It might be August in the Bahamas but Jacob Toppin proving he can make shots

Photo by Chet White | UK Athletics

One big question I had about Kentucky basketball was whether or not Jacob Toppin really could make shots this season.

I knew the competition level on UK’s four-game exhibition trip to the Bahamas would not be like playing Michigan State, UCLA, Gonzaga or SEC teams. But I still needed verification that Toppin could make shots as coach John Calipari and UK teammates were saying he could.

If Toppin could not make shots in the Bahamas against weak teams, how was he going to do it once regular season play started and maybe UK would miss Keion Brooks a lot more than some wanted to believe.

Three games into the exhibition trip, Toppin is showing all the praise looks justified. He hit his first eight shots, including three 3-poitners, in Saturday night’s 118-56 win over Carleton, a team some thought might at least test Kentucky.

The senior forward finished the game with 27 points on 11-for-14 shooting — and he was 5-for-6 on 3-pointers. That’s a big number even in a rout considering he took just 10 3-pointers in 29 games last season and made four. He’s now 7-for-12 from 3-point range in three games in the Bahamas going into today’s final game at noon and is averaging a team-best 15.7 points per game on the trip.

Toppin, who also had six assists, two rebounds, two steals and one block, also showed he could create his own shot and score by hitting mid-range shots and fadeaways, too.

“He shot the ball extremely well,” Kentucky assistant coach KT Turner said. “He is also an unbelievable defender. One thing we still need to work on is his rebounding. If he does that… he can do everything else.”

SEC Network analyst Dane Bradshaw said during the game he thought Toppin could emerge as the top two-way player in the SEC which would go along with what coach John Calipari said about Toppin’s potential to be a NBA first-round draft pick.

“He is just a really special player that brings in night in and night out. He has a high release (on his shot) that makes it unblock-able,” Bradshaw said. “I love not just that he has improved his offensive game but he has not abandoned what got him here … energy, hustle, momentum-type plays.”

Toppin was not the only one making shots. Kentucky went 15-for-30 on 3-pointers, including 5-for-8 by transfer Antonio Reeves.

“We shot the ball great,” Turner said. “Hopefully we continue to do that. Some nights we might not do that but the thing we have is we can offensive rebound when we are not making shots.”

Reeves finished with 23 points in the same 21 minutes Toppin played. He has 10 3-pointers in the three games.

“He is a vet. Sometimes it is hard if you are the primary guy on a team to come to a team like this and figure out where you fit in,” Turner said. “He’s really unselfish. He has been really good for us.”

Freshman guard Cason Wallace also went 3-for-4 from 3-point range and had 15 points, five steals, four assists and three rebounds.

Sahvir Wheeler chipped in with 17 points, six assists and even blocked a shot (with just one turnover), and Oscar Tshiebwe managed eight points and 13 rebounds in 22 minutes on the court.

“They were not great in transition defense and we made an emphasis on getting out and running,” Turner said.