LUBBOCK, Texas _ After he scored 25 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, blocked four shots and made 11 of 14 free throws to lead Kentucky to a 76-74 overtime win at Texas Tech, junior center Nick Richards said the following:
"These have been three of the best years of my life."
Moments later, Chris Beard, head coach of the losing Red Raiders, the man who took Texas Tech all the way to last year's national championship game, said this about the Wildcats:
"They have experience."
Wait a minute? That can't be right? Kentucky is the poster child for the one-and-done, the place where John Calipari recruits only NBA-ready players for their gap year before they succeed and proceed to the fame and fortune awaiting in the professional ranks. Kentucky is the team that doesn't need experience to win, right?
"They only have one freshman in their starting lineup and he didn't have the best of games," said Beard, referencing UK guard Tyrese Maxey. "It was those experienced players who have played for Coach Cal for a year who really stepped up when they needed to most."
That would be Richards, the 7-footer from Jamaica who, remember, played one of the 45 total minutes in UK's overtime loss to Auburn in the Elite Eight of last year's NCAA Tournament. One minute in a winner-take-all game one step away from the Final Four. And now: After Saturday, Richards is averaging 14.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.
"He's a great player who impacts the game in different ways," Texas Tech's Beard said." I think he's an NBA player. Got a great poise to him and composure. Looks to me like he's working on his perimeter game. He's an outstanding player. We knew it was going to be a challenge. That's how you win games like this. Players win games like this."
The same can be said for another player, Immanuel Quickley, who sank the three-pointer from mid-court at the end of the first half _ "That's a 20% shot for good players," Beard said _ and ended up with 21 on the night, the third time in the last six games the UK sophomore has scored 20 or more points.
The star turns Calipari's veterans played in securing the Big 12/SEC Challenge victory was in stark contrast to the program's national reputation as a revolving door for five-star dreamers, easy in, easy out. And the performance came just a day after celebrated freshman Kahlil Whitney, his playing time dwindling, announced he was leaving the program, though word around the program suggests that the choice was orchestrated more by the player's family than the player himself.
"I actually watch Kentucky more than you think," Beard said. "Sometimes you can be a really good player (Richards) and not get on the floor for a team like Kentucky. The thing I respect about those sophomores (Quickley and Ashton Hagans) is how they stayed the course. In today's college basketball, just like society, no one wants to hang in there. Everybody wants the quick fix. Those guys obviously stayed the course."
And by staying the course, that trio has made Kentucky a dangerous team as we eyeball February on into March. True, these Wildcats have their flaws. Up 10 on Texas Tech in the second half, they took their foot off the Red Raiders' throat. (Shades of the loss at South Carolina.) But not many teams in the nation boast a 7-footer like Richards, a point guard like Hagans and a savvy guard like Quickley who can defend at one end and hit the key three at the other.
"I've said it all week and I'll say it again, they're definitely a Final Four-type team, a national championship contender," Beard said of the Cats. "They have pros. They have a great coach. They have experience."
Beard also said this: "Everybody's got to run their own race. A lot of times at Kentucky the race is one-and-done, but not always."
