Connect with us

Men's Basketball

Kellan Grady hitting reset after disappointing performance

Kentucky will begin its quest for a ninth NCAA title in Indianapolis on Thursday, where they play 15th seeded Saint Peter’s at Gainbridge Arena in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Wildcats, fresh off a disappointing performance vs. Tennessee in the SEC Semifinals last Saturday, are ready to regroup and make a run.

If Kentucky is to make a run to the Final Four in New Orleans in three weeks, they need Kellan Grady to heat up from three-point range.

Grady was 1-of-8 shooting vs. Tennessee, including 0-of-5 from three-point range. His only basket was a layup in the first few minutes of the game. Meanwhile, six of the other seven shot attempts were way off the mark.

The UK guard is ready to reset and be better when the Wildcats resume action in a win-or-go-home situation Thursday.

“I didn’t play well,” said Grady. “I’m not running from any accountability of that. Yesterday, beyond just going 1-of-8, I didn’t have an impact on the game and as I said, it was an opportunity for our team to reset. I’ll be looking to do the same and trust I’ll be better on Thursday.”

Grady did connect on 2-of-3 attempts from long range in Kentucky’s win vs. Vanderbilt last Friday, but numbers suggest he is in a slump from downtown the last six games. He is 5-of-23 from three, shooting 21.7 percent, well below his season average of 42.6.

“You can call it what you want,” said Grady when asked about the slump. “Yesterday was not good. I was 2-of-3 the game before but I’m sure if people are saying I’m in a slump, the numbers from the last five or six games probably suggest that I’m below what I’ve been shooting at for the year. At the end of the day, we’ve got a new opportunity to reset and it’s up to me to take advantage of open shots and shoot them with confidence.”

The focus there is confidence, something Grady needs to rediscover when Kentucky opens the NCAA Tournament vs. Saint Peter’s.

While numbers do suggest that Grady is in a slump the last six games, he had one of his best performances of the season vs. Alabama on February 19, where he knocked down seven three-pointers in a win.

Grady leads the Wildcats in minutes played this season, averaging 32.8 per game. He played 79 of 80 possible minutes in Kentucky’s shorthanded wins vs. Alabama and LSU in February. But Grady says fatigue has nothing to do with his recent shooting woes.

“I’m sure we could speculate whether that’s a possibility but I’ve been playing 35 minutes a game my whole college career so I’m not going to use that as an excuse. The bottom line is I shot like crap and didn’t play well yesterday and there’s nothing else I’m going to attribute that to other than my own failure.”

While the loss to Tennessee was a disappointing end to the run in Tampa, it wasn’t a fatal blow to the season. The good news is Grady and Kentucky both get an opportunity to regroup. But they are out of mulligans, along with the other 67 teams working toward college basketball’s ultimate prize.

“Like I said, we didn’t play well as a team and I certainly didn’t play well,” Grady said. “It’s frustrating. It’s disappointing. That was a big game with high stakes. And to crumple up in a game like that was disappointing. It’s a reality check and it’s humbling for me and it gives us an opportunity to reset and hopefully shoot with confidence and make some shots moving forward.”

Grady will aim to find that confidence and in doing so, hopefully, will find his accuracy from long range.

“Who did I get the last shot for that I thought could close the gap,” Calipari asked following the loss to Tennessee. “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.”

Grady and the Wildcats open their NCAA Tournament run vs. Saint Peter’s at 7:10 p.m. ET. on CBS Thursday.

More in Men's Basketball