Five takeaways as Kentucky prepares to face Mount St. Mary’s
Takeaways from Thursday’s interviews previewing Kentucky’s men’s basketball game against Mount St. Mary’s on Friday night:
▪ Assistant Coach Joel Justus, who substituted for John Calipari, acknowledged that the loss to Evansville and down-to-the-wire victory over Utah Valley probably emboldens future opponents. Those teams may think “we can do it if we stick to our plan,” Justus said.
▪ When Justus evaded a direct answer when asked about when EJ Montgomery and/or Immanuel Quickley will return from injury, someone’s phone activated with Siri saying she did not understand the response. Justus jokingly advised reporters to check with Siri on injury updates.
▪ When asked about UK’s 1-for-12 shooting on three-pointers against Utah Valley, Justus reminded reporters not to forget about crediting opponents with contributing to how a game unfolds.
▪ “Greater effort” helped Kentucky rebound better against Utah Valley, Justus said.
▪ Baseball import Ben Jordan said he was enjoying his time on the UK basketball team. When asked about the greater excitement generated in his hometown of Olive Hill about basketball compared to his baseball accomplishments, he smiled and said he grew up in a “basketball community.”
