The Cats voted to skip spring break so they could spend it in the gym

The Kentucky Wildcats are poised to make a big run in March. And it started all the way back in August. We got to see and hear about Quade Green’s “breakfast club” at which point the Cats were back to work at midnight immediately after playing a game.

While Quade Green is no longer in the picture, these young Cats will look to continue using strong work ethic as a way to improve an already impressive squad.

John Calipari suggested after the Florida game Saturday that he told his players to go and recharge to get ready for three games in three days next weekend. After all, it is spring break at the University of Kentucky and classes don’t resume until Monday, March 18th.

“We were going to let them go home – today, tomorrow, Monday and come back on Tuesday,” Calipari said. “Like we do at Christmas and you all know when I do that, my teams go and smash people after that because they are fresh, they are alive.”

Well, his players weren’t having any of that. This team was dead set on getting right back to work. The veteran leadership from guys like Reid Travis and PJ Washington has certainly spread throughout the roster.

“Problem is Reid didn’t want to do it, PJ didn’t want to do it, Tyler didn’t want to do it,” Calipari said. “They didn’t want to go back. They said, ‘Give us off and if we want to do work with the individual coaches, we’ll do it.”

Calipari was excited about it. He said so be it and told them to spend some time with their families, who were in town for Senior Day, and get back to work when they were ready. He went as far as to call them “gym rats” because they love being in there and working hard.

And it doesn’t just help the players as individuals. It pushes each other as teammates to get better. It would surely be a bad look if PJ Washington was in the gym working, while Nick Richards or EJ Montgomery sat in his dorm doing nothing. So, it allows the players to hold each other accountable and just continue to get better.

But it’s more than just that. These guys know they don’t have many games left and they can’t take any for granted. PJ reiterated that they aren’t content just yet.

“We feel like we’re not done yet, so nobody wants to go home yet. We definitely want to get in the gym and work to get back where we need to be and just focus on our end goal.”

Tyler Herro added to that sentiment as he knows that nothing is guaranteed come March.

“We just wanted to stay here. We know that over the next month, we’re going to be fighting for our lives. Continuing to get better, keep working out. We’ll have a day off, but a lot of guys will be in the gym.”

It’s important for the players to get rest. And I’m sure they’ll get at least one day off. But it’s awesome to see them never be satisfied. They aren’t just settling for the position they’re in. This group is special, so we better relish the time we have left with them.