Willie Cauley-Stein didn’t play a minute of the second half or overtime of Kentucky’s hard-fought win at Texas A&M. In Cauley-Stein’s first game back after missing four games, John Calipari decided the freshman 7-footer wasn’t quite ready to function in a close game after playing four first-half minutes.
In Cauley-Stein’s second game, it was the Wildcats who couldn’t function without Cauley-Stein.
“Willie Cauley was unbelievable,” Calipari said. “And you say, ‘What did he do?’ He just added energy.”
When Cauley-Stein checked in for the first time, Kentucky held a narrow 15-12 lead over South Carolina. Within a couple minutes, the Gamecocks took their first (and only) lead at 18-17. It was then that Cauley-Stein’s impact became clear.