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Antonio Reeves had his normal spot on the bench but came in about five minutes into the game and immediately hit a 3-pointer that helped start Kentucky’s 69-53 win over Vanderbilt in Nashville.
He followed that a few possessions later with a floater.
“He’s very smooth with that floater,” SEC Network analyst Dane Bradshaw said. “When teams run him off the 3-point line, that’s his shot.:”
However, a few possessions later he went all the way to the rim when Vanderbilt denied him a 3-point look. That was seven points on three different type shots in just over three minutes.
That’s why his potential instant offense off the bench makes him so valuable now as Kentucky’s sixth man, something successful teams have to have.
Reeves finished with a team-high 16 points on 7-for-14 shooting, including 2-for-5 from 3. But it really seems like every time he shoots the ball has a great chance to go in and he’s not forcing bad shots.
Late in the half he found a way to rifle a bullet pass through traffic to Jacob Toppin for an easy layup. He finished the game with three rebounds and two assists.
“What Kentucky fans envisioned at the start of the season was complimentary pieces on the perimeter on offense. Reeves is playing with a ton of confidence now and that’s made a big difference for this team,” Bradshaw said.
He’s also a big shot maker. In the second half when Vandy tried to get back in the game, he hit a runner to push the lead to 56-42. After Vanderbilt hit a 3, Reeves buried a 3-pointer to basically squash Vandy’s hopes.
“Talk about responding on the road to quiet the home crowd,” Bradshaw said. “He’s starting to emerge as that go-to guy when they need a bucket and that is what a team has to have.”
Former UK All-American Jack Givens said as good as Reeves’ offense has been during UK’s four-game winning streak, don’t overlook his defense.
“He is playing really good defense. I know his offense looks good but he is playing some really good defense and that’s why he’s getting the minutes he is,” Givens said on the UK Radio Network postgame show.
Reeves got 27 minutes even though he did not start and Givens said accepting his sixth man role has been huge for the team.
“He looks for opportunities. He just gets it. He doesn’t care when he gets the minutes. His job is still to put numbers on the board,” Givens said. “I know he would like to be a starter but he has grasped the position of being a scorer.”
