Kentucky thriving by driving. What will happen when it has to make threes?
John Calipari expects Georgia Tech to play zone defense in Saturday’s game. If he’s correct and Tech executes, paths to the basket will be blocked when a Kentucky player drives.
“My guess is they’ll make us shoot threes,” the UK coach said.
This would not be a novel strategy. Several opponents this season — and many in other seasons — have spoken about wanting Kentucky to shoot jump shots: three- and two-pointers.
Besides living with UK jump shots, this strategy effectively executed would snuff Kentucky’s signature approach of driving to the basket to score or draw fouls or both.
The numbers suggest Kentucky is executing well this signature strategy of Calipari teams. Having made 79.5 percent of its free throws, UK is on pace to break the school record for three-throw accuracy: 77.6 percent in 1978-79.
Four players have made better than 86 percent of their free throws. Immanuel Quickley has shot free throws with 93.1-percent accuracy (27 of 29). That ranks 12th best nationally.
Close behind are Nate Sestina (89.5 percent), Ashton Hagans (88.9 percent) and Tyrese Maxey (86.7 percent).
Calipari declined to take a bow for devising a way to improve UK’s free-throw shooting.
“I just know we’re making more,” he said Friday. “And I’m not doing anything different than I’ve done in the past. Probably recruited better free-throw shooters, I guess.”
Goal: 10 straight
Nick Richards (74.1 percent) said that there’s a daily goal of each player making 10 straight free throws as many times as possible in a five-minute shooting drill.
“I’d probably say the most I’ve gotten is four or five,” Richards said of the times he’s made 10 in a row.
It might be semantics, but Richards said the UK coaches do not necessarily stress getting to the foul line. The emphasis is placed on driving the ball, he said. That sounded like six-of-one, a-half-dozen-of-the-other since a central idea is to draw contact which leads to fouls.
“That’s what he’s been talking about all week,” Richards said of Calipari. “Just fight. Take the contact, and just try to finish through it.”
Then there’s the possibility that Georgia Tech does not foul as its zone defense shuts off the driving lanes. Theoretically, that would leave Kentucky with the task of making jump shots.
Through games on Thursday, Kentucky ranked No. 303 nationally in three-point shooting accuracy at 29 percent. In average number of three-point baskets, UK ranked No. 343 out of 350 teams (4.5 per game).
“I’ll come back to I think we’re a really good three-point shooting team that hasn’t made shots right now,” Calipari said in echoing a contention he’s made frequently this early season.
Notre Dame’s example
To illustrate this point, Calipari cited Notre Dame. He said he recently attended Notre Dame’s game against Detroit Mercy, which, of course, includes his son, Brad Calipari.
While the younger Calipari made four of five three-point shots in the game, Notre Dame overwhelmed Detroit Mercy by making 20 of 39 shots from beyond the arc.
In other games, Notre Dame has made just 30.7 percent of its three-point shots. Coach Mike Brey said the game against Detroit Mercy reflected how well the Irish shot threes in practice.
“That’s us,” Calipari said Friday.
Calipari said he asked Brey what coaching rhetoric he used to produce such shooting against Detroit Mercy. Brey did not credit any inspiring words.
“So, I guess I won’t say anything,” Calipari said.
On his radio show Monday night, Calipari said that UK had shot more accurately when three-pointers were taken in transition. He explained Friday, saying UK’s passes in the half-court setting have not always hit shooters “in their wheelhouse” to then shoot in a smooth motion. He also said the half-court setting can distract a shooter.
“This should be a team making seven, eight threes,” Calipari said. “Sometimes more. Sometimes a couple less. But it shouldn’t be a team making one or two.
“And the good news is we do not rely on threes.”
According to stats savant Ken Pomeroy, Kentucky only gets 17.4 percent of its points from three-point baskets. That ranks No. 350 nationally.
By contrast, Kentucky ranks No. 8 nationally in points coming from free throws. A quarter of UK’s points have come from free throws.
Of course, three-point baskets draw the loudest cheers in Rupp Arena. Free throws? Except for the chicken biscuit promotion in second halves, makes usually rate only polite approval.
Referencing UK’s three-point shooting against Fairleigh Dickinson last weekend, Calipari said, “When you’re 2-for-11, do you really want to shoot more?”
Saturday
Georgia Tech at No. 8 Kentucky
When: 5 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Records: Georgia Tech 4-3, Kentucky 7-1
Series: Kentucky leads 56-15
Last meeting: Georgia Tech won 86-84 on Dec. 9, 2000, at Philips Arena in Atlanta.
