Wildcats recap win over South Carolina State

The Kentucky Wildcats scored a bounceback win Thursday against South Carolina State, winning 106-63.

The story of the night was how many payers get involved, as all 11 scholarship players scored 6+ points. Myself and other media members talked with three players after game.

The postgame interviews included Lance Ware, who had a career-high 12 points. Also included was CJ Fredrick, who led the team in scoring with 17.

Lance Ware

Chris Livingston

CJ Fredrick

And here are the postgame transcripts via UK Athletics.

#1, CJ Fredrick, Guard

On how the game can change by opening up the offense…

“It changes everything. It opens up everything for our guards if they’re driving and miss layups. It really opens up the floor, opens up the game and puts pressure on the other team.”

On how it felt to play with different teammates as everyone played under 25 minutes on the court…

“It was awesome. Coach said going in that was going to be an emphasis, getting a lot of guys in and giving a lot of guys opportunities. Obviously, it helps a lot of people too because we have another quick turnaround, we have a four-and-a-half-hour flight to Spokane to get ready to play a really, really good team. Just to play with different lineups and for me to play with Oscar (Tshiebwe) was fun.”

On how important it is with a big game coming up to see shoots making it in the basket…

“I like to think of myself as a good shooter. My job is to make shots and I didn’t make shots Tuesday. I wish I could’ve made more shots, obviously, but you’ve got to deal with that. That’s how it is as a shooter, you’re not going to make them all. You’ve just got to trust yourself and trust your teammates.”

#55, Lance Ware, Forward

On the team’s mood after the Michigan State game and how they approached practice…

“I mean we didn’t really have a full practice - it was kind of a walk-through type of situation, but we kind of had a bad taste in our mouths. Some stuff that we did, we kind of gave away the game. You know – you can’t do much after the game is over besides watch film and get better. Yesterday was a big film day – watching film, going over some of the mistakes we made, and fixing those things.”

On Coach Cal suggesting to use the mentality that they beat Michigan State…

“Yeah, I man it’s over with. You know, some people say we lost, [or] we gave away the game – different things like that but [we] can’t go back and rewind time. Just learn from our mistakes that we made. I think that was the biggest thing between everybody on the team – 1 through 15, just learning from our mistakes and what we did.”

On changes being made with him coming off the bench…

“It’s different because usually if I’m coming off the bench, I can see the way the game is being played. Kind of how physical it is – when you start you’re just thrown right into the fire. You just gotta adjust and run … it’s fun either way.”

#44, Chris Livingston, F

On being able to bounce back at Rupp Arena after the loss to Michigan State…

“I think it was very important, just for the teams’ morale. We needed to get back, especially after a disappointing loss like that. And we owed it to the fans also, so I think it was really good.”

On how important the versatility of his game is…

“It’s very important. I think it is one of the reasons I came here. I can fit in a lot of different line ups with a lot of different people. My teammates and I can just gel and work together. Me being able to slide around in different positions allows us to really show our depth as a team, so I think that’s good.”

On how they plan to match Gonzaga’s high energy after their loss to Texas…

“When any top team takes a loss like that, they’re going to bounce back. They’re going to come with energy and they’re going to come with fight. They’re not just going to lay down. So we’ve just got to come out, understand who we are, play like against ourselves, play up to the competition and play up to the level that Gonzaga is going to play with, because they’re definitely going to come out, high energy, locked in and ready to play. So we’ve got to do that too.”