Kentucky is changing its approach after losing four games to ranked opponents this season that dropped the Wildcats out of the Top 25 after the Associated Press poll was released on Monday.
“We're definitely going to make a change as far as our energy and effort coming into these games,” Kentucky guard Denzel Aberdeen said Monday. “They haven't been where it's supposed to be, but we're definitely going to make a jump from now on forward.”
The renewed emphasis on energy and effort came from both the players and coaches after the Wildcats suffered an embarrassing 94-59 loss to No. 8 Gonzaga last Friday night in the Music City Madness event in Nashville.
“We know we're not playing to the capability that we're supposed to be playing at right now," Aberdeen said. "It's just each and every day, we're gonna try to come in practice and just give maximum effort every each and every time and then fast forward it into the game."
Kentucky freshman guard Jasper Johnson said the team’s losses haven’t been because of a lack of effort, but rather because of tough luck against ranked teams.
“It's the game of basketball,” he said. “You never know what can happen for the outcome of a game. But I always feel like our effort is there as a team. Practice is always competitive, (we’re) going hard against each other, putting in the game plans and stuff like that — just trying to execute what we do at a high level each and every day, each and every rep.”
Aside from the energy and effort emphasis, Aberdeen added there’s “nothing wrong with the team" on and off the court.
“We’ve just got a lot of things that we got to work on, as far as offensively and defense,” he said. “Other than that, I think we're still together. We're still coming together. We're still going to push forward. It's going to be game by game for now on, but we're going to make a change.”
Johnson added that overall improvement will help the team move forward in the future.
“I understand that we've lost some games, but there's things that we do that we can always improve on and that can help us win games,” he said. “Watching the film (from) some of our losses, there's a lot of good in those games.
“Maybe the fans don't see it, but that doesn't really affect our play. I know what we do in our locker room and in our practices. We’re working on (those) and we're going to focus on those (improvements).”
Kentucky will begin the new course of direction starting Tuesday against North Carolina Central, followed by Indiana on Saturday.
“I feel like we just try to compete no matter who's on the opposite end of the floor every night and we’re not worried about rankings or the name of the team and that we're playing against,” Johnson said. "I’m just trying to come out and compete and hopefully get a win. We fell short for the games with the ranked opponents so far. We're putting pieces together and we're learning.”
Gametracker: N.C. Central at Kentucky, 6 p.m. CT, Tuesday. TV/Radio: SECN, UK Radio Network on 94.7 The Mix and WiLLiE 102.
Gonzaga forward Graham Ike (15) dribbles the ball past Kentucky guard Jasper Johnson (2) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
