Photo - Vicky Graff
In case you don’t always pay attention to what Kentucky coach John Calipari says, I get it. Sometimes he just repeats the same message so often that we tend to tune out what he says. But maybe he’s on to something about a lack of respect for this year’s Kentucky basketball team.
How else can you explain freshman Shai Gilgeous-Alexander not winning any SEC honor this week after what he did against Louisville and Georgia.
Arkansas senior guard Daryl Macon was named SEC player of the week after he averaged 24.5 points, 5.5 assists and three rebounds in wins over CSU Bakersfield and No. 19 Tennessee. He led Arkansas over No. 19 Tennessee with a career-high 33 points on 10-of-18 shooting, including 5-of-9 from behind the arc. It was his second 30-point game of his career. Macon scored 13 of Arkansas’ program record 22 points in overtime against Tennessee, going 3-of-3 from the floor, including a perfect 6-of-6 from the line.
Okay, that’s impressive.
The SEC freshman of the week is Alabama’s John Petty, who had 18 points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocks in leading the Crimson Tide to a win over fifth-ranked Texas A&M. Petty was 6-for-10 from the field, including 5-for-9 from 3-point range.The victory marked the first time the Crimson Tide defeated a top-5 opponent since March 20, 2004.
Nice game, but I can’t see how that tops what Gilgeous-Alexander did.
In Kentucky’s win over Louisville, Gilgeous-Alexander went 9-for-16 from the field and 5-for-6 at the foul line to score 24 points. He had five rebounds, four assists and three steals. He came back against Georgia with 21 points on 4-for-9 shooting from the field and 12-for-13 at the foul line. Again, he had five rebounds, four assists and three steals. He also added two blocked shots and took over the game down the stretch to secure the win for UK.
That means he averaged 22.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 3.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game and was 13-for-25 from the field (2-for-3 from 3-point range) and 17-for-19 at the foul line.
No disrespect to Petty — a player I thought would come to Kentucky — but his 18 points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocks in one game do not top what Gilgeous-Alexander did in two games.
I can live with Macon being overall player of the week, but no way Gilgeous-Alexander should not have been freshman of the week.
