Evansville loss a wake-up call for Kentucky’s players — and Coach Cal, too
Because every Kentucky loss means trouble in Basketball City (and state and Big Blue Nation), John Calipari caught everyone’s attention by saying that EJ Montgomery is not coming through that door anytime soon.
“My guess is a week away,” the UK coach said in updating Montgomery’s status ahead of the team’s next game. “Maybe longer.”
Kentucky missed Montgomery in last week’s loss to Evansville, Calipari said. Montgomery has not played since sustaining a leg injury in the opening-night victory over Michigan State.
Calipari was optimistic about Ashton Hagans returning to form when Kentucky plays Utah Valley on Monday night in Rupp Arena. “I think Ashton will be healthier for this game,” he said, making sure to slowly say each of the three syllables in the word “healthier.”
Against Evansville, Hagans made one of eight shots and committed four turnovers.
“Ashton has to play well for us to do well,” Calipari said.
The UK coach suggested there was also a ripple effect with Montgomery being sidelined. There’s an added onus placed on Kentucky’s shorthanded (by Kentucky standards) contingent of “bigs”: Junior Nick Richards and graduate transfer Nate Sestina.
“Nick’s playing too many minutes,” Calipari said. “Now, all of a sudden guys are playing more minutes than they’re capable. Which means mental lapses. Game slippage. All of a sudden, we start not trusting each other because we’re breaking down. You now have a team that’s tentative because they can’t be aggressive and they can’t attack.”
Richards acknowledged how Montgomery’s absence impacts his play.
“Certain guys like me and Nate, we have to watch out … for fouls in the first half,” he said. “Because certain guys are not ready to play the ‘five’ position or the ‘four’ position. So it’s going to be hard for them if we get in foul trouble.”
Presumably, Richards are referring to freshmen Kahlil Whitney and Keion Brooks. They are 6-foot-6 and 6-7 players, respectively, who complement UK’s big men.
Practices impacted
Meanwhile, Montgomery being sidelined and Hagans hampered further stresses a roster already impacted by two other players yet to play because of injury: freshman Dontaie Allen and redshirt freshman Zan Payne.
Kentucky depends on walk-ons when it wants five-on-five play in practices, Calipari said.
Last week, UK quarterback Lynn Bowden volunteered on social media to join the basketball team. “He’d probably start for us,” Calipari quipped before adding a moment later, “I think Mark (Stoops) would kill me if I said, ‘Yes, bring him over.’”
Bowden does not have basketball eligibility, UK said.
Of more immediate concern was how Kentucky would move forward after the loss to Evansville.
The Sunday media availability had noticeably fewer reporters, which Calipari noted in seemingly intending to set a calming mood.
“Boy, you lose a game, no one comes,” he said when he arrived at the podium.
Wake-up call
Calipari suggested the loss to Evansville could be a wake-up call for his team.
“I’ve done this so long,” he said, “that we go from (defeating) Michigan State and thinking we can beat the world to obviously not in the right frame of mind, not in the right preparation (for Evansville).”
Calipari took the blame for this reversal of fortune.
“They’re going to follow my lead,” he said of the UK players. “Well, they probably followed my lead. I thought we were going to win that game, too. I didn’t think we’d have that much of a struggle with those guys. So they followed my lead.
“And it woke me up more than it woke them up.”
Freshman Johnny Juzang said the loss was not the result of following the leader as much as a collective misstep.
“It’s a team,” he said. “So, I mean, it’s across the board. I think all of us could have done something better that day. From the top of the chain to the bottom.”
The truth that Kentucky has come to realize? It is vulnerable when it does not compete fiercely, Calipari said.
Calipari cited offensive rebounding as an indicator of how Kentucky can better compete.
“We’re last (among) Power Five schools in offensive rebounding,” he said. “I’ve never heard of that.”
Through games of Saturday, Kentucky ranked 295th out of 351 Division I teams in average number of offensive rebounds (8.33 per game). And it hasn’t been because there were not opportunities for offensive rebounds. UK ranked 176th in overall shooting (44%) and 328th in three-point shooting.
“Basically, it means you’re not even trying because (you think) it’s not important …,” Calipari said. “You have to get offensive rebounds and free baskets. Or it’s going to be hard to win.”
Monday
Utah Valley at No. 1 Kentucky
When: 7 p.m.
Records: Utah Valley 3-1; UK 2-1
Series: UK leads 1-0
Last meeting: UK won 73-63 in Lexington on Nov. 10, 2017
TV: ESPN2
Radio: WLAP-AM 630; WBUL-FM 98.1
