Chris Livingston shows why he can be a special player

Chris Livingston has been listening to assistant Chin Coleman and others and had an impressive UK debut Wednesday night. (Chet White/UK Athletics Photo)

It was not even halftime of Kentucky’s exhibition game in the Bahamas against the Dominican Republic when long-time UK fan J.D. Shelburne was driving the Big Blue Bandwagon.

“40-0,” the country music singer tweeted and then followed it up with a series of midseason-type basketball messages on Aug. 10.

But that was the kind of night it was with UK routing the Dominican Republic 108-56 thanks to having six players in double figures and 28 assists on 42 made field goals.

“We have been challenging guys not to look at the score and just play and do what we do,” said UK assistant coach Orlando Antigua who served as head coach for this game.

What Kentucky did was show terrific athleticism and some surprisingly good defense — the Cats had 13 steals that converted into 23 points along with 10 blocked shots, including three by freshman Adou Thiero.

Who was the star of the game? That’s hard because there were so many good choices but I think for me it would have been freshman Chris Livingston. He had 11 points on 4-for-7 shooting, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range. He had eight rebounds, all on the defensive end, along with four assists and one block in 26 minutes.

There had been doubts about his 3-point shooting ability but just as Oak Hill Academy coach Steve Smith said, Livingston can make open 3-pointers and proved it. He’s also a nifty passer and showed off those skills. And physical? He can bang inside as he did to get those rebounds.

“He is a special player,” Antigua said. “Things we really like is how he rebounded the ball well, his physicalness and size. He can rebound and shoot. He took the right shots. That is what we are trying to get him to do. He also has the physicality to get to the free throw line.”

“If he can do it against our guys in practice, he should be able to do it in games.”

Antigua liked UK having 13 steals —  three by Jacob Toppin and two each by Thiero and Sahvir Wheeler. Six other players had one steal each.

“There are some things we tried,” Antigua said. “We understand we can utilize our strengths and that is part of our strength. We have guys at all positions that can play the lanes because of their defensive IQ and can anticipate passes.”

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Player Notes

— Oscar Tshiebwe led all scorers with 17 points, including 13 in the second half. He was 8 of 11 from the floor. He also contributed six rebounds and a steal.

— Daimion Collins had an all-around game with 15 points, five rebounds, five assists, two blocks and one steal. Had it been a regular-season game, Collins’ point total and assists would have been career highs.

— Cason Wallace contributed 15 points and a team-high 26 minutes of action. Wallace also had five rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

— Antonio Reeves made four 3-pointers and tallied 12 points.  It would have marked the 22nd time in his career he made at least three 3-pointers.

— Chris Livingston was the sixth Wildcat to reach double-digit scoring. He contributed in a variety of ways with three 3-pointers, a team-high eight rebounds and four assists.

— Jacob Toppin chipped in with eight points and a team-high three steals.

— Adou Thiero was a menace defensively with three blocks and two steals. He also tallied seven points and three assists on the offensive end.

— Brennan Canada sank a pair of late 3-pointers. Had it been a regular-season game, it would have been his first made 3-pointer and a career high in points.