One thing that we have learned about this 2023-24 Kentucky basketball team is they are a really close group.

Part of being a team is being close with your teammates, and this is one of the closest Kentucky teams we have ever seen. Some might not think this matters on the court but it 100% does. You don’t learn a lot about a team’s relationship when things go well. You learn about the relationship of a team when things aren’t going well.

In the matchup with Mississippi State Ugonna Onyenso made a late mistake leading to a and one basket for the Bulldogs. When he went to the bench, he was visibly upset, and fellow seven-footer Aaron Bradshaw hugged him and consoled him when he thought he could have cost the team the game. When this team drops a game, they had each other’s backs. This stuff matters because teams who can fight through adversity can win Championships.

After the win over Arkansas, Bradshaw talked about the dynamic in the center room, “If he’s (Zvonimir Ivisic) playing better than me, I have to realize that he’s playing better than me. It’s not his fault. It’s my fault. He’s playing better than me, or Ugo’s playing better than me. That’s selfish. If they got it going, they got it going.”

Bradshaw was then asked if this mentality is normal in other college basketball programs, and he responded, “It’s really unique. Actually, we were just talking about that too. A lot of other schools or players. I don’t know. They hate off each other. Us, we don’t do that. We love each other.”

Coach Calipari has done an excellent job taking this team full of stars and getting them to be a family. This doesn’t work everywhere, but more times than not, Coach Calipari is able to make his teams love one another. This will help the Wildcats when their backs are against the wall in the NCAA Tournament.