Missouri coach Dennis Gates called Rob Dillingham the "best isolation player in college basketball." (Vicky Graff Photo)
Missouri overwhelmed Kentucky last season when it opened Southeastern Conference play with an 89-75 home victory over the Wildcats to get coach Dennis Gates off to a successful conference start.
However, it was a different outcome Tuesday night in Rupp Arena when UK controlled the game from the start, and even though it could not completely pull away it still easily won 90-77.
So how different is John Calipari’s team this year from the one that Missouri played last season?
“Well, what I see is this. I see some great one one-on-one players who can make shots and you start with Rob Dillingham. He’s probably the best isolation player in college basketball. That’s what I believe,” said Gates.
That’s strong praise to start with about UK.
“You have Reed (Sheppard) coming off the bench. He’s capable of getting double digits as well,” Gates said. “You look at Tre Mitchell, who was a stretch four, stretch five, he can make shots.
“You look at Justin Edwards, his best basketball, you know, obviously is in front of him, but he’s just an athletic, great player. I’ve seen him play a lot in high school.”
Gates was just getting started in his praise of the Cats.
“But really Antonio Reeves is the heart and soul of this team. And he’s well-connected with each player. And when you look at his emotional intelligence, although he had nine field goal attempts, he was probably cheering louder for Rob than anybody,” Gates said.
“And when you have that connectivity, and you’re able to play a style that opens the court up a little bit. Oscar Tshiebwe is a dominant player but also requires the ability to take up the space in the middle.
“Now, there are five out, you have (Aaron) Bradshaw with the ability to make a jump shot, but they have versatility. They take care of the basketball, they are a 3-point threat.”
Maybe Gates got a little carried away with his praise, but it also shows how opposing coaches view Calipari’s offensive firepower this season.
3 Responses
The Oscar take is bad.
1- didn’t have the support players
2-was half blind
If you can’t take advantage of a rebound machine well that’s just bad coaching.
He also had the courage to call out a couch that had lost self control.
Great take except. You can’t take advantage of a rebound machine if you don’t hit shots. 1-17 from 3 from your best shooter will kill any team (like it did us last year) IMHO. Pressure burst pipes, and Cal is under a lot of pressure. Talent releases pressure!! And Cal has that in Spades this year. Again, just my humble opinion.
Hence "Live & Die" by the 3. They also had a guard that would run by the offense without a set & well, two years ago…
Oscars forward last season missed a bunch of shots. I just think with Mitchell, the Big O would not only be a rebounding machine but also a dunking machine. I love the three ball but a bit of balance underneath would be good as well. The guards & bigs are young so we will see.