“He talked about what it means to wear this jersey.”
If you just skimmed the box score, Zach Tow’s night looks like a classic walk-on moment: Late in a blowout, catch it in front of your own bench, let it fly, and send Rupp Arena into a frenzy when the shot splashes.
For a kid who grew up in Kentucky dreaming of wearing that jersey, finally seeing a 3-pointer go down under the lights is storybook stuff.
But according to Mark Pope, the shot was actually the second-best thing Tow did.
On his postgame radio hit with Tom Leach, Pope didn’t start with the box score or the highlight. He started with the locker room. Before the game, he said, Tow stood in front of his teammates and delivered a speech about what it means to play for Kentucky and for the brothers in that room.
He told them that if someone asked him to run through a wall for his teammates, he would do it. It wasn’t just a line; Pope described him as having tears in his eyes as he talked about the jersey, the program, and the responsibility that comes with both.
“He gave a speech to our team before the game, and he talked about how, for his brothers, if somebody asked him to run through a wall, he would do it,” said Pope of Tow’s impassioned speech. “And he had tears in his eyes, because it’s in his heart, and he talked about what it means to wear this jersey, and we’re still trying to understand that this late in the early part of the season, but he’s an incredible example.”
In a season where Kentucky’s effort, pride, and competitive spirit have all been publicly questioned, that matters.
The Wildcats have been booed off the floor. National media and former players have called them soft and lifeless. Pope has said multiple times that his team doesn’t yet understand what it really means to compete. And in the middle of all that, it’s a walk-on from in-state, reminding everyone what the standard is supposed to be.
That’s why Pope framed the shot the way he did. He basically said that when a guy believes those words, feels them enough to cry, and shares them with the team, it’s only fitting that he gets a corner look in front of his bench and buries it. The 3 was a reward for who Tow is, not a random feel-good moment in garbage time.
Pope even turned into a public advocate for Tow’s future. He talked about how hard Tow is working to get into UK’s law school, mentioned he’s taken the LSAT twice and earned a qualifying score, and flat-out said the law school should want him in its next class. That’s the kind of praise a coach usually reserves for captains and stars, not an end-of-bench guard.
In a lot of ways, Tow’s night was a snapshot of the contrast inside this program right now.
The high-profile guys haven’t consistently played with the desperation and joy Kentucky fans expect. The walk-on with a single made shot on the season is the one talking about running through walls and getting emotional about what “Kentucky” across the chest means.
The 3 will be the clip that makes the rounds, as it should. But if Pope’s comments are any indication, the real moment came hours earlier, when a walk-on reminded a blue-blood roster that the standard hasn’t changed—whether they’re meeting it or not.
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Drew Holbrook has been covering the Cats for over 10 years. In his free time he enjoys downtime with his family and Premier League soccer. You can find him on X here. Micah 7:7. #UptheAlbion
Category: General Sports
