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Men's Basketball

Recap and Takeaways from 2023 Blue-White Game

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Reed Sheppard goes up for a layup at Kentucky basketball's Blue-White game.
UK Athletics | Chet White

Following the Big Blue Madness festivities, it was once again time to see the Kentucky Wildcats in a game-like setting for the first time in the Blue-White game. In 2022, the team traveled to Pikeville, KY to raise money for eastern Kentucky flood relief. This year, John Calipari and his guys made way to Truist Arena at NKU to raise funding for the same cause, as well as western Kentucky tornado relief. On top of that, it was an overall positive night of basketball with much to take away, so let’s get to it.

No Big Z

One of the few negatives from the event was that the BBN did not get to see the debut of Zvonimir Ivisic. Many wondered what the reason may be. Some speculated eligibility issues while some thought Ivisic may be suffering from an injury.

Coach Cal clarified why Big Z didn’t play in Saturday’s scrimmage, however. “(Ivisic) goes three hard practices. Hard. After the ramp-up, after a 30-hour flight, after all the tests and needles and everything he had to have.”

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Calipari added, “He was cramping. His calves, his hamstring, his groin, his knee. I mean, he had everything going, ‘my ankle’. I just said ‘Stop’. We can have him for here and then I’d be a man of my word. Or we can worry about the season, and I’m worried about the season. So I want to give him some time to see what this body can take.” It seems like Ivisic is still adjusting to the rigor of college basketball, and this doesn’t seem like a long-term issue.

DJ Wagner and Justin Edwards Prove Their Value

In the first half of the scrimmage, DJ Wagner and Justin Edwards were both in double digits in the scoring column, but they were struggling with efficiency and finding good shots. Both players were shooting well below 50% from the field. It’s easy to see that the lack of depth for each team had a role, considering there were practically no substitutions made throughout the scrimmage.

After the halftime break, however, Wagner and Edwards found their stride. Suddenly, it became very clear as to why both players were top-five recruits coming out of high school. Wagner finished with 25 points on 9-20 shooting, and Edwards had 26 on 11-18 shooting.

They also had significant impacts on other aspects of the game. Wagner had seven rebounds, six assists, and even two blocks to go along with his 25 points. Edwards had ten rebounds and a block of his own to add to the stat sheet.

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Rob Dillingham Cooks, Scoring 40 Points

Even after scoring 20+ points and filling up the stat sheet across the board, Wagner nor Edwards were the best player on the floor. That honor would belong to Rob Dillingham. It goes without saying, Dillingham had himself a special night.

Dillingham had FORTY POINTS on the night on 14-23 shooting, as well as making 42.9% of his shots from three-point range (3-7). He also had five rebounds, seven assists, and four steals on the night.

The Hickory, North Carolina native has the potential to be one of the best players on this team. If he can improve his shot selection and overall decision-making on offense, then it will be very hard to maintain Dillingham when he’s on the floor.

Role Players Shine Under Spotlight

The production on offense didn’t end with Wagner, Edwards, and Dillingham. Antonio Reeves, who is heavily favored to be the team’s leading scorer, had 17 points. Reeves struggled with knocking shots down, but it’s still nice to see him in double digits.

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Someone whose effort will go overlooked is Tre Mitchell, but he had an excellent all-around game too. Mitchell recorded 14 points and a team-leading 14 rebounds to give himself a double-double. His contributions will be vital as all three big men are currently out due to injury.

Then, Adou Thiero (26) and Jordan Burks (20) also joined the 20+ point club with their efforts. Thiero also had nine rebounds and two assists to add, and Burks had five rebounds as well. Burks also finished with NINE personal fouls, but that’s basically a non-factor given that it was 40 minutes of 5-on-5 with almost no subs.


If you had doubts about how good this team can be, hopefully, some of your questions were answered Saturday night. DJ Wagner and Justin Edwards are going to be the studs we thought they would be. Rob Dillingham is a DAWG, and Adou Thiero and Jordan Burks were lights out.

The only real negatives to take away are Antonio Reeves’ poor shooting and no sight of Big Z. However, Reeves still managed 17 points, and as Cal said, Big Z was held out for “precautionary reasons”. He should be just fine. There is a lot to be excited about this team as we get closer and closer to the season.

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You can view the box score from the Blue-White game here.

Men's Basketball

Kentucky Basketball Players Say They Think About Winning National Championship “Every Second”

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Kentucky basketball players celebrate after their big over Duke.
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The expectations at Kentucky are the highest of any school in the country, and there is good reason why. The winningest college program ever. Eight national titles, under five different coaches. Seventeen Final Four appearances. You get it, a lot of success.

Fans want the players to have those same expectations. Despite not having the elite talent or preseason hype of great Kentucky teams past, this year’s team still has their eyes set on doing something “people will remember forever”, winning a national championship.

Asked on social media, if hanging banner #9 was all the players thought about “every second”, Ansley Almonor had a response.

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“We do.”

It takes a lot to win a national championship, including some luck, but this team is certainly going to be loved for their desire to live out their dream of playing at Kentucky and their unselfishness. Those two things can take them a long way this season .

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart Seemingly Takes Shot at John Calipari, “Anybody Can Recruit”

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Mitch Barnhart sitting next to basketball coach John Calipari.
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John Calipari and Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart had their differences over fifteen years, but success can hide a lot of things. Not that they hated each other, but they each had vastly different personalities. As that success weaned towards the end of Calipari’s tenure, those issues started to be noticed publically.

If you need evidence of that, despite their efforts to dispute it, there is the infamous press conference where Barnhart talked about “entitled” coaches, shortly after Calipari publicly called for a new practice facility. Then, there were multiple times when Calipari expressed that the administration was not on the same page and that he was facing “headwinds”.

That said, Calipari is now at Arkansas, but those differences and some disdain remain. During an interview on the Kentucky Football pregame show, Barnhart seemingly took a shot at Calipari when asked about Mark Pope’s recruiting philosophy and prioritizing fit.

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“I tell people all the time, ‘Anybody can recruit, not everybody can evaluate,’” Barnhart said. “You can recruit. You can be phenomenal at bringing people to your program. But if it does not fit you, it’s really not helpful.”

Of course, Calipari is one of the best, if not the best, recruiters in college basketball history. At times, he prioritized talent and athleticism over fit.

Quite the coincidence.

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Men's Basketball

ESPN’s Jay Williams Gives Message to Kentucky Fans, “You’re Not Going to Like It…”

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ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Williams gives a message to Kentucky fans after the Wildcats win over Duke. "You won't like it."
ESPN

Back in April, opposing fanbases like Duke, told Kentucky fans to “cope with Pope” following the hire of Mark Pope and the corresponding initial shock. On Tuesday, those same fanbases had to watch as Mark Pope outcoached Jon Scheyer and Duke in the final minutes of the Champion’s Classic to get his first marque win in just his third game at Kentucky.

Of course, shortly after the game, Duke fans began to rationalize the loss by highlighting their team’s youth. While true, it sounded like an echo chamber of what Kentucky fans said for years under John Calipari. One notable example was former Blue Devil Jay Williams.

At halftime, while Duke was leading 46-37, Williams called this year’s Duke team the most talented since the 2001 team that he was a part of at halftime. To his credit, he complimented Kentucky on the comeback victory, specifically on their offense and maturity, but then 36 hours later he posted a message to Kentucky fans on social media.

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“Let me put you on to something,” Williams started. “Whether you like it or not, networks are going to sell Cooper Flagg. He’s going to be the number one pick in the draft. You’re going to talk about whether he won the or whether he lost the game, regardless of the outcome.”

“You’re not going to like it. There should be more kudos to Mark Pope and Kentucky,” Williams continued. “Regardless of whether you won the game or not, they’re still going to sell Cooper Flagg because he is selling the sport. Sorry.”

William’s statement is true. That said, it comes off as ‘sour grapes’ about losing. Cooper Flagg is a great talent and will likely be the first pick in the NBA Draft, but most Kentucky fans would say they would much rather have the win than the marketing.

Futhermore, Kentucky and its ‘brand’ has raised the level of multiple players and coaches, and will continue to do so. A deeper impact than Cooper Flagg will have on Duke in just one season.

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