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WATCH: Kentucky basketball shares special moment with Tubby Smith after taking down Tennessee

by: Austin Brezina02/19/23AustinBrezina59
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Photo by Jeff Moreland/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

After Kentucky took down Tennessee on the court on Saturday, former Wildcats coach Tubby Smith shared a quick moment with the team. Smith was in attendance as Kentucky honored their 1996, 1997 and 1998 teams during the game — with Smith at the helm of the 1998 national championship-winning squad.

Tubby Smith’s message to the team

The Wildcats jumped out on the Volunteers early and built a 20-point halftime lead that held to the final whistle where they won 66-54. The atmosphere in Rupp Arena and the effort of the team was not lost on their former coach and UK Athletic Hall of Fame member.

“Great job fellas! What a game! Energy and enthusiasm, that was great. What a great crowd, you guys played great. Coach, congratulations,” said Smith briefly after the game.

“The crowd, the energy, the fight. He said ‘your dudes fought the whole game.’ That’s who we have to be the rest of the way. That’s who we are,” added Calipari about the conversation he had with Smith.

Prior to the game, Smith shared advice and personal anecdotes about the 1998 title team’s issues before their championship run.

“It was what a great message he said to the team,” said Calipari. “‘We lost three home games. They wanted me out, they wanted everybody out. And we lost to Mississippi at home. For the first time in 30 years, they beat us. You can’t talk a team out.”

“They came together. How many of you were around in ’98 watching that? And what they did is they just came together. They were losing. I can remember our 2014 team. We lost a ton of games, we lost games late. We missed shots, and then we got it together. I can’t tell you that’s happening with this team. When I can tell you we’re way better than we were.”

The sentiment was echoed in Calipari’s message to the team after the game as well, with the coach highlighting that what they did on the court against Tennessee had to be their identity for the rest of the season — putting the up-and-down moments behind them.