Men's Basketball

Two Weeks Without Reid

Published

6 years ago

February 21, 2019

In Kentucky’s 66-58 win over Missouri on Tuesday night, Reid Travis suffered a knee injury midway through the second half as
Keldon Johnson accidentally fell into Travis’ right knee on a fast break.

Kentucky was “trapped” in Columbus until late Wednesday afternoon due to weather, and no tests could run until the Cats got back to Lexington. After much anticipation, the Cats were finally able to get back and an MRI has confirmed a right knee sprain for Travis, but there is no further damage.

According to the UK Athletics department, Travis is expected to miss 10-14 days. Fourteen days from yesterday would be March 5th, the day Kentucky is scheduled to play at Ole Miss and will make him available for senior night on March 9th.

Over the course of the next two weeks, Kentucky plays Auburn, Arkansas, at Tennessee, and at Ole Miss. Three of which are in predicted to be in the tournament and the fourth, Arkansas, in the first four teams out. This will be a challenging stretch for Kentucky and will need to at least go 3-1 to have a chance to win the SEC.

Let’s dive deeper on what Kentucky will need to do be successful without Reid and the storylines.

EJ Montgomery and Nick Richards Need to Step Up

After the news broke, Calipari said, “Now, the other thing is, one guy’s misery is another guy’s opportunity. So now you have Nick [Richards] and EJ [Montgomery], now you have that opportunity to get extended minutes.”

Richards and Montgomery have been considered x-factors in this Kentucky team making a deep run in the NCAA tournament. With Reid missing time this gives each of them the opportunity to develop and gain more confidence before the postseason.

Richards, when on, has provided some great play off the bench and Montgomery has one of the highest potentials on this team. They both need to play well enough to take attention off of PJ Washington and be effective on the defensive end. Here is a comparison between the per 40 min totals for Travis and Montgomery/Richards.

PER 40 MINUTES:

Travis – 16.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.1 blocks

EJ/Nick – 12.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3.7 blocks

Despite taking a hit offensively, Montgomery and Richards give Kentucky more rim protection, and even the option implement more lob plays.

Improve Defensively

Kentucky has the 8th most efficient defense in the country, however, that couldn’t be seen in the final 10:24 when Travis exited the game. Kentucky was outscored 35-25 in the second half and showed plenty of mental mistakes on the defensive end.

Reid’s high basketball IQ impacts the defensive end in ways that cant be measured by numbers, which was shown on the highest stage in the LSU game in the final possession. With Travis out of the game, three players went for a block with no one boxing out for a rebound leading to LSU’s controversial tip-in win.

Calipari has completely transformed this team defensively and will need to make the necessary adjustments to stay elite on that end of the floor. While, not having as great of a basketball IQ as Travis, Montgomery and Richards do give Cal more athleticism and size to work with and provide better rim protection.

Crash the Boards

Kentucky has been one of the best rebounding teams in the country this season. The Cats rank top-30 in total rebounds per game and rank top-10 in offensive rebounding percentage. Travis is a big part of Kentucky’s success on the boards.

As dominant as Kentucky has been on boards this season they were outworked on Tuesday night, as Missouri won the rebounding battle 34-28.
Just four games ago, Montgomery had a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds against South Carolina. Last season, as a starter Richards averaged 12 rebounds per game per 40 minutes. Both big men have shown the potential to be elite rebounders, but they will need to put into action

Can PJ Maintain his Dominance without Travis?

With PJ and Travis, the best part of this Kentucky team has been their frontcourt this season. After starting the game off quick with 15 points in the first half, PJ was held to just three points in the second half. With Travis out, Missouri was able to solely focus and double team PJ making it much more difficult for him to get anything going.

If the third worst team in the SEC can hold PJ to three points in a half, what will some of the top teams in the SEC be able to do? The rest of the Cats will have to attract more attention and allow PJ to be effective.

Calipari said in a press release. “We are going to be very conservative with this, so he may be out a couple weeks. We hope he will be ready for around the conference tournament or maybe even a little bit before, but I’m happy for Reid that we’re going to get him back.”

Although it’s not ideal for Travis to miss any time, I believe this is a great opportunity for the young players on this team to grow up and mature just in time before NCAA tournament.

P.S. Can Reid Travis receive some fashion advice from Brad Calipari?

Men's Basketball

CBS Sports: Kentucky Has “ended pursuits” in Transfer Portal Following Aberdeen Commitment

In the wake of yet another addition to Kentucky’s incoming roster, CBS Sports reports that Coach Pope and staff may have closed the portal.

Published

3 days ago

April 23, 2025

Lane Mills

Mark Pope and staff may have everything they need from the transfer portal.

Chet White | UK Athletics

Following another flurry of transfer portal additions in his second year at the helm, it appears that Mark Pope and staff are satisfied with their sophomore haul. The portal in Lexington may be officially closed for the 2025-26′ season.

Right after Kentucky received the surprising commitment of Denzel Aberdeen, Matt Norlander, an analyst for CBS Sports, posted the following on X (Twitter):

“Barring any portal defections, Kentucky has ended its pursuits of all other portal targets, sources told CBS Sports. Getting Aberdeen today [April 21] meant they’ve moved off Andrej Stojakovic, Rylan Griffen, etc. Otega Oweh going through pre-draft process-but I expect him back in Lex”.

With the addition of Aberdeen, the Wildcats’ roster ballooned to near-max capacity for next season. Seeing two of the team’s walk-on players, Grant Darbyshire and Walker Horn, enter the transfer portal seemed to all but confirm this suspicion, too.

Losing One of Our Own

That is, until last night. With less than two hours remaining for players to do so, Travis Perry shocked much of the Big Blue Nation by throwing his name into the hat. This came just weeks after a string of comments from the Kentucky-native point guard seemed to confirm his return for a sophomore season.

Though all the same, given Kentucky’s bulk of back-court additions this offseason, his departure makes sense for the sake of playing time alone. The Lyon King will be sorely missed.

So while the Kentucky staff may still be very much content with their current roster, with hundreds of players remaining in the portal and an unexpected spot on the roster coming open, another grab is far from out of the question.

Who Coach Pope and company would go after is entirely unclear, as that potential player would likely have to accept a minimized role off the bench for a stretch of his time in Lexington. If anything, the logical replacement would be a direct fill-in at the PG2/PG3 spot in Perry’s absence.

Either way, the ‘Cats are set to come into next season as one of the most exciting teams in college basketball with a ceiling far out of view. Mark Pope continues to prove his prowess in the transfer market, too, easing the worries of Wildcats fans and closing the door on many supposed “insiders” who’ve spent the last month suggesting otherwise.

Men's Basketball

REPORT: Travis Perry Enters Transfer Portal

Published

4 days ago

April 22, 2025

Tristan Pharis

Kentucky basketball Travis Perry talks about growing more comfortable on the court.

Jordan Prather | IMAGN

The transfer portal has been kind to Kentucky in the Mark Pope era. Last season, the staff was able to build a Sweet Sixteen roster almost exclusively from the portal, and this offseason have put together a top-five portal class.

While the portal giveth, it also taketh. Just hours before the deadline to enter, Kentucky native and fan favorite Travis Perry has entered the transfer portal, per multiple reports.

Coming to Kentucky as the state’s all-time high-school scoring record holder, fans were excited to see how his career would unfold in Lexington.

Not expecting to play much freshman, he was called upon due to injuries and played some key minutes for the Wildcats into the postseason. He averaged 2.7 PPG and .6 APG on 32% shooting from three.

Looking at the depth chart, it was difficult to see where Perry would get much playing time next season, leading to his decision to enter the portal.

Perry has yet to release an official statement, but all the best to him in his future.

Men's Basketball

Top Transfer Guard Denzel Aberdeen Commits to Kentucky

Former Florida guard Denzel Aberdeen commits to Kentucky, likely closing the transfer portal for next year’s roster.

Published

4 days ago

April 22, 2025

Lane Mills

UF Athletics

Another day, another “boom.” Denzel Aberdeen has officially committed to Kentucky for the 2025-26’ season.

A soon-to-be senior guard fresh off his championship win with Florida, Aberdeen spent his first three years of eligibility in Gainesville. Now, following an apparent conflict in the Gators’ rotation, he’s swapped teams in the southeast.

At 6 ‘5”, 190, Aberdeen spent much of this past season beating defenders off the dribble and making them pay at the rim. His speed and size made him a nightmare off the bench for opposing teams, and for the short stretch of play that he started during the year, Florida didn’t miss a beat.

In 19 minutes, Aberdeen averaged 8 points, two rebounds and one assist per game. His consistent contribution to the Gators’ title run made him one of the most coveted transfers in the cycle this season, and given his big blue commitment just days after entering the portal, Mark Pope clearly wasted no time in Kentucky’s pursuit.

Aberdeen slots in as yet another addition to what was already one of the strongest portal classes going into next season. His SEC experience and combo-guard intangibles make Aberdeen one of the most exciting portal players to come through Lexington in a long while, reinforcing Kentucky’s back court to what may be the final degree.

Whether or not Mark Pope is officially done for next season, nobody is sure, but this commitment only further cements the fact that he knows exactly what he’s doing. Just like the fanbase behind him, Coach Pope seems to never sleep.