After the Cats took care of business against Arkansas, Kenny Brooks joined the SEC Network panel to discuss how the Cats had their largest win in the SEC Tournament ever (30). The coach started with a joke as the hosts thanked him for joining. He said it "beats the alternative." Indeed, it did.
Kentucky women's basketball explodes after halftime adjustments
After Kentucky allowed Arkansas to close the gap to single digits in the second, Kentucky ended the game in the third, outscoring the Hogs 28-10. When asked about his message at halftime, Brooks said, "Well, I am gonna put that message on eBay and sell it, so I can't tell you guys."
He probably should, because that was quite a turnaround. But his honest assessment was probably closer to reality: "Honestly, I thought in the second quarter we got in foul trouble and got a little fatigued. They (Arkansas) run that dribble drive really well; if you make a mistake, they will capitalize on it. I thought we made a couple of mistakes, fatigue mistakes." He said it was less about the message and "It was more about their energy, their effort, and their attitude."
Standout performances
Tonie Morgan had 14 and 10, one of three Cats who had double-doubles on the day. The first time that has happened since 2015, Brooks took more pride in how she played than her overall numbers.
"I just loved her aggression... Sometimes she forgets about herself; she is so busy worrying about facilitating that sometimes she doesn't look for her shot... She missed a little baseline jumper, and I told her that was a great shot... We'll clean it up even if you miss it."
That is the kind of coaching a point guard wants to hear. Because if you can go make your own shots, teams can't just sit and play the pass. Today was the perfect amount of aggression from Tonie.
Crowd energy on kids day
Late in the game with the Cats up, Clara Strack turned around and hit a jumper to put the Cats on 67, and the arena lost its mind. It was Kids Day at the SEC Tournament, and they made the most of it. "I don't know what it is... The crowd here today, unbelievable... I didn't know half the songs they were singing, but I guess it shows my age. It was unbelievable."
Seeing the kids lose their mind for the 6-7 thing is something I don't understand, but I don't have to. These kids were loud and the atmosphere was fun for a morning tip. That's all you can ask for.
Strategy and rotation
With a 30-point win, you also get a nice little moment to rest your players' legs, and Brooks also noted that it's important not to put too much on tape since everything will come fast and furious.
"We had an out-of-bounds play with four seconds on the clock, and one of my assistants yelled out to run the play that we would run when we need a quick shot, and I almost did it. And I said, 'Nope, we might need it tomorrow.' And I said, 'Just get it in.'"
Knowing you can't use all you would normally use in a tournament setting is the value of having a coach who has been to the Final Four. But it was also the reduction in minutes that mattered.
Clara Strack checked out with a little over nine minutes to go in the fourth, and Tonie Morgan with 6:34. "It was valuable minutes for Clara; I think she only played one or two possessions in the fourth. We got Tonie out really quick in the fourth, but you have to go, we put ourselves in this predicament to go 5-in-5... We have game-plan packages for tomorrow, for Friday, for Saturday, that I would probably never use in the regular season... Resting the kids and fatigue is going to be just as much as understanding schemes."
Kentucky will be back on the court early tomorrow as they take on the 8-seed Georgia Bulldogs.