On Tuesday, Lance Ware explained how he sees his cameo role on the Kentucky team.
“I try to bring as much energy as possible,” he said. “Provide a spark.”
On Wednesday, Ware spoke through action as he helped UK defeat Vanderbilt 77-70 at Rupp Arena. With Oscar Tshiebwe getting in foul trouble as he dealt with Vandy’s physical play, Ware came off the bench and contributed a point, a rebound and two blocks in an active five-plus minutes.
“He’s complementary,” UK Coach John Calipari said of Ware. “He complements Oscar.”
Calipari cited time spent in the gym as key to Ware’s contributions. Ware had four points and four rebounds in UK’s victory at Kansas.
“He’s now become one of the guys in the gym, living in the gym,” Calipari said. “He’s building his own confidence. When he gets minutes, he’s confident he’s going to play well.”
Calipari called Ware “one of the smartest players we have.”
On Tuesday, Ware spoke of benefiting from Calipari’s kind words.
“It’s big when your coach says stuff like that,” he said. “Obviously, that gives me much more confidence. That makes me want to work harder.”
On Tuesday, assistant coach Ron “Chin” Coleman said he has encouraged Ware.
“He’s always in the gym,” Coleman said. “He’s always a selfless guy. He’s the biggest cheerleader (of teammates).
“I told him his time will come.”
No handshake
When asked about not shaking Vandy Coach Jerry Stackhouse’s hand after the game, Calipari cautioned against drawing any conclusions about ill will.
Calipari noted that Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji was found to have the coronavirus after Saturday’s game and did not play in the Jayhawks’ next game.
As a precaution, some college coaches are mimicking their NBA colleagues by acknowledging their opposite from a safe distance after games.
Calipari said South Carolina Coach Frank Martin and Mississippi State Coach Ben Howland gave each other a peace sign after their game.
“I’m not sure we need to shake hands,” Calipari said. “… We don’t need that right now.”
Icy situation
Kentucky considered leaving for Tuscaloosa on Thursday in order to prepare for Saturday’s game at Alabama, Calipari said. The idea was to leave before the expected ice storm hit Lexington.
As of late Wednesday, the hope was the ice storm would allow the team to wait and leave for Alabama on Friday.
No more Vandy
After the game, Calipari sounded like he had had enough of Vanderbilt. That was especially true with Liam Robbins, a 7-footer playing his first game of the season Wednesday.
“I’m glad we’re done playing them,” he said. “They’ve got the big kid now. If we see them again, it’ll be in the (SEC) tournament.
“And I hope we don’t see them in the tournament.”
Highlight game
Kentucky’s history of being the visiting opponent that must cope with the home team’s unusually jazzed atmosphere is well-documented. That seemed to be the case this season at Notre Dame, LSU, Texas A&M, Auburn and Kansas.
Yet, Vanderbilt was the exception. Because of COVID restrictions, students were not allowed to attend the Commodores’ home game against UK on Jan. 11. The announced attendance of 8,343 was the second-smallest crowd for a UK game this season. Notre Dame announced its attendance as 8,283, which was close to the capacity of 9,147.
Vanderbilt’s most festive home game might be Saturday against LSU. That’s when former Vandy star Shan Foster’s jersey will be retired.
Foster is Vandy’s all-time leading scorer (2,011 points). He was the SEC Player of the Year in 2007-08.
He scored 20 points in Vandy’s 93-52 victory over Kentucky on Jan. 12, 2008. That is UK’s most lopsided SEC loss.
Stackhouse: “I’m just looking forward to a great weekend and celebrating not only a great player, but a great man.”
Double figures
Kentucky came out of the game with five players averaging double-digit points: Oscar Tshiebwe (16.1 points per game), TyTy Washington (12.8), Kellan Grady (12.0), Keion Brooks (11.5) and Sahvir Wheeler (10.5).
Kentucky has had five players average double figures in points in only eight seasons: 2011-12, 2003-04, 1990-91, 1977-78, 1971-72, 1970-71, 1967-68 and 1965-66.
Of course, UK won NCAA tournaments in 2012 and 1978. And 1965-66, the team known as Rupp’s Runts, advanced to the national championship game.
Winning streak
Kentucky defeat Vanderbilt for the 12th straight time overall, and for the 14th straight time in Rupp Arena.
In the last 50 years, Vandy had won at Kentucky four times: 72-67 on Jan. 20, 2007; 57-51 on Jan. 10, 2006; 82-65 on Jan. 28, 1974; and 83-76 on Feb. 3, 1973.