Oscar Tshiebwe gives strong take on Kentucky's mental toughness

Oscar Tshiebwe knows Kentucky has a specific mental toughness about them, despite a recent loss to UCLA. The Wildcats star opened up about what the team has to do moving forward ahead of a matchup with Florida A&M Wednesday.

“Mental toughness, you just have to stay focused no matter what,” Tshiebwe said. “You just have to fight. I told everybody, it’s about fighting. If you’re not winning the fighting, there will be a day where we don’t make buckets but you have to fight. Offense doesn’t win the game, defense wins the game. 

“I was off on free throws the other day, I don’t know why, but I was still fighting. Go for rebounds, try to do something great. Coach (John Calipari) knows what he’s doing. He’s got a plan. He’s been doing this for many years so we’ll figure it out.”

The No. 19 Wildcats are now 7-4 on the season, likely a few more losses than a talented team would like. However, Tshiebwe did not push the panic button at all.

“The good thing is it’s still not March yet,” Tshiebwe said. “We are still in December. For me, I have so much confidence … We didn’t even start ACC play yet. Like coach always said, it’s always winning or learning. We’re learning when losing. My teammates and everybody see that. We just have to be tough in every position to win the game.”

Calipari said he was not afraid of changing things up, in terms of the lineup, to get different looks.

“We got some guys that are probably playing a little bit too many minutes,” head coach John Calipari said, via Kentucky Sports Radio. “They’re still gonna play. Let me just say this as a coach for young people, you don’t just go and blow it all up and think that it’s not going to affect kids mentally. You can’t. But you can challenge guys by saying, ‘You’re coming off the bench.’ The bench is the best teacher there really is.”

No. 19 Kentucky (7-4) hosts Florida A&M (2-8) Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. ET.