Denzel Aberdeen, a senior guard for Kentucky, brings a wealth of experience from his time as a key reserve on Florida’s national championship team. As Kentucky gears up for their NCAA Tournament clash against Santa Clara in St. Louis, Aberdeen has some sage advice for his teammates: embrace the moment.
“Have fun and embrace the moment. It’s something everyone wants to be a part of.
Something you dream of as a kid,” Aberdeen shared. “Take it in, have fun, and play hard whenever your position or name is called.
Really embrace being in the moment.”
Fellow senior Otega Oweh, the team’s leading scorer, echoes this sentiment but emphasizes the need for urgency. “It is win or go home.
So the details and the urgency have to be on another level,” Oweh explained. “In these situations, you’re getting every team’s best.
No one wants to go home. We have to come out with the utmost energy and be really sharp.”
For these seniors, playing in their last NCAA Tournament, the stakes are clear. “Knowing every game could be the last one, we want to go out there with no regrets, leave it all on the floor,” Oweh stated. “We just want to go as far as we can, prolong this run, and have fun in the moment.”
Aberdeen adds, “Knowing it is our last run, we’re trying to make the best of it. Playing for our teammates, playing for our brothers, we all know our dream and goal. We have to strive for it.”
Could this heightened urgency lead to nerves? Oweh doesn’t think so.
“If we’re pressing too hard, I’d rather press too hard than not enough,” he said. “We have to be super confident and urgent.
There are no negatives to playing hard or being in the moment. We have to do whatever it takes.”
Aberdeen believes that Kentucky’s identity lies in playing hard and supporting each other. “We have to do everything we can to keep going in this tournament.
We want to win it all. You’ll see us coming out stronger, hitting first, being more physical,” he noted.
“That’s what we struggled with early in the season, but we’ve picked it up.”
Oweh describes Kentucky as a “relentless group” heading into the tournament. “This season has had its ups and downs, but we never quit.
We fight through it all. Even if we’re down 20, we’re still going to fight and try to win,” he said.
“We’re trying to limit slow starts, but no matter what, we’re going to fight. That’s our identity.”