Fight or Flight: Gabriel Chooses Right in Win over Buffalo
BOISE, Idaho – Wenyen Gabriel’s game did not start the way he wanted it to.
Filling his customary sixth-man role, Gabriel entered against Buffalo and didn’t make much of an immediate impact. He missed a jumper and another short layup, drawing the ire of his coach.
In a game that was always going to be a tooth-and-nail battle, John Calipari didn’t hesitate to let the sophomore forward know about it.
“He says it’s fight or flight,” Gabriel said. “He was trying to claim that I was scared, that I was trying to flight.”
On another day, Gabriel might have spent much of the rest of the game on the bench, but fate intervened. Kevin Knox and Sacha Killeya-Jones each picked up three first-half fouls, while PJ Washington and Nick Richards had two apiece.
“Coach Cal challenged me a few times early in the game,” Gabriel said. “I had a few missed layups and all that stuff fueled me to go back in. A couple guys got into foul trouble, gave me an opportunity to go back out there.”
Taking Coach Cal’s criticism to heart, Gabriel took advantage.
“I responded to that and just showed what type of player I was,” Gabriel said.
He sure did.
If not for monster games by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Hamidou Diallo, Gabriel might have been the story of No. 5 UK’s second-round win over 13th-seeded Buffalo on Saturday. Gabriel had his first double-double since Nov. 23, 2016 – the fifth game of his freshman year – by posting 16 points and 12 rebounds to go along with two blocks in a 95-75 win.
“He had to conquer himself,” Calipari said. “When you’re not playing well you have to kick out of it and go.”
Gabriel came up with big play after big play, extending possessions with offensive rebounds and snuffing out second chances for the Bulls with defensive rebounds in traffic. After missing his only try from beyond the arc in a quiet first-round game that saw UK’s 1,047-game 3-point streak end, Gabriel buried three treys, the last serving as the exclamation point to extend UK’s lead to 16 points with 2:34 to play.
“It’s great,” Gabriel said. “I feel like we got all the momentum in the world right now. Young team, had a ton of naysayers. This has really brought us together. When you have a team like this full of young, talented guys and you’re together like this, I feel like you’re on top of the world.”
That’s certainly the way Gabriel is feeling about himself. Why wouldn’t he after the way he turned in-game criticism from Coach Cal into lavish postgame praise.
“He told me in front of the team,” Gabriel said. “He said, ‘I’m proud of you. You conquered yourself today. That’s the battle you faced today and you fought through again. I’m proud of you. You’re starting to show what type of player you are.’ “
