Davion Mintz's career-high inspired by encounter with fan

There weren’t a lot of bright spots in tonight’s 77-70 win over Vanderbilt, but after the game, Davion Mintz gave us one of the best stories of the season. Mintz, who went scoreless at Kansas and was 2-9 in last week’s overtime win vs. Mississippi State, had a career-high-tying 21 points vs. Vanderbilt. He told reporters afterward that his performance was inspired by a special encounter he had with a young fan after the Kansas game.

“Man, honestly, it was right after the Kansas game. I was walking out of the locker room and there was this little girl, she was probably a young teenager and she’s crying her eyes out as she’s walking up to me. I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ She was like, ‘I’m just so excited to meet you. This is my first time and you’re my favorite player. I’ve been waiting a year.’ And I had zero points. I didn’t really even play a full half of a game, you know what I mean?”

Mintz said the meeting threw all of his worries into perspective. Once he got back to Lexington, he immediately got back into the gym.

“My heart was kind of heavy because I knew I had been struggling a while. Just to realize that God made me somebody that could make someone else feel special about themself, that just sent me over the top, and I knew. My parents saw it, my cousin was at the game, he saw it. She couldn’t even keep herself together and that meant so much to me that it meant so much to her. That right there is what motivates me, that people can feel so special about themselves and it made me work hard and get in the gym. That’s what turned out for today. So, thank her if she’s listening right now.”

“These people have personal connections to us”

One of the reasons Mintz returned to Kentucky for one more season was the chance to truly connect with fans after the pandemic robbed last year’s team of the full Kentucky Basketball experience. He came back to Lexington with his mental health in mind and his emotional support dog, Ghost, by his side. On Saturday, the bond between the fans and the program hit him when he least expected it.

“Yeah. Life is crazy. When you’re so stuck in yourself and you’re fighting in your everyday struggles and some things may not be perfect in your life, everyone needs situations like that. I never expected that someone would be crying about me. Honestly, sometimes I think like, man, it’s just basketball. I’m here, they love it, they love us but these people have personal connections to us and she felt some type of way that day and it was just crazy. She had [Immanuel] Quickley’s jersey on and she just kept crying as I was signing it and she was like, ‘I tried to get yours!’ I said, ‘It’s okay,’ and I comforted her.

“It was crazy that these people — I’m speaking for more than her — that people out here feel this way about us, so that’s why we go out there and fight. That’s why we go out there and give it our all. This means a lot to people. And I appreciate and I feel the love everywhere since the moment I came back and since the moment I stepped here.”

When asked why he thought he might be perceived as a fan favorite, Mintz gave the perfect answer.

“I think I just fight. I don’t know what she’s going through, what’s going on in her life but for me, I just try to resemble fight when I go out there. And my teammates just do whatever it takes for the team to win. Even though it may not be my night shooting the ball, it may be someone else’s night. I’m going to try to find something and if there’s nothing I can do on the court, then be on the bench trying to do something but I’ve got to give energy to this team. So, maybe she could resemble that in her life if she feels something.”

Shew. Davion gets it.