Isaiah Jackson liked having a physical game Saturday. (SEC Photo)
Watching the final minutes of the game from the Kentucky bench is something Isaiah Jackson has not enjoyed doing this season. However, he was fine with it Saturday. Too often the talented freshman has had to watch because of foul trouble but against South Carolina, he got to watch UK reserves finish out a 92-68 victory — the kind of one-side win the Cats have not had all season.
“It was a lot of fun,” Jackson admitted. “Some of the guys who do not get to play got to play. We finally got to take a break the last three minutes.
“I feel like it is a good momentum builder going into next week (at the Southeastern Conference Tournament). Just go out there and have fun and keep doing what we do.”
Jackson acknowledged UK needed a big win and not a nail-biter again.
“It felt really good to sit back and enjoy the (end of the) game. Most of the time I am in foul trouble,” he joked.
Jackson knows UK has to win the SEC Tournament to get into the NCAA Tournament but says he can’t lose focus of playing the next games.
“We try not to think about the future and just stay in the present. The only thing we can do anything about is the present, so we just take it one game at a time,” he said.
It will help UK’s SEC tourney chances if he does stay out of foul trouble like he did Saturday. He did not have a foul in the first half.
“Today I tried to play physical of course but easy stuff (at the basket by South Carolina) I just let go (and did not foul),” he said. “I might be skinny but I like physicality. I think the team needed a tough game where we had to go out there and play tough. That’s how we have to play the rest of the season.”
Jackson admitted he had problems with fouls in high school and should be over that by now.
“I feel like it is something that I thought I would be over in high school and I am still doing it and still to this day trying to figure out what to do to stay out of foul trouble,” Jackson said. “It’s not hard to do it. I just have to lock in and force myself to sort of do it.”
