Kentucky could use a new pre-game hype routine

At this point, Kentucky’s slow starts are well-documented. Against Vanderbilt, their finish was pretty slow too, but avoiding double-digit first-half deficits would give them some cushion going into the final eight minutes. So, what gives? Why does it often look like Kentucky starts games with sandbags on their ankles while the other team has rocket boosters attached to theirs?

The short answer is, I have no idea, but novice observations suggest the team’s low energy starts well before tip-off. Aaron Gershon of The Cats Pause said in an X post on Saturday that the ‘Cats looked extremely off during their pregame warmups.

“Kentucky’s pregame shootaround (the portion of it held here before the game) was the worst I’ve seen all year. Low energy and shots were not falling. Sometimes that means nothing but today…”

I will fill in those ellipses for him: it meant something.

Similar pregame vibes in Seattle

I, too, felt a similar vibe in Seattle, watching the team all but trudge out of the tunnel onto the court against Gonzaga before promptly going down 16 points in the first half. For that routine, one student manager held a boombox up to his ear ’80s-style and while a few players bopped their heads, most everyone else just stood there like they were the awkward kid at the 7th-grade dance.

Kerr Kriisa, the most energetic personality on the team, gave the huddle speech but even that didn’t look like it exacted the type of energy you’d expect for such a primetime game. Maybe they were bummed they would be without a starter in Lamont Butler. Similarly, maybe the team was bummed they were without another starter in Andrew Carr against Vanderbilt. But for a bunch of college basketball veterans, that is no excuse for coming out so flat.

Cats coming out of the tunnel. pic.twitter.com/kHFw6Vb5kR

— Adam Stratton (@AdamStrattonKSR) December 8, 2024

What should the pre-game hype routine be?

Mark Pope outlined his pregame routine with Tom Leech during a radio show earlier this season. It consists of a nap and time spent in prayer. When he was a player, he admitted to listening to some smooth jazz from Kenny G before games. While I’m glad that works for him, my guess is that naps, prayers, and 1970s jazz don’t translate to 21-year-old players in 2025.

Against Duke, KSR’s Jack Pilgrim captured better but still not great vibes in the tunnel pregame. Maybe Kriisa’s broken foot preventing him from dancing before the game is just as bad as keeping him off the basketball floor during the game.

Every player is different. Every team is different. What hypes up one group might make another team roll their eyes. Kentucky appears to have its big-win locker room celebration down, so now it is time to turn some attention to the pre-game. To be honest, I don’t care if it is a Step Up-style dance-off or a Budda-style meditation session that gets these guys fired up to play basketball, but a change in routine couldn’t hurt to inject some fire into this team so that they are not forced to come back from an early deficit again and again.

You want this type of thing to be organic and not forced, but it might be time for someone to organically force something. Whatever that something is.