Blue-White Game features rim rattling, plus a ‘matchup nightmare’
Kentucky’s Blue-White Game on Sunday night suggested that reinforcing the Rupp Arena rims this coming season would be a good idea.
Not that the UK players shot bricks, to use basketball parlance. It was more the many times those players drove, dunked and otherwise showcased a predominance of play in the paint.
Of the game’s 84 baskets, there were six dunks or layups off lobs, nine dunks that did not involve a lob pass, 27 layups and nine putbacks.
That made for 51 baskets from the paint. Of the game’s 200 points (the Blue team won 104-96), 108 points came from the paint.
“Our mindset is the more paint touches we get, the more it’s going to open up for our shooters,” said Nick Richards, who had 16 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks for the Blue team.
Reid Travis, the graduate transfer expected to provide muscle and inside play, did both. He finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds. He produced for both teams, scoring 16 points and grabbing seven rebounds for the White team in the first half, then adding 11 points and six rebounds for the Blue team in the second.
Travis also made perimeter shots, which NBA scouts suggested would be a good addition to his game.
Ditto for PJ Washington. He, too, dunked and drove and pulled up for a jump shot that his experience with the pre-draft process earlier this year told him he needed to improve his NBA profile. He finished with 23 points.
During the second half, the Blue team went big in triplicate with Richards, Travis and Washington forming an imposing front line. It’s a Towering Triplet lineup that Coach John Calipari said UK could use this season. The key may be Washington’s ability to be a capable 6-foot-8 wing.
“PJ is basically positionless,” Richards said. “He can play, in my eyes, ‘two’ through ‘five.’ He can guard ‘two’ through ‘five’ at the same time, too. So it’s going to be a matchup nightmare for a lot of teams.”
Freshman Tyler Herro led all scorers with 34 points. He made four of six three-point shots. Overall, eight different players contributed to 13-for-35 shooting from three-point range.
Herro, who led the way by making four of six three-point shots, acknowledged being unsure of when to shoot and when to drive.
“I’m still trying to figure that out myself,” he said. “Trying to figure out how he (Calipari) wants me to play, and how he wants the whole team to play.”
Herro said the key will be reading the defense.
Kentucky will play the first of its two pre-season exhibition games on Friday against Transylvania.
The get-acquainted service provided by the Blue-White Game became apparent almost immediately. When EJ Montgomery scored the game’s first basket, public address announcer Patrick Whitmer told the crowd Travis scored.
The attack-the-rim approach that has become a signature component of Kentucky’s offense under Calipari was on display in the first half. Of the teams’ 42 baskets, 25 came either through the rim or in its shadow.
There were four lobs converted into dunks, plus another four dunks not set up by a pass over the rim.
Thirteen times a player drove for a layup. Another four baskets were put-backs.
It wasn’t like the players abandoned the three-point shot. They were prudent in shooting it. The teams’ combined to make six of 15 three-point shots. Six different players made shots from beyond the arc: Quade Green, Keldon Johnson, Immanuel Quickley, Ashton Hagans, Jemarl Baker and Herro.
Travis led all first-half scorers with 16 points. After a quiet first 11 minutes, he came alive. He scored all of his points in the final nine minutes. That included perimeter jumpers, put-backs, a dunk and a confident pull-up from just inside the foul line.
Arguably, Richards had the first half’s most memorable score. He took a pass at the foul line. As defenders retreated, presumably to close off passing lanes, he all but shrugged and drove down the middle of the lane and threw down a dunk.
Early in the second half, a sequence drew a chuckle from fans. On the White team’s second possession, Hagans drove for a layup that Richards blocked from behind. Hagans crumpled to the floor and Richards stood over him momentarily as if to say don’t bring that weak stuff around the rim.
“That’s just a little brotherly love right there,” Richards said with a smile. When asked what he said to Hagans, he said, “I can’t repeat that.”
Two possessions later brought a replay of sorts. Hagans again drove toward the basket, this time crossing the lane in front of the basket. Richards again blocked the shot and Hagans again fell to the floor. This time, Hagans looked back at a referee as if waiting for a call that never came.
“He was just looking for a bail out,” Richards said, again smiling. “That’s all it is.”
Matter of trust
When asked to explain his five blocks, Richards said, “Mostly, I have more trust in my teammates. That even if I go for a rebound, even if I go for a block, somebody is going to get my rebound for me.”
Cal prods EJ
In a light-hearted manner, Calipari said he wants more consistent effort from Montgomery. As evidence, the UK coach cited how Montgomery had his best performances at Pro Day and then the Blue-White Game.
“Oh, so when there are people in the seats and there are scouts in the seats, you just take it up a notch,” Calipari said with a teasing tone. “Really? Well, guess what son, you’re going to take it up a notch (every day) or you’re going to be on that treadmill.”
Montgomery got the message.
“It’s a big punishment,” he said with a smile. “But it gets me ready.”
The presence of scouts and/or fans helps him not dwell on mistakes, he said.
“When the lights are on, my mind clears,” he said. “I don’t think about the game, and just go out there and be myself.”
No mercy
Keldon Johnson, perhaps the most irrepressible UK player in several seasons, showed he’s not afraid to stand out. In clear view at half-court, he hassled Brad Calipari to the point that the Brad went to the floor. Johnson ripped the ball away and fed a fast-break.
I think that’s just Keldon,” Herro said. “He’s competitive. He’s still mad in the locker room that we lost.”
Attendance
The announced attendance of 15,377 marked the fourth-largest crowd in Blue-White Game history.
The record is 16,089 in 2016. The second most came last year: 15,530.
This story was originally published October 21, 2018 at 11:02 PM.