Kenny Payne says Kentucky is "one of the best teams in the country"

Kentucky has underwhelmed to open the season, losing its most important matchups against the toughest competition. Four losses in the team’s first 12 games in a season some predicted the Wildcats wouldn’t lose that many all year. The offense has been a disaster and chemistry has been shaky. Players expected to make significant jumps simply haven’t.

“This has been a little struggle up to this point so I’m looking forward to turning the page,” head coach John Calipari said of entering 2023 following the team’s win over Louisville.

It has been a struggle, that’s undeniable. The team’s resume right now doesn’t even reflect that of an NCAA Tournament team.

That doesn’t mean, though, hope is lost on the year. In fact, Kenny Payne — a coach who knows a thing or two about special Kentucky basketball teams — says this one remains “one of the best” in the nation.

The Louisville head coach sees what we all have. “It may not look pretty at times,” he said. The pieces, though, are there. And it was a message he made clear to his team leading up to the matchup: embrace the rivalry and the fight that comes with it. Embrace the pressure of playing in a game like this.

That’s the only way a culture shift can happen in a program that is in desperate need of one.

“We came into the game—for the last three or four days—talking about what a rivalry is,” Payne said following the loss. “In this profession, as coaches, you [usually] don’t want the pressure on your players. I do. I want these young men to know that this state and these two programs represent something and there is a pride in wearing that jersey. So, I didn’t avoid it. I wanted them to know that we were playing a team that is one of the best in the country.”

They haven’t up to this point, but the Wildcats took care of business in a game they needed to take care of business in. The Cardinals couldn’t match the physicality and toughness, key struggles for Kentucky thus far.

“I don’t care what the critics say. I’ve watched them play, I know the coach, I know who the coach is, and I know who the players are. They are one of the best teams in the country,” Payne said. “It may not look pretty at times, but when you are playing a team like that, the number one thing that jumps off is the physicality and toughness of the game- the fight that you have to win a game—and the rebounding. They scored 20 points off of offensive rebounds and scored 19 points off our turnovers. You can’t win when a team is as big, strong, and defensive-minded as they are.

“You have to match their intensity and it’s the reason why Kentucky is Kentucky. It’s the top of the hill because they impose their will on you and that’s what they did [Saturday].”

It’s going to be a little while before Louisville gets to the top of that hill. The rebuild is a serious one.

Kentucky, though, still has a shot to prove its worth at the top this season. Tough start, but the potential for a strong finish remains.