Kentucky’s goal for its next game: Not getting pushed around again
Takeaways from interviews previewing Kentucky’s game against Mississippi State on Tuesday night:
▪ Freshman Keion Brooks welcomed the chance to play a physical team like Mississippi State after being “pushed around” by Auburn on Saturday. “We’ve just got to come with the mindset we’re not going to be pushed around (again),” he said.
▪ Associate coach Kenny Payne, who substituted for John Calipari, downplayed the matchup with Austin Wiley impacting Nick Richards’ relatively unproductive performance at Auburn. “It has nothing to do with the opponent,” Payne said. “It’s all within Nick.”
▪ The next challenge is Mississippi State forward Reggie Perry, who is averaging a double-double in SEC play. “He’s an NBA player,” Payne said.
▪ Payne said it was a tough situation for players to balance playing physically without fouling. Auburn shot 44 free throws Saturday. As he stated after the foul-filled victory at Arkansas, Payne said playing defense with hands held high helps inhibit referees from calling fouls.
▪ Payne said UK needs more production from Nate Sestina. The grad transfer needs to “relax,” Payne said. Sestina said he had been trying — too hard, perhaps — to play better rather than just playing.
