Attitude Adjustment Paying Off for Wildcats
When a team, especially a team that is struggling, has an open date, a coach can choose to use that time to make adjustments. Adding new sets in the playbook or modifying a defensive scheme might be in the mix, depending on what exactly is ailing the team.
During the open date for the Kentucky women’s basketball team two weeks ago, head coach Matthew Mitchell made an important adjustment with his team. And it did not happen on the basketball court.
“Just strengthened our attitudes,” Mitchell said. “I think (the loss at) Vanderbilt was just such a disappointing effort and everyone was feeling bad for themselves instead of thinking about ways to get the team going. So that bye week was really the time we had to wake some people up and get the attitudes out and quit feeling sorry for ourselves and get out on the court and start doing the things we need to do to be successful.”
The attitude adjustment has worked like a charm. Kentucky lost its first game after the open date, but the Wildcats played well while falling to No. 10 South Carolina. Since that loss on January 21, Kentucky has won three straight games for the first time since November. And the Wildcats have done so in convincing fashion, beating Alabama, Arkansas and Auburn by an average of 17.7 points per game.
“I always felt like we had the capability of playing good basketball we just weren’t doing that,” Mitchell said. “I think our attitudes are better. The players started doing some things that they had to do to help the team win and maybe had to sacrifice things they wanted to do, things like that. But I think it has been more attitudinal than anything else.”
The winning streak has improved Kentucky’s record to 12-11 overall and 4-5 in the SEC. The Wildcats are tied for eighth in the SEC heading into Sunday’s game against LSU at Rupp Arena (Noon ET, SEC Network).
Mitchell knows that LSU poses a serious challenge for the Cats.
“They are playing as well as anybody in the league right now,” Mitchell said of the Tigers. “They are athletic and have some explosive scorers and are tough defensively, it is tough to score against them. Huge challenge ahead and we are going to work hard and try to prepare for victory, but we would love to get it.”
Kentucky has gotten balanced scoring since the attitude adjustment. Juniors Maci Morris and Taylor Murray continue to carry the offensive load, but freshmen Dorie Harrison and KeKe McKinney have also been big contributors. Morris is averaging 16 points per game in the last four contests, while Murray is scoring 15.8 points per game since the attitude adjustment. Harrison has contributed 12 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in her last four outings, while McKinney has scored 9.8 points and grabbed 7.8 rebounds per game in her last four.
The Wildcats’ recent strong play can be directly attributed to the January attitude adjustment, proving that Mitchell’s off-week change made a huge difference.
