Keldon Johnson raised the bar for himself with 17-rebound performance

In helping to offset the absence of Reid Travis, Keldon Johnson grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds in Kentucky’s 80-53 victory over Auburn on Saturday.

He also inspired UK Coach John Calipari to scratch the itch he has for setting seemingly impossible standards for the players to seek. Think PJ Washington scoring 35 points and grabbing 20 rebounds on a regular basis.

“Keldon told on himself today,” Calipari said. “If he thinks he’s getting two rebounds next game, I’m going to be all over him. He told on himself. You’re able to get that many rebounds? You’re able to go above the rim against a team like that, (a team) that rebounds like crazy offensively?”

Johnson posted the third-most rebounds by a UK player this season. Nick Richards had 19 against Southern Illinois and Washington had 18 against VMI.

Johnson laughed when told of Calipari’s reaction to the 17 rebounds.

“That’s what he said,” he said. “It’s just going in there and rebounding, crashing the glass.

“We knew we had to make up for Reid’s absence. I knew I had to go in and hit the glass extra hard today.”

Johnson said he was comfortable with the idea of Kentucky using a smaller lineup while Travis is sidelined.

“Just getting in there and be tough. …,” he said. “Whatever they need me to do, I go in there and do it.”

‘He frustrates me’

As expected, Travis’ absence led to more minutes for EJ Montgomery and Nick Richards. Montgomery’s 23 minutes were the most he has played since getting 26 against Monmouth on Nov. 28. And Richards’ 20 were his most since logging 27 against Southern Illinois on Nov. 9.

Calipari said he started Montgomery over Richards because the former had played better.

“I love Nick,” Calipari said. “Nick’s one of my favorite players of all time. Of all time that I’ve ever coached. I want more for him. He frustrates me. I know he’s better than he’s playing. I’m trying everything I can to get it out of him. Takes longer with some kids than others.”

Zero assists

Auburn point guard Jared Harper came into the game ranked second among SEC players and 19th among all Division I players in assists. He averaged 6.2 per game.

Harper had no assists (and three turnovers) in 32 minutes against UK.

“There hasn’t been a game where Jared Harper has never had any assists,” Auburn Coach Bruce Pearl said.

Ashton Hagans, who led the defensive effort against Harper, was surprised when told the Auburn player did not have an assist.

“Just playing good ‘D,’” he said. “Not too much to say. He’s a very good player.”

Empathy from Rupp

A reunion of Kentucky’s 1958 national championship team led to the retelling of a story that reveals another side of Adolph Rupp. Instead of the one-dimensional bigot he was often portrayed as, Rupp could convey compassion and empathy.

Ed Beck, the 6-foot-7 center on the team, said his first wife, Billie Ray, was diagnosed with a virulent case of Hodgkin’s disease early in his time as a UK student and player.

“Believe it or not, he spent hours with her in his office in private conversations …,” Beck said of Rupp. “He became more than a coach to me. He was not just my mentor. He was my deep friend, in that context, at least.”

For a trip to Atlanta, Rupp invited Billie Ray to eat a pre-game meal with the Kentucky players.

“You didn’t do that,” Beck said. “Adolph’s wife didn’t eat with us.”

Billie Ray died at age 23 soon after UK played in the 1957 NCAA Tournament.

Rupp and assistant coach Harry Lancaster drove to Georgia to attend her funeral. The next day, Rupp spoke of Billie Ray at UK’s end-of-season banquet.

“We dedicated the ’58 season for her,” Beck said. “That was part of our cohesion.”

Then and now

Beck, 82, helped former teammate Vernon Hatton, 83, walk to a table where the former UK teammates answered media questions about the 1958 championship season.

“I carried him the whole ‘58 season,” Beck quipped. He later added, “As you noticed, we’re not as fast as we used to be.”

When Beck asked that a question be repeated, Hatton volleyed with a quip of his own: “We used to say, ‘Pass the ball, Ed.’ And he said, ‘I can’t hear you.’”

The pair acknowledged how basketball has changed since the championship 61 years ago.

For instance, dunking was frowned upon if not outlawed.

“If you dunked, the possibility was a referee would call a foul,” Beck said. “Because you were showboating. And you were never, never, NEVER allowed to showboat.”

After a comedic pause, Beck added, “it’s changed a little bit.”

This story was originally published February 23, 2019 at 7:52 PM.