Lance Ware addresses pressure of playing at Kentucky

Playing at Kentucky comes with plenty of pressure given the program’s rich history. Expectations are high in Lexington — and the players, including Lance Ware, know that well.

Ware opened up about the pressure of playing at Kentucky, especially since BBN seems to be well-represented everywhere. Even internationally, Ware said he saw Kentucky fans, which he loved. It speaks to their passion for the program, which is why he knew what he was getting into when he committed.

“I think that being at a place like Kentucky, playing in front of the best fans in the country, no matter where we play, there will always be a Kentucky fan,” Ware said. “We were in London, there [were] Kentucky fans. We were in the Bahamas, Kentucky fans. Just everywhere we go, how much love they have for us.

“But it also means that they expect you to perform and go out and play the best brand of basketball that we can play. Sometimes, that’s a lot. But that’s what is expected, and that’s what you get when you come here. That’s known when you commit here and you sign up to be a basketball player here.”

It’s been a pressure-filled season for Kentucky, as well. The Wildcats started SEC play 1-3 — including a loss to South Carolina — before eventually ending the regular season with a 12-6 record in league play. Ahead of his team’s first-round matchup with Providence, John Calipari spoke about all the noise this season and the pressure around him as the NCAA Tournament gets underway.

“Every coach in this tournament has butterflies,” Calipari said. “Whether they lost last year or they won the whole tournament or they’re in the Final Four, they have butterflies. Their teams have butterflies. That’s part of what this is. I want this team to fully experience the NCAA tournament. Not deal with, well, what if and they’re saying this and that. No.”

Calipari also acknowledged how players can hear the noise around him, as well. He made it clear he wants them to try and tune it out and focus on the game.

“My job is to shield them from all that stuff and make sure this is an experience that you go through that you’re fortunate to be in this and really enjoy the experience,” Calipari said. “Don’t listen to all the outside voices and — it doesn’t matter. You play the games. You play the games. What anybody says and, again, my job is to shield them from all that. The problem is some of them have phones, and they’ll read some of the stuff, and you try to tell them, it makes no difference what anybody says. You still play the games.”