Freshman Ulis not wearing down

By: LARRY VAUGHT

LEXINGTON — Freshman guard Tyler Ulis says it has not been hard for him to avoid wearing down as the season has progressed.

“We have 10 players, so we don’t play that much. We still practice but practice is a little rougher than games because we go at it so much. Just having so many guys, being so deep helps us a lot because we have a rest here, play four minutes, rest again. It just works out for the best,” said the Kentucky point guard after Tuesday’s 69-58 win over.

Ulis is averaging 5.8 points, 3.5 assists, 1.7 rebounds and 21 minutes per game for unbeaten UK. He’s shooting 47.7 percent from 3-point range after going 2-for-4 against Georgia when he had eight points, three assists and two steals.

Ulis said he’s not as fresh as he was in August but playing limited minutes has kept him from feeling “a lot worse” at this point. However, he said he knew college basketball would be this tiring.

“Going to the next level you’re playing against strong men, guys who have been there four years. I just turned 19, some guys are 22, 23. It’s what I expected,” Ulis said.

Here’s more of what Ulis had to say after Tuesday’s win.

Question: Was the pass he made to Devin Booker on a fast break just instinct?
Ulis: “When I get a steal or a rebound I know Devin is gone. He runs the lane really quick because he wants to score the ball. When I get it I just look up court and he’s always there and I just throw it up to him. I just know he’s going to run the floor. Coach Cal forces us to push the ball. He wants me to not hold the ball long and make sure I get it up ahead.”

Question: Why is UK not putting teams away after getting big leads?
Ulis: “I don’t know what it is, but I just feel like we have to come out the second half like we come out the first half. Don’t let the scores affect how we play and just come out like it’s 0-0.”

Question: How did it feel to hit two key free throws down the stretch to ice the game against Georgia?
Ulis: “It just comes with being confident, working on your game. If you step to the line confident that you’re going to make the free throw they usually go in unless it goes in and out or something. Everybody gets in the gym and works on their game. We shoot free throws a lot as a team and it just comes natural.”

Question: Was playing three games in six days tough or perhaps overblown?
Ulis: “I wouldn’t say it was tough. We just came out in the second half not playing like we did in the first half. We backed up a little bit and we have to work on that.”

Question: What about playing back-to-back road games coming up at Florida and LSU?
Ulis: “I feel like it’s just going to be two more games. We have to come out and play. It doesn’t really matter where we’re at, we just come out and play our game.”

Question: Do they focus better on the road than at home?
Ulis: “I do enjoy playing on the road with all the boos and stuff like that. It makes you want to play more.”

Question: Is it good or bad to have different players having big games?
Ulis: “That helps us. That’s what comes with being so deep as a team. We have a lot of great players. When one guy gets going, just feed him and play through him. Andrew got it going a lot today and he had a great game and basically led us to victory.”

Question: Has it been a focus lately for big guys to finish at the rim?
Ulis: “That’s been the focus. With Karl(-Anthony Towns), he’s been working on Karl fighting a lot and Karl has been playing great lately. Rebounding the ball at the end of the game. He rebounded very well or two, three people and he’s getting it.”