Maybe Antonio Reeves has improved his defense but making shots is still what he does best

Antonio Reeves had a lot of reasons to smile Saturday. (Vicky Graff Photo)

Before he transferred to Kentucky from Illinois State, Antonio Reeves thought he was a good defensive player. Kentucky coach John Calipari had a different view.

“He told me in practice one day (that he was not a good defensive player) and it shocked me,” said Reeves after Saturday’s 86-54 victory over Auburn in Rupp Arena. “I just made sure I locked in on the defensive end.”

Reeves certainly locked in on the offensive end Saturday, especially in the second half when he had 17 of his 21 points. He was 8-for-13 overall from the field and 4-for-7 from 3-point range.

Reeves got beat on backdoor cuts against Florida at Rupp Arena earlier this month. He did not have the same issue Wednesday when UK won at Florida.

“He did not get beat back door. And he looked at me and I looked at him and we both just smiled. Like, they were trying. And that’s what I’m talking about, confidence defensively,” Calipari said Saturday.

“You think that I’m talking about just shooting the ball and just let it go. No. I’m talking about confidence rebounding the ball. Confidence on defense. Confidence flying up the floor even if you don’t think you’re going to get the ball. That you’re confident if you are open you’re going to get it. You’re never jogging.

“Confident that you’re a playmaker and you’re not going to charge or throw it away. Again, today we didn’t have many open-court turnovers. They convert better than any team in the country if you turn it over, live ball turnovers.”

Kentucky ran its record to 20-9 with its fourth straight win and is now 11-5 in Southeastern Conference play with two games left before the SEC Tournament.

“It feels great. Everybody was connected – talking on the defensive end. Everything was just going good for us, defensively and offensively. So I’m happy about that,” Reeves said.

Reeves knew it was going to be a special offensive game for him early against Auburn.

“The first 3 I had, and then I had a wide-open 3 after that. I already knew I was gonna knock that one down. After that, I already knew every shot I put up was gonna go in, so like, it was just one of those days for me,” Reeves said.

He said he regularly takes 1,000 shots per day in practice so that games come easier for him.

“I just see a big hole and let it fly,” he said. “Thank my teammates (for getting him shots). They definitely ran plays for me because they knew I was hot.”

Reeves said he’s enjoyed the big-game atmospheres at Rupp Arena and knows fans are enjoying games more now that the Cats have figured out their roles.

“Everybody is just starting to get connected with one another – trust one another, so you know, you could just tell out there – it’s totally different. This is what it’s all about,” Reeves said.