This Kentucky basketball team boasts a strength we often overlook
You can call it chemistry or culture or any of the other used sports cliches, but we often overlook an essential ingredient that plays an important role in a team’s success.
Do the players like each other?
The players on this Kentucky basketball team like each other.
You could see it again Tuesday night in the 12th-ranked Wildcats’ 95-73 thumping of the No. 8 Miami Hurricanes in the ACC/SEC Challenge at Rupp Arena.
You could see it in their ball movement, their open shots, their high-fives after baskets and hugs after and-ones. You could see it in the cheerleading from those on the bench, from the smiles on the court, to a group having fun with each other.
“That’s how we are off the court,” said freshman Justin Edwards on Tuesday. “We are a bunch of friendly guys hanging out together. I feel like that plays a big part when we’re on the court, too.”
You could see it in their 26 assists, the fourth straight game in which the Cats have topped the 20-assist mark.
“I think that’s what’s impressive about Kentucky’s offense is how well they share the ball,” said Miami coach Jim Larranaga afterward.
You could see it in the players’ postgame interviews, when Reed Sheppard wore a hoodie with the trademark branded by teammate Tre Mitchell.
So how did this happen? After all, there are currently seven eligible freshmen on this Kentucky basketball team. They are newcomers, who competed against each other in AAU basketball, for those coveted five-stars or four-stars, for those higher spots in the recruiting rankings. This is a competitive crew.
“We knew that’s what we needed,” Sheppard said. “Every team needs to be close. We all kind of clicked as soon as we got to campus.”
All arrived in the same boat. New to college life. New to college basketball. New to a level of play they had not experienced before. They got to know each other in summer workouts. They bonded in those four GLOBL JAM 2023 games in Toronto. They picked right up where they left off once preseason practices began, through the exhibition games and the early-season schedule.
“You definitely have to have a chemistry on and off the court,” said Reed Sheppard. “That’s what’s so special about this team. We don’t just see each other at practice. We’re with each other all the time. We love hanging out with each other. There’s not a time in the day probably at least two or more of us aren’t together.”
“I feel like being young plays a part in it,” Edwards said. “We’re the young guys trying to get everyone to come out with us. Even the vets, we go bowling with ‘Tone (Reeves) sometimes. We try to get everybody to come out and just be a team.”
They leaned on their “big brothers” Antonio Reeves, Tre Mitchell and Adou Thiero. Reeves and Mitchell now have a bond of their own. They’re the team’s most experienced players.
“It’s very important. Every team needs it to win,” said Reeves about the chemistry. “Those guys are freshmen, they’ve been playing together since high school. Of course, they got a little chemistry. Us vets just fell in.”
There are exceptions to this rule. Not every team has to sing “Kumbaya” to succeed. A little friction sometimes helps. Those occasions are rare, however. Far better to have players pulling in the same direction, playing for each other. The late, great NFL coach Bill Walsh had a saying. A coach knows when he or she has done the job when players on the team don’t want to let their teammates down.
You sense that about this Kentucky basketball team. It’s early. We’re not even to December. John Calipari doesn’t even have a full roster yet. And SEC play will be no picnic. Not anymore. We all know that.
Still, of all the reasons for optimism about this current Kentucky basketball team, the one that doesn’t get enough attention is the one that is probably the most important.
These Cats get along.
