TyTy Washington had 17 points and a school-record 17 assists against Georgia. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Sometimes Twitter can be so entertaining and yes, sometimes it can be frustrating but Saturday night prior to the Kentucky-Georgia game Twitter was buzzing about the “choke hold” Tom Cream gave to Sahvir Wheeler.
As we all were aware Wheeler was not cleared to play against his former team because of a neck injury suffered at LSU but Cream sought him out to give him the most awkward embrace I think I have ever seen on the floor of Rupp Arena.
Tweets were flying and yes they were hilarious. Do I think Cream intentionally did the choke hold to further injure Wheeler? No, I don’t. Do I think Cream is just that awkward? Yes I do. Keep in in mind the famous photo of him kissing his son on the lips.
Enough of that … Kentucky bounced back from the loss at LSU to defeat the Bulldogs 92-75.
It is now expected that Oscar Tshiebwe will have a double-double. However Saturday night he reached that mark before the first half ended. It is now anticipated that he will grab 20 rebounds. He finished with 17 rebounds and a career-high 29 points. He can say he is just “Oscar” but compared to the rest of college basketball players he is a machine.
TyTy Washington had to step into the role of point guard with the absence of Wheeler. Granted there were times in his high school career he had to play the point but this was a new role for him with this team. The elders on the team put their confidence in Washington and gave him the reins, showing their confidence in the freshman.
How did he respond? With 17 assists he passed the record held by John Wall (16) against Hartford on Dec. 29, 2009. This performance also ties for the seventh most in SEC history. This was accomplished with just two turnovers.
Washington’s totals for the game included 17 points, 17 assists, five rebounds and two steals. It is safe to assume if Wheeler cannot play Kentucky has a point guard.
John Calipari was tinkering with lineups, again. The starting lineup of Washington, Grady, Toppin, Brooks and Tshievwe seemed to struggle. The choice to go with a three-guard line-up with Brooks and Tshiebwe on the floor provided the jump start for Kentucky to put the game away.
The Cats will travel to Vanderbilt on Tuesday and Tennessee will invade Rupp on Saturday. It should be a good week for the BBN.
Shadeon Sharpe was on the bench Saturday night. Will we see him in the lineup before the end of the season? Sure we will. I am betting on the end of January, no later than Feb. 14th.
4 Responses
Man, I like that bet at the end….
We heard it from Tina Cox, we shall see what unfolds
Sharpe needs to sit out until next season. There aren’t enough minutes to go around as it is. Grady, Washington, and Mintz give us decent shooting and there is always Allen who gets nothing but cleanup minutes now. If Sharpe plays this season, he disrupts the chemistry of a team that is still coming together and he definitely would not stay for next year. I would stay with Washington as the starting PG even after Wheeler is back. He is much better at making post passes to Oscar and opponents have to respect his shot. This allows Toppin and Collins to get more PT at the 4 spot and we need another big on the floor versus a wing on this team. Hopkins looks to be the backup for Brooks and Allen hopefully is looking to transfer as he is getting the rawest of the raw deals.
I will be surprised if Sharpe does not play this year