Kellan Grady hit big shots when Kentucky needed it most

On3 imageby:Zack Geoghegan01/25/22

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Kellan Grady was brought to Lexington to get buckets. On Tuesday night, the Granddad of Kentucky Basketball came up clutch in a situation where the Wildcats were desperately searching for its offense.

Grady, who famously transferred to UK following a four-year career at Davidson that saw him score over 2,000 points, saved the day for Kentucky against Mississippi State. Despite leading by as many as 16 points in the second half, UK let the Bulldogs fight its way back into the contest down the stretch. MSU managed to send the game into overtime and seemingly possessed all the momentum.

But then Kellan Grady came alive.

Heading into the extra five-minute period, Grady had just 10 points and was 2-8 from the 3-point line. Over that ensuing five minutes, the 6-foot-5 sniper rattled off the first eight points for Kentucky to quickly put Mississippi State out of reach. Grady got the overtime rolling with a tough score at the basket before drilling back-to-back triples that put UK in an easy position to close out the win.

When the offense was struggling, UK turned to Grady. In the end, Kentucky outscored MSU 10-2 in the overtime period, sealing an 82-74 victory.

It’s a rewarding feeling,” Grady said postgame of his teammates trusting him to hit big shots. “We either went at me for a shot or a scoring opportunity, or we went at me to then post Oscar (Tshiebwe). So just knowing that (head coach John Calipari) and the staff and our team trust me to be in these situations, whether it’s as a passer or shot maker, gives you a little added confidence before you let it go. Just having that awareness that there’s that type of trust, and I think today I showed that trust is worthy.”

It was a tough go of it regulation for Grady. Of his six missed 3-pointers, over half of them were considered wide-open. He even passed up on a look that he’s normally been taking in recent games, which nearly caused head coach John Calipari to bench him. On top of all that, Grady missed what would have been the game-winning score right ahead of the final second half buzzer.

“I had told him–he missed like four wide-open shots and I said you better keep shooting it because he passed one up,Calipari said postgame. “And I said you shoot the ball and the play we ran (in overtime) was for him to shoot the 3. I got a lot of confidence in him. He’s shown he can miss some shots and come back and make shots.”

For most, the confidence levels would have tanked after so many missed looks. But for Grady? He just needed to see one fall. Had he not hit that first contested layup to start overtime, he probably doesn’t hit the ensuing pair of 3s that put the game out of reach.

“Honestly, I think getting a drive and getting a point in the paint–for a shooter, a lot of times it’s pivotal just seeing the ball go in, in any fashion really,” Grady added. “When you’re hot from 3, that gives you more confidence to keep shooting 3s but sometimes it can be crucial to get to the line to see the ball go in once or twice. In that case, I decided to put my head down and drive and got a reverse layup and I think I made my next two after that.”

The confidence that he gains from both his own indvidual play and from the encouragment of his teammates makes it tough for Grady to stay in a slump for long. But when it comes down to it, he is the one who has to take and make the shots. When you’ve been scoring at the level Kellan Grady has since he entered college, you know that it can’t rain forever.

If you trust yourself, eventually they’ll go in,” Grady said.

Shoot ’em all, Granddad.

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2024-03-28