Kellan Grady ready to reset after "humbling" SEC Tournament

Kentucky is ready to turn the page after a disappointing SEC Tournament, no one more so than Kellan Grady. Last night, Grady met with the media to break down the Cats’ path to the Final Four, and, predictably, fielded a lot of questions about his performance in Tampa. Grady was 1-8 from the floor in the semifinal loss to Tennessee, 0-5 from three. It was only the fourth game this season in which he failed to make a three.

“I didn’t play well,” Grady said. “I’m not running from any accountability of that. Yesterday, beyond just going 1-8, I didn’t have an impact on the game and as I said, it was an opportunity for our team to reset. I’ll be looking to do the same and trust that I’ll be better on Thursday.”

Grady’s shooting woes extend beyond Saturday. Over the last six games, he is shooting 21.7% (5-23) from three, almost half his season average of 42.6%.

“You can call it what you want,” Grady said when asked if he’s in a slump. “Yesterday was not good. I was 2-3 [from three] the game before but I’m sure if people are saying I’m in a slump, the numbers from the last five or six games probably suggest that I’m below what I’ve been shooting at for the year. At the end of the day, we’ve got a new opportunity to reset and it’s up to me to take advantage of open shots and shoot them with confidence.”

“The bottom line is I shot like crap”

One excuse Grady’s not willing to use: fatigue. When asked if the changing lineups or grind of the season was wearing him down, Grady reminded reporters he’s now in his fifth season of college basketball as a starter, so this is nothing new.

“I’m sure we could speculate whether that’s a possibility but I’ve been playing 35 minutes a game for my whole college career so I’m not going to use that as an excuse. The bottom line is I shot like crap and didn’t play well yesterday and there’s nothing else I’m going to attribute that to other than my own failure.”

Kentucky will have a few days to regroup before heading to Indianapolis. Grady will spend it trying to find his shot and the confidence John Calipari has in him ahead of his final shot at college basketball glory.

“That’s the goal at least. Like I said, yesterday was — we didn’t play well as a team and I certainly didn’t play well. It’s frustrating. It’s disappointing. That was a big game, high stakes. And to crumple up in a game like that was disappointing. It’s a reality check and it’s humbling for me and it gives us an opportunity to reset and hopefully shoot with confidence and make some shots moving forward.”