In Kentucky’s three losses this season, they have been out-physicalled. In all three, they were outrebounded, exposed on the defensive end, and were never allowed to find a rhythm on the offensive end.

That has led to not only a gameplan format for opponents, but also a narrative that this Wildcat team is “soft”.

According to Ansley Almonor, that is something that the team has really taken to heart, and they are looking to silence that narrative.

“We’ve been hearing the chatter about us being a soft team,” Almonor said on Monday ahead of Kentucky’s matchup with Texas A&M. “That’s just not — We all come from different stories, backgrounds, but none of us are soft. That’s something that we took to heart. We’re going to out there to prove that we’re not a soft team and we’re going to prove that as the season goes along.”

A win over a tough, gritty Mississippi State team was the first step in doing that.

“A lot of people kind of try to say that we were soft from the past few games,” Williams said after Kentucky’s win in Starkville. “Coming into this game we tried to change the narrative.”

Over the next two weeks, the Wildcats have opportunities to continue to change that narrative, playing three Top-15 teams, who may be the most physical teams in the conference: Texas A&M, Alabama, and Tennessee.

Travis Perry is the only member of the current Kentucky team who was committed before Mark Pope took over as the head coach last Spring.

After the dust settled on the program’s overhaul, Mr. Kentucky Basketball found himself third on the depth chart behind seniors Lamont Butler and Kerr Kriisa, until the latter unfortunately suffered a leg injury in the second half of Kentucky’s win over Gonzaga.

Trial By Fire

With Kriisa out for an extended period of time, Perry stepped in as Butler’s backup without missing a beat. And, while it took a few games, he’s started to find his footing in the role and then some.

In each of the last four games, “TP,” as Coach Pope calls him, has managed to score, as well as to make an impact in other ways. Just this past game, a win at Mississippi State, Perry nabbed an offensive rebound, dribbled back out to the wing, and drilled a line-drive triple to sour the Bulldogs’ momentum. He’s become a pivotal piece on Kentucky’s bench as they work their way through a rigorous conference schedule.

In a press conference previewing the team’s upcoming home bout with Texas A&M, who are ranked 11th in the national AP Poll, Perry was asked about the change from high school to college basketball, specifically on the defensive end.

“It’s an adjustment. You’re playing against a lot better players, even if you’re guarding the best player on the opposing high school team, you’re still probably not guarding somebody as good as you’re guarding now,” he said.

“I’ve had so many reps from the beginning of summer until now, I think I’m starting to get confidence in it.”

Confidence From Coach

Perry also mentioned Pope’s ability as a coach to imbue his players with confidence, as well as the depth of this year’s Kentucky team, “I think something that’s great about our team is we have so many weapons, so many guys that could have a great night any night… I think that in itself builds confidence.”

“Coach Pope instills a lot of confidence in us. The only time he gets mad at us on offense is for not shooting… that’s something you always want from a coach.”

Pope reported Perry’s high-level shooting efficiency in practice before the season started, and has proven at multiple intervals that he’s comfortable with anyone on the roster taking a shot when they have a look.

Perry and the Wildcats will look to build on their momentum Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. in Rupp Arena, in a fringe Top 10 matchup with the visiting Aggies.

While Kentucky has found solid success working their way through the early machinations of SEC play (2-1) Kerr Kriisa’s unmatched energy has been sorely missed since he suffered a broken foot against Gonzaga.

The severity of his injury was initially unclear, as Kriisa actually finished the play and made a valiant defensive effort after he’d suffered it, though it wasn’t long following that game that he’d show up on the sideline in a medical boot. The Big Blue Nation has been worried sick ever since.

During the first half of the season, Kriisa brought a seasoned fire in his minutes off the bench. His energetic persona and reliable scoring ability did a lot for the Wildcats down the stretch, and as a result, they’ve been forced to adapt regularly in his absence.

The Road to Recovery

Though thankfully, according to Mark Pope on his radio show, he’s progressing towards a return, ditching the boot in increments and ramping up for physical rehabilitation.

“Kerr is out of the boot for at least little segments of the day, which he’s excited about,” said Pope. “It’s not full-time, but he’ll kind of begin some rehab here in the next couple of weeks, and then it’s just a matter of seeing how fast and cleanly he can progress.”

“So we still don’t really have a timeframe, but we’re making progress on that.”

Any progress is good progress when it comes to an injury like Kriisa’s, which has relegated him strictly to a leadership role in the meantime. Pope called the surgery “tricky,” and while the injury isn’t considered to be season-ending, the window for Kriisa to hit the hardwood remains muddy, at best.

But if his presence on the floor and with the team has taught us anything, it’s that nothing will keep Kriisa off the court if he can help it, and the big blue faithful will certainly welcome him back with a roar as soon as he’s able. Get well soon, #77.