Men's Basketball

Kentucky vs Ole Miss: Postgame Recap

Published

1 year ago

February 1, 2023

The Kentucky Wildcats looked to bounce back after a loss against Kansas as they traveled to Oxford, Mississippi to take on Ole Miss in another late-night Tuesday matchup. With ten games remaining on the schedule and still on the bubble, the Wildcats couldn’t afford to drop this game.

That task was made harder when prior to the game, it was announced that Cason Wallace was ruled out due to a knee contusion suffered during shootaround. However, Ole Miss was not without their own absences, as their two leading scorers would not be playing.

Plagued by slow starts for much of the season, Kentucky fell victim once again. Nor were they benefitted from a scorching hot start by the Rebels, led by Amaree Abram. By the first media timeout, Ole Miss had captured a 13-8 lead, only missing two of their first seven shots.

Kentucky responded to take a 25-19 lead and had a chance to pull away. However, shortly after, Sahvir Wheeler went down with an ankle injury and the Wildcats limped into halftime in a tie game, 32-32.

Wheeler was the first player to return to the floor for the second half in a taller pair of shoes, but still not 100 percent. Yet, he battled through and had six of his nine assists in the second half, and was able to lead a much better offensive performance in the second half. With that said, the offense was pretty easy, get Antonio Reeves the ball as he finished with 27 points and helped Kentucky win 75-66.

While not the biggest margin of victory, a win is a win, especially on the road in the SEC. Let’s take a closer look.

Antonio Reeves

Scoring a season-high 27 points and tying a season-high in three-pointers (6), no player was as important in Kentucky’s win as Antonio Reeves. When Kentucky was reeling and was in need of a basket, Reeves seemed to always answer the call.

After the game, Reeves talked about his performance and compared it to his role at Illinois State. “Coming off ball screens. Getting to pull-up game, floater game. It felt like Illinois State days. I just felt comfortable out there.”

Reeves’ performance was his best of the season, but it comes as no surprise given his recent play. Over the last eight games, Reeves is averaging 17.3 points on 42.9 percent shooting from three, and looks reminiscent of the guy that averaged 20.1 ppg last season at Illinois State.

Playing his best basketball of the season, Reeves looks to have fully adapted to the Power Five level of play and will play an important role if Kentucky wants to make a run.

Ball Screen Defense

Kentucky’s biggest weakness this season has undoubtedly been their pick-and-roll defense, which many opposing head coaches have made a point to attack. On Tuesday night, Kermit Davis and Ole Miss became the latest team to expose this.

Countless times, the Rebels were able to get in the middle of the lane and either drive straight to the rim or pass it for an easy layup. At one point, Calipari even replaced Oscar Tshiebwe with Damion Collins, hoping length would help, which it did.

Fortunately, this improved as the game went on and they limited Ole Miss to their normal offensive output. However, Kentucky’s schedule only gets tougher and this area No. 1 they have to improve in.

Injuries

Outside of the win, the biggest story for Kentucky is the injuries of Cason Wallace And Sahvir Wheeler. Kentucky’s two point guards are not 100 percent and that is concerning as the team enters February, especially given how much injuries affected the team last season.

With that said, both injuries seem to be relatively minor, and they may not miss any more time.

Wallace, who suffered a contusion against Kansas, sit out as a precaution Calipari confirmed after the game. As for Wheeler, his ankle was “busted up” but only missed the last three minutes of the first half before coming in and playing all 20 minutes in the second half. After the game, Wheeler said he “sprained it a little” but will begin treatment when they arrive back in Lexington.

BB Recruiting

Kentucky to Host Multiple Top Transfers This Weekend

Published

18 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Tristan Pharis

Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats are hosting multiple top transfers this weekend for visits, looking to add to their roster.

With the deadline for players to enter the portal coming up on May 1st, Kentucky nearly has all their options on the table. Now two weeks since taking the job, Mark Pope has expressed interest in nearly two dozen names and has been keying in on some top names in the portal.

As of writing this article, top 25 transfer Otega Oweh (Oklahoma), is currently on a visit to Lexington, with three more players set to visit this weekend. There’s a good chance that some of those visits turn into commitments.

Let’s take a look at those names.

Deivon Smith – Guard, Utah

Physicals: 6’0, 173 lbs
Stats: 13.3 PPG, 7.1 APG, 6.3 RPG, 46.% FG, 40.8% 3P
Ranking: 10th (Evan Miya), 38rd (247Sports)

Kentucky has had just three players record a triple-double in program history. Deivon Smith recorded five triple-doubles this past season alone, the second-most all-time for a single season in NCAA history.

While undersized, he is one of the best all-around guards in the country, as his numbers show. It’s still early, but Kentucky getting the first visit is significant. St. John’s and Texas Tech have also been mentioned here.

Andrej Stojaković – Guard, Stanford

Physicals: 6’7, 190 lbs
Stats: 7.8 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 40.9% FG, 32.7% 3P
Ranking: 183rd (Evan Miya), 51st (247Sports)

Stojakovic is the son of former NBA All-Star, Peja Stojakovic. A familiar name for Kentucky fans from his high school recruitment. Stojakovic is a terrific shooter, and a top-25 recruit in the 2023 class.

On Thursday, Stojakovic cut his list to just three schools: California, UNC, and Kentucky. As a West Coast product, California was a school that showed interest when he was in high school, and so did Mark Pope when he was at BYU. Pope has made Stojakovic a priority, he could seal the deal this weekend.

Aidan Mahaney – Guard, Saint Mary’s

Physicals: 6-3, 180 lbs
Stats: 13.9 PPG, 2.6 APG, 38.6% FG, 35.5% 3P
Ranking: 96th (Evan Miya), 14th (247Sports)

One of the best guards in the portal. As a lead guard for Saint Mary’s, he displayed a good sense of playing under control, setting himself up and others. That said, his numbers were rather inefficient as the primary scoring option for the Gaels and shooting more than half of his shots from three. There are concerns about his playing against bigger guards.

Mahaney visited UConn Thursday and it looks to be a race between Creighton, Virginia, UConn, and Kentucky.

Andrew Carr – Forward, Wake Forest

Physicals: 6-11, 230 lbs
Stats: 13.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 52.6% FG, 37.1% 3P
Ranking: 33rd (Evan Miya), Not Listed (247Sports)

A near 7-footer who is efficient and can stretch the floor, shooting over 37 percent from three, is a player that Mark Pope would love to add to his roster. That describes Andrew Carr who has played two years at each Delaware and Wake Forest and is looking to go elsewhere for his last season of eligibility.

Carr is coming off a visit to Texas Tech and will visit Villanova after he visits Lexington this weekend.

Men's Basketball

Kentucky Basketball Hiring Top Assistant Coach Alvin Brooks III from Baylor

Published

2 days ago

April 24, 2024

Tristan Pharis

Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky may not have been able to pull Scott Drew away from Baylor, but they were able to pull Alvin Brooks III, one of the best assistant coaches in the country. First reported by CBS Sports on Wednesday morning, Brooks has accepted an associate head coach position at Kentucky, the same role in which he had at Baylor.

NEWS: Top Baylor assistant Alvin Brooks III is leaving the Bears to join Mark Pope's staff at Kentucky, sources tell @CBSSports. He spent the past eight years under Scott Drew and will be associate HC @ UK. Brooks is highly respected in the profession. It's a major coup for Pope.— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) April 24, 2024

Brooks comes to Kentucky with a great reputation as a recruiter, helping Baylor bring in some elite talent over the last couple of seasons, most notably, McDonald’s All-Americans VJ Edgecombe (2024), Ja’Kobe Walter (2023), and Keyonte George (2022).

Just 44 years old, Brooks has two decades of coaching experience. Before his time at Baylor he also had stops at Kansas State (2012-16), Sam Houston State (2010-12), Bradley (2007-10), Midland (2006-07), and Arkansas-Fort Smith (2004-06).

Brooks spoke with Kentucky Insider earlier this month about Kentucky’s hire of Mark Pope, as someone who competed against him at BYU. He spoke highly of the hire, specifically of his Xs and Os, and saw “no negatives”.

Interestingly, he will not be the first Alvin Brooks to be a part of the Kentucky Basketball program as his father was the Director of Operations from 2007-09 under Billy Gillispie. Brooks joins an assembled staff of Cody Fueger, Jason Hart, and Mark Fox, leaving just one assistant spot remaining which likely won’t come soon.

That said, the concern with Pope was his recruiting ability. With Hart and now Brooks, he has addressed that concern and has added two of the best recruiters in the country.

BB Recruiting

Transfer Amari Williams Commits to Kentucky

Published

5 days ago

April 21, 2024

Tristan Pharis

Drexel transfer Amari Williams has committed to play for the Kentucky Wildcats. Becomes first transfer commitment under Mark Pope.

Graphic via ClutchPoints

Amari Williams has made his decision. He has committed to the Wildcats, first reported by Joe Tipton of On3.

Williams’ decision comes after visiting Lexington this past weekend. On all accounts and given his commitment, all things went well, even taking a visit to Keeneland with new head coach Mark Pope.

Originally from Nottingham, England, Williams has played the last four years at Drexel. He has career averages of 10.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks.

From his sophomore season forward, Williams has been named to the All-Coastal Athletic Association Team three times and has won three straight CAA Defensive Player of the Year Awards.

The 6-foot-10, 265-pound forward is a physical big. On the offensive end, he scores most of his points at the rim, many of which come in transition or off offensive rebounds, but he is also comfortable extending to the elbow. He is a better passer than one would expect as well, with an 18% assist rate.

As his Defensive Player of the Year awards suggest, Williams makes his biggest impact on the defensive side of the ball. With a 7-foot-5 wingspan, he blocks plenty of shots (8.5% block rate) and alters many more. His physical size and length help him rebound the ball well.

Both were areas Kentucky lacked in last season.

If you’re an analytical guy, Williams has been a top-20 player in player efficiency ratings the previous two seasons, with a 28.5 PER each season.

For reference, Kentucky’s most efficient players last season, Reed Sheppard and Antonio Reeves, both had a PER of 23.6.

Evan Miya, one of the best analytics gurus in college hoops, has Williams ranked 14th overall in DBPR for next season, which measures the defensive value a player brings to his team when he is on the court. So Kentucky just landed one of the best defensive transfers in America.

With his commitment, Williams becomes Kentucky’s first transfer under Mark Pope and just the second commitment overall, joining Collin Chandler, a 4-star recruit of the 2022 class returning from a mission trip this summer.

It’s worth noting that he played alongside fellow Kentucky target and Utah State transfer Great Osobor in England. Could the two join forces in Lexington as Kentucky’s frontcourt?

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