John Calipari still believes in Kellan Grady, even though the veteran guard is lacking confidence in his shot at the most important time of the season.
Grady scored 2 points in Kentucky’s 69-62 loss to Tennessee in the SEC Tournament Semifinals Saturday, including an 0-of-5 performance from three-point range.
Still, when Kentucky needed a shot at the end, the UK coach put the ball in Grady’s hands, hoping he would break through before the real tournament starts next week.
“Who did I get the last shot for that I thought could close the gap,” Calipari asked during his postgame press conference. “I’m surprised somebody didn’t ask me, why would you do that? Because I really believe in him. Even when he is playing that way, I believe in him.
“I told him, why do you think I did that? Because you believe in me. Sometimes more than you’re believing in yourself. You miss two, and you think I’m going to miss ten. Davion does the same thing. I was all over Davion, just shoot the ball. Jacob, just shoot it. They were 1 for 16 amongst them. We were 2 for 20. Folks, we could have won this game.”
Against Alabama at Rupp Arena on February 19, Grady drilled 7-of-10 three-pointers. He’s 5-of-23 from long range since then, shooting 21.7 percent, well below his 42.6 percent clip on the season.
Grady will need to heat back up for Kentucky to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.