Kentucky fan’s tears, enthusiasm inspire competitive fight in Davion Mintz
It could be argued that a key moment that spurred Kentucky to a 77-70 victory over Vanderbilt on Wednesday night happened four nights earlier in Lawrence, Kan.
As Davion Mintz remembered it, he was walking out of UK’s locker room after the thrilling beat down of Kansas. A young girl, maybe in her early teens, approached him.
“She was crying her eyes out as she walked up to me,” Mintz said.
The UK player asked the girl why she was crying.
“I’m just so excited to meet you,” he recalled her saying. “It’s my first time with my favorite player I’ve had for nearly a year.”
Mintz noted that this meeting happened when he went scoreless in nearly 17 minutes of play against the Jayhawks.
This capped a four-game stretch in which he had made only six of 26 shots (one of 13 from three-point range).
“My heart was kind of heavy because I knew I had been struggling for a while,” Mintz said.
This made the UK player appreciate anew that he and his teammates could bring joy to the world even if they did not contribute much in a game.
“That meant so much to me that it meant so much to her,” Mintz said. “That motivated me.”
Mintz decided to spend more time in the gym.
The result was on display against Vanderbilt. He equaled a career-high 21 points in a victory that demanded total commitment.
Both coaches received technical fouls. There were three flagrant fouls. The referees went to the scorer’s table four times to review plays.
UK Coach John Calipari suggested that some of his players let their guard down in the aftermath of hosannas sparked by the victory at Kansas.
When asked if the victory over Vanderbilt showed a UK team that had an inflated sense of self, Calipari said, “I believe so. … Thinking about the wrong stuff. But it was a really physical game.”
Calipari expressed surprise that Kentucky got outrebounded 37-30. UK went into the game with the best rebound margin in Southeastern Conference play: plus-6.25 on average. Vanderbilt came to Rupp Arena ranked last at minus-6.5.
Yet …
One rebound in particular by Mintz helped get Kentucky to a victory that improved the team’s records to 18-4 overall and 7-2 in the SEC.
A 16-point first-half lead had been reduced to 56-53.
It was 65-55 after Oscar Tshiebwe made the first of two free throws with six minutes left. Tshiebwe, who posted his 16th double-double (11 points and 17 rebounds), missed the second.
But, of all people, Mintz got the rebound. UK cashed in the second-chance possession when TyTy Washington hit a floater.
“That was a big play,” Calipari said of Mintz’s rebound. “I’m trying to get other guys to do that. … (They say) it’s just too rough.”
But Mintz, who fills in as point guard?
“He is just relentless,” Calipari said.
When asked how he got the rebound, Mintz said, “Man, if I took my sweater off, you would see all the scratches on my arm. I was fighting for it.
“I’m only 6-3. There were dudes in there bumping and pushing. I just slipped around them.”
Calipari suggested that two flagrant fouls on Tshiebwe were a result of the big man’s frustration. As with opponents setting back screens on Sahvir Wheeler, the UK coach all but predicted future opponents will try to frustrate Tshiebwe.
“They egged him on,” Calipari said of the Commodores. “Now, what do you think other coaches watching this game are going to say?”
Calipari then answered his own rhetorical question by saying, “do stuff to aggravate him.”
The euphoria created by the victory at Kansas gave way to much less satisfaction.
“We won the game,” Calipari said. “We move on. Next game.”
For Mintz, the meeting with the girl showed that the victory over Kansas can create meaningful momentum.
“I never expected anyone would be crying about me … ,” he said before adding about UK fans in general, “those people have personal connections to us.”
The girl at Kansas was wearing an Immanuel Quickley jersey, Mintz said. She said through tears that she had tried to get a Mintz jersey.
“That’s why we go out there and fight,” Mintz said. “This means a lot to people.
“I feel love.”
Next game
No. 5 Kentucky at Alabama
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
TV: ESPN
This story was originally published February 2, 2022 at 11:19 PM.
