Kentucky Basketball - LIVE BREATHE BLUE - Break or Break Records

In the face of pressure, some people break, and some people break records.

As all basketball fans know, once March Madness ratchets up, the pressure on coaches and players multiplies tenfold. Some participants embrace the challenges and rise above the clutter. Others fold like a cheap suit. The pressure to win—as well as the expectation to win—is often unrelenting and suffocating.

In regard to that pressure, Kentucky certainly fits the bill. The Wildcats survived a near-epic collapse versus Oklahoma in their first-round matchup in the SEC Tournament before Alabama plastered them in the quarterfinal round. They thus begin the NCAA Tournament with 22 wins and 11 losses (11 – 9 SEC). For most teams, that’s a decent record. But for Kentucky, the program with the most wins in college basketball history, it's just another reminder of the expectations they carry. The pressure to maintain their position atop the leaderboard is forever lurking.

Kentucky’s first-year head coach Mark Pope acknowledges the ever-present burden. His team headed into the SEC Tournament needing to erase the memories of their recent postseason flameouts (only two wins in tournament play since 2019). Asked about Kentucky’s win-or-bust mentality, Pope didn’t shy away. 

“The beautiful thing about coaching at the University of Kentucky is that every game for me is essentially a one-and-done. Because if I lose, I can get fired at any moment. We live in that. It’s what we do. It’s one of the most beautiful things about being here. I know it sounds like cliché, but it’s not. It’s the privilege of playing and coaching and being associated with this program that every single game feels like that. So, for us it’s like there’s some comfort in that. You don’t know how to turn the temperature up more.”

Pope’s predecessor at Kentucky, John Calipari, takes almost the direct opposite approach. Rather than embrace the pressure, he works to deflect it, especially where his players are concerned. He admitted as much when asked about his much-publicized, laissez-faire attitude in regard to winning the SEC Tournament. 

“How about maybe you're taking the pressure off the kids?” Calipari explained. “This league has been a meat grinder. Is it going to be any different here? No. We want to win every game we play. But I don't need the kids (saying), ‘Got to do this. You don't.’”

Then what about someone like Bruce Pearl? The Auburn head coach has been under the spotlight all year with his team having been ranked No. 1 for eight consecutive weeks during the latter part of the season. The Tigers won the SEC regular season outright, and many are picking them to win the school’s first national title. Even after Auburn succumbed to Tennessee in the tournament semifinals, the NCAA Selection Committee anointed Pearl’s team as the overall No. 1 seed in the upcoming Big Dance. 

THAT’S pressure—expectations to win it all. How does anyone deal with that, especially in a format where one bad night can send you packing?

Rather than embracing pressure or deflecting it, Pearl finds peace in his faith.

“Listen, because of my faith and my relationship with my Lord, I trust Him. If this is what the plan is, I’m okay with it. Sometimes that trust takes a little bit of anxiety away. It just does. That doesn’t mean it’s an excuse for failure. It’s not. To me, that’s really, really important. I want my kids to have that. I do.”

For big-time coaches like Mark Pope, John Calipari, and Bruce Pearl, winning or losing on the basketball court is often equivalent to life or death. Even for those of us with less at stake, we can still take their coping strategies to heart when dealing with the everyday pressures of life. Whether embracing, deflecting, or releasing pressure, how you respond is an individual choice. 

Will you break or break records?

As far as Kentucky’s tournament success is concerned, we’re about to find out. The madness begins now.

No. 3 Midwest Regional seed Kentucky tips off against No. 14 seed Troy at 7:10 pm EDT, Friday, in Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum. For fans unable to make the trip, the game will be televised by CBS.

Dr. John Huang is a retired orthodontist, military veteran, and award-winning author. Currently serving as a columnist for Nolan Group Media, he invites readers to follow him on social media @KYHuangs. Explore his debut novel— “Name, Image, and Murder”—and all his books at https://www.Amazon.com/stores/Dr.-John-Huang/author/B092RKJBRD