Davion Mintz (10) is the player who could give UK an offensive lift when he comes off the bench. (Jeff Houchin/Nolan Media)
What would Davion Mintz mean to Kentucky if he can play like he has the last two games and make shots like he did against Georgia Saturday? Remember Mintz was the leading scorer on last year’s 9-16 team and returned to UK for a sixth collegiate season. He’s been coming off the bench all season but really has had trouble elevating his play after missing 10 days earlier this season with an illness.
He got to play 30 minutes against Georgia with Sahvir Wheeler out and scored 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting and seemed to regain his mojo.
“It is huge. It just adds another dimension, gives us another scorer,” Kentucky assistant coach Jai Lucas said. “I am happy that in the last game he had a breakthrough for himself.
“He shows up every day and works hard. He does not just go through the motions. I am happy for him that he could get that comfort in a game where he is making open shots. He added a different layer. He’s capable of getting 15 (points) off the bench and that gives us more confidence in him.”
Lucas understands that Mintz, who recently scored his 1,000th collegiate point, probably did not return to UK to watch TyTy Washington, Sahvir Wheeler and Kellan Grady start while he came off the bench.
“That’s a testament to him and what he has to do,” Lucas said. “It is hard and I am sure that he is not what he expected coming back but it is the best thing for our team. He has bought in and that has really helped. I hope now he has better confidence to do that every game.”
Lucas also praised the defensive intensity Mintz had in the second half in the win over Georgia.
“He did a great job picking up the ball and pressuring,” Lucas said. “He is the next most capable one (after Sahvir Wheeler of doing that). We are asking TyTy (Washington) to do it but defense is not the first thing on your mind when you are a freshman.”
3 Responses
I am glad to see Mintz get an opportunity to find his game again. It’s only right that he has done so after last year. This comes at the expense of Sahvir playing far less minutes. It also seems to affect Grady’s game too. If Grady and Mintz get hot together and Ty keeps on feeding Oscar on the block, this team will be hard to handle. That’s a lot of ifs, but we will know by the end of the month how all of this will sort out.
Interesting comment, “defense is not the first thing on your mind when you are a freshman”, because Calipari’s teams have always been defense first. It appears that some players don’t play because supposedly their defense is subpar but others get a pass even though “defense is not the first thing on their mind”.
Keith, your comment would apply more to Dontaie Allen last year. Dontaie’s defense was not a liability in this season’s games and he rebounded well and shared the ball with others. Dontaie’s defense this season is as good as Kellan’s, if not better. Dontaie has lost confidence in his shot though. That is not hard to do when Coach insists you are a liability. The rest of the team will see you that way too. They never looked to get Dontaie the shots that they look to give Kellan. That’s a shame because we could be a much deeper and stronger team if Calipari had not written Dontaie off.