John Calipari is going to potentially make adjustments in his team's style of play with two seven-footers now available to use. (UK Athletics Photo)
The consensus about this Kentucky basketball team from fans has been how much fun the Cats have been to watch play this season.
Sure, Reed Sheppard’s success has helped build enthusiasm but a team that relied on a transition offense, 3-point shooting, fast ball movement and overall hustle is something UK fans had been wanting to see again for several years.
However, the trend might be coming to an end … or at least slowing down.
Seven-footer Aaron Bradshaw will play his third straight game against North Carolina Saturday in Atlanta and Ugonna Onyenso, another seven-footer, likely will make his season debut. Both suffered foot injuries and missed UK’s exhibition games in Canada in July and the early part of the season.
Now with the two bigs returning, UK’s pace likely will slow and 3-point attempts will decrease.
“It is not easy because you’re used to playing with certain guys. They do certain things, and all of a sudden, boom, you thrust a couple of guys in there,” UK associate head coach Bruiser Flint said Thursday. “That’s what practice is about. We’ve been very fortunate to have some breaks in between the games we played the last couple of weeks, so it makes it a little easier, but it’s still gonna take some time.
“It’s not going to be easy; just putting them out there and thinking that the guys will be able to do it. How guys set screens, where guys are going to be in certain areas. Those are things, team chemistry, that you’ve been working on and you haven’t had them, and now all of a sudden you put them in.”
No, it’s not going to be easy even though Bradshaw had a double-double against Penn in his second game and clearly showed why he’s considered a special talent. But roles for every player on the team will be impacted starting with the game against North Carolina.
Kentucky averaged 28 3-point tries in its first seven games. With Bradshaw back, UK has averaged 18.5 3-point attempts the last two games. The shooting percentage has also dropped from 42.5 percent to 35.1 percent.
Flint acknowledged UK likely will not play as fast even though it might be forced to against North Carolina because of the pace the Tar Heels try to play.
“I think we will play a little bit differently in terms of our speed (with the bigs playing). When you add the big guys, you post up more,” Flint said. “You guys (in the media) all love it because you think we shoot all the 3-point shots and everybody comments on it, but when you get guys, you got to have some balance.
“If you’re really gonna be good, you got to have some balance. You got to be able to score inside, you got to be able to score outside.”
Flint knows guards D.J. Wagner, Antonio Reeves, Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham have dazzled fans and been UK’s best playmakers. While UK may still play small ball at times, Flint said players will have to “sacrifice” minutes when the Cats use a bigger lineup.
“You might not play as much that game, you might play more this game, but if it is all about winning, nobody cares about that. Cal talks about that all the time because we have a lot of talent on the team. You have to address those types of things,” Flint said.
3 Responses
When we pass for a good shot, we are unbeatable. When we hold the ball looking for a one on one move, head to the basket under guard and throw up a wild one handed shot, we get beat…can you say Kansas and UNCW? If we are all about winning, we will keep passing. If we get worried about our draft stock, we will be an average team at best. Our pick and roll defense will need some work too.
No Calipari team at UK has played a blazing pace, and the average pace has been below 70 possessions per game nearly every season.
This team’s first 10 games have been faster paced on average, at about 75 possessions per game. Even more significant in my opinion, 4 of the first 10 games have had 80 or more possessions. I doubt that any UK team since Pitino packed his bags for Boston has played 40% of its games at this pace.
I hope UK will continue to push the pace. First, it is much greater fun to watch. Second, teams with superior talents should want to play a weaker opponent as fast as possible because the faster pace forces each team to make decisions more quickly, and that creates more errors by the weaker team.
Therefore, game margins not only increase because the faster pace yields more scoring opportunities, but also because the faster pace should amplify the differences between the stronger and weaker opponent.
Favorites should want to push the pace, while underdogs should want to shorten the game by minimizing scoring opportunities for the stronger opponent.
terrific stats Professor
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