people.
The competition that comes with taking on another human or another team in an event that's based on skill and athleticism can be viewed as primal through one lens, but poetic in another. It brings out the best — and definitely the worst — in everyone who competes. The entire of premise of a season being played in a youth, collegiate or professional sports league is to find a champion, the team or person who conquered the rest.
Again, it's easy to turn your nose up at the idea of a testosterone-filled showdown to see who's better at putting a ball in a basket, or whose team can kick a ball in a net more than the other. But what's lost in that line of thinking is the emotional rollercoaster that the athletes ride over the course of the season they play in. This past week for Kentucky basketball has been a perfect example of just that.
Just six days ago, the Wildcats sat silent in their own locker room after the 20-point underdog South Carolina Gamecocks waltzed into Rupp Arena and swiped a 71-68 victory, stunning everyone in blue and white. Kentucky was beat down and lifeless, with its season fading away right in front of its eyes.
Just four days later, that same group of players were drenching coach John Calipari with a water bath after limping into Thompson-Boling Arena and stunning the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers 63-56 in Knoxville. The glazed-over eyes that started into space on Tuesday night were now rejuvenated and refreshed, ready to face the next battle.
Thus is the thrill and the agony of an athlete. Rock bottom one day, on top of the mountain the next. So how did Kentucky do it?
Well, it wasn't as simple as just moving past that embarrassing South Carolina debacle.
"It wasn't easy, because that one, that loss stung," shooting guard CJ Fredrick told reporters on Monday. "I mean, we don't want to look back in any way, but you know, in my five years of playing, that one probably stung the most. Guys after that game sat around the locker room for quite a while, just kind of stared around."
Freshman Adou Thiero agreed, saying the team was "at our lowest" after the Gamecocks snapped a 28-game home winning-streak. With the loss, Kentucky was swiftly written off as a disappointment with hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament becoming clearly in the rear-view mirror.
To try and remedy the consistent woes that had clouded the team's season, the players held a couple of meetings in the lead-up to taking on Tennessee — without Calipari present. All of the frustration and pressure that had been building up over the first half of the season was healthily-released amongst one-another.
"We have a very connected group. We just came together and said things that needed to be said," Fredrick said. "It was open anyone who needed to say something and that was something you know, emotionally connecting for us to just come out and say what we needed to say. We really rallied around each other and gathered around that."
"It was a pretty emotional meeting," Thiero added. "We were just trying to figure everything out, like going out onto the court trying to figure out why we weren't doing some of the things we have to do, and just trying to get everyone out of their own heads. Just being all in as a team."
That mindset carried over in full force when the team flew down to Knoxville. Calipari told the team to "leave your worries on the plane," something that Fredrick said confirmed to him that the Wildcats were going to win on the road on Saturday.
“We had a different look in our eyes," he said. "That was a big one for us. You know, we had been through a lot. We had a really good two days of practice. Coach (Calipari) was big on just winning each day and that starts with practice and stacking days."
Finding victory wasn't always a formality, though, as the Wildcats were promptly in an 8-0 deficit, reminiscent of previous beatdowns away from home that had headlined the disappointing season as of late.
Instead of curling up and laying down for another thrashing, UK leaned on each other, remembered the commitment they made to each other during those meetings and fought back, ultimately earning a monumental win.
"I think those meetings helped because next game we were a whole as a team and went out to play together," Thiero said.
"I thought Saturday we just had that mentality of going on the road and fighting for 40 minutes and that's what we did," Fredrick confirmed. "When we got down 8-0, nobody panicked, we just kept fighting."
While the victory serves as a potential season-saver, it's just one game. The Wildcats will get right back on the court Tuesday night in Lexington, hosting the Georgia Bulldogs, who have won three of their first four games in SEC play. Another gritty performance could truly set the Cats off on their new positive trajectory, but another letdown loss could send Fredrick and his teammates right back to a torpid and departed locker room.
Just another day in the life of a collegiate athlete.
"That's college basketball," Fredrick said. "Anyone can beat anyone on a given day."
John Calipari found vindication in Kentucky's victory over the Volunteers. More HERE.
Game notes from the win can be found HERE.
Hear what Antonio Reeves and Jacob Toppin had to say about the win HERE.
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