
Jack Givens believes one problem coach John Calipari’s team has had this year is the lack of a natural on-court leader. (Vicky Graff Photo)
One problem coach John Calipari’s team has had this year is no clear on-court leader. That’s a problem UK Radio Network analyst Jack Givens never had during his four years playing for coach Joe Hall at Kentucky from 1973-78 that culminated with UK winning the 1978 national title and Givens being named the Final Four’s most outstanding player.
“They just don’t have that player to lead this year. We had guys who had been there and been together for four years,” Givens said. “By our senior year, we had been through so many battles together. We won enough but also lost enough to know what it took to win.
“I knew if a guy was on me hard and needed to calm him down I could go to Rick Robey, Mike Phillips or James Lee and they would set a screen to get that guy off me. This team doesn’t have that.”
Givens believes this team has missed a player like Davion Mintz of last year’s team. He was not a starter but Givens says he played an under appreciated role for Calipari’s team.
“He was a guy who played hard every minute. If he needed to fight, he was willing to fight,” Givens said. “They don’t have a guy like that. They also don’t have a Kellan Grady, a guy who worked harder than anybody else on the team. The transformation he made with his body from the time he got here until the time he left turned him into a new guy. I know Keion Brooks did not have the greatest career but you were not going to beat up on that guy.”
Mintz and Grady graduated off last year’s 28-8 team that was 14-4 in SEC play and a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament while Brooks transferred to Washington. UK is 18-9 this year after Saturday’s win over Tennessee and 9-5 in SEC play.
“They are just missing a leader who does not just talk the talk but who walked it, practiced hard and came at guys if needed. If you do not have that guy in practice, no one is going to step up during a game and be that guy. They just have not had that this year,” Givens said.
However, Givens thinks freshman guard Cason Wallace is getting closer to being that player every game.
“He’s a stat-sheet stuffer and is just getting better and better,” Givens said. “You see him doing more every game. He doesn’t always shoot well but he’s not afraid to shoot and he’s very solid on defense. He just needs to maybe talk a little more but he could be that guy they really need.”
One Response
Jack is right. Cason at the point brings out the best in this team.