Noah played 10 minutes and scored three points against Ole Miss. He played 18 minutes and scored three points against Vanderbilt. Then on Saturday, Noah played 19 minutes and scored nine points against Arkansas. He also grabbed a career-high seven rebounds in the game. Despite not playing a lot early in the Southeastern Conference portion of the schedule, Noah knew that his time could be coming.
“I’m just trying to step up and do whatever the team needs,” Noah said. “It’s a long season, and different guys go down, unfortunately. Whenever my number is called, I always try to stay ready.”
While he wasn’t playing, Noah had to continue to work on his craft and stay confident in himself. The UK coaching staff helped with that aspect.
“I was just trying to stay consistent and confident,” Noah said. “All of the coaches, they do a great job of building everybody up and giving us the confidence to go out there and play free, fast, and fearless.”
Noah’s teammates also helped him through the process.
“My teammates have been so good about it, too,” Noah said. “It makes it so much easier when you go out there and go to war with so many good players. Whenever you have guys like that, it makes the journey easier for sure.”
The next step in that journey comes on Wednesday night, when Kentucky hosts Oklahoma in SEC action at Rupp Arena (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2). The Sooners are 1-8 in league play, but six of those eight losses have been by 10 points or less.