What should we make of Davion Mintz’s recent improvement? Start thinking like a coach.

Stats savant Ken Pomeroy and his devotees should cover their eyes. James “Bruiser” Flint suggested Tuesday that numbers are not everything.

To make his case, Kentucky’s assistant to the head coach used the example of guard Davion Mintz.

In UK’s last four games, Mintz has made 18 of 35 shots. That includes 13 of 23 three-point attempts.

In the six games immediately preceding this spree, he made only 14 of 43 shots (five of 26 from beyond the arc).

Flint pooh-poohed the conclusion that Mintz is playing better of late.

“Everybody just looks at his points . . . ,” Flint said. “Now, all of a sudden, he’s back to shooting the ball like he did last year. In terms of everything else — his hustle, his defense, his rebounding, just being the guy who gives you great energy when he’s out there — that was all there. He just wasn’t knocking down shots. Now he’s getting back to knocking down some shots.

“So, guys pay a little more attention to him because his box score looks a little bit better.”

When asked who he was referring to when he said guys, Flint said, “Well, the media.”

Flint laughed before adding, “You guys look at the box score. You want to see the numbers. So, when people don’t put up the numbers, sometimes you guys think they’re struggling. But they bring other parts to the game.”

Easy does it

Add Flint to the list of people who salute the understated effectiveness of freshman TyTy Washington.

“His efficiency comes from he’s a really good basketball player,” Flint said. “He knows what he’s doing. He doesn’t rush himself. He’s very patient out there. A lot of times, especially with young kids, they try to do things that they can’t (do). But he doesn’t do that. I think that’s the thing that makes him really special.”

Washington might not make the eye-catching play that features a memorable spat of athleticism, Flint said.

“He just does what he needs to do to be efficient out there. He’s very patient for a freshman. A lot of freshmen try to rush it. But for me, I think his biggest thing is he knows what he does well, and he’s very patient when he’s doing it.”

Size

Texas A&M has played as many as four guards in a lineup. Flint was asked if Kentucky would try to overpower the Aggies with size or go small in order to match the Aggies’ speed.

“I think you always do what you do best,” Flint said. “When you try to counter what the other team does, sometimes it doesn’t work.

“So, I think we’re going to stick to our plan.”

Sitting out

Sahvir Wheeler downplayed the significance of sitting out two games because of a neck injury.

When asked what he learned from watching Kentucky beat Georgia and Vanderbilt, he said, “I don’t really think I learned anything, per se.

“But I got to see how much confidence these guys were playing with. . . . Guys are on a high. They’re playing (in a way that suggests they are) confident. They’re playing loose.”

Of course, Wheeler played two seasons for Georgia before transferring to UK. When asked how he felt about not playing against the Bulldogs, he said, “I didn’t have any feelings toward it.” He then chuckled.

Before that game, Georgia Coach Tom Crean spoke to Wheeler.

“He was just, like, what’s up?” Wheeler said. “Get healthy. Along those lines. It wasn’t necessarily awkward. But he did grab my neck. That made me uncomfortable a little bit.”

Rebounding

UK big man Oscar Tshiebwe continues to lead Division I in rebounding (14.9 rpg) and offensive rebounds (5.18 per game).

“He’s definitely an outlier in regard to his ability to rebound,” Texas A&M assistant coach Lyle Wolf said. “It’s something that doesn’t come around that often.

“But our guys just know we’ll have to compete and fight.”

Texas A&M’s leading rebounder is a 6-foot-2 guard, Tyrece Radford. He averages 5.4 rebounds.

“He is an outside dog, and he does rebound extremely well,” Wolf said of Radford. “We definitely try to emphasize (that) everybody needs to rebound. We know that’s going to be a point of emphasis with our game on Wednesday. Hopefully, we come out with the right attention to detail in that regard.”

‘Bear fight’

No. 12 Kentucky will be the first ranked opponent for Texas A&M this season.

“Our guys are extremely excited to play,” Wolf said. “Now, Kentucky is an unbelievable team. They’re very, very talented (and) coming off their best game of the year. So, it’ll be a bear fight. But our guys are excited to play.”

Etc.

Mike Morgan and Jon Sundvold will call the game for the SEC Network.

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