Is that EJ Montgomery or KO Montgomery? It might be time to ‘punch’ a teammate.
While saluting the progress EJ Montgomery has made in being more assertive, Kentucky associate coach Kenny Payne called for the sophomore forward to be way more demonstrative in calling for teammates to pass him the ball in the low post.
“Why don’t you punch guys” who don’t pass, Payne said the UK coaches have suggested.
Montgomery recoiled at this presumably non-literal piece of coaching advice.
“Oh, no,” he said. “They’re all my guys. I just tell them, ‘Hit me there. I’m open.’”
Payne said that Montgomery is close to reaching a greater degree of his potential. The player’s energy is “way better,” Payne said. The rebounding and willingness to mix it up physically have improved.
But Montgomery struggles with the “mental part” of the game, Payne said. “When he gets his second foul (in the first half) and has to sit, it takes away his aggressiveness. He gets tentative.”
Punching anyone seems out of character for Montgomery, who can be quick to smile. Can such a soft-spoken person be capable of throwing a punch?
“Those are the ones you’ve got to worry about, those soft-spoken ones,” Tyrese Maxey said with a big smile. “Sometimes the loud ones are just bluffing.”
Less is more
Victories over Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi State gave Texas A&M its first three-game winning streak since beating Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Oregon State and Texas Southern in December.
Last weekend, A&M scored a season-high 87 points in beating Mississippi State 87-75. In that game, the Aggies made 59.6 percent of their shots (31 of 52), including nine of 17 from three-point range, and 16 of 18 free throws.
“This is the best groove we’ve been in …,” Coach Buzz Williams said after the game. “We’re not adding. We’re actually subtracting from what we’re trying to accomplish, so we can hold everyone accountable because there’s less things to talk about.”
Williams credited effort as a reason for the upturn A&M has taken.
“It’s not like we’re running great plays,” he said. “It’s not all of a sudden their skill sets have changed. I think we’re playing incredibly hard. … I think they now understand the value of playing incredibly hard.”
UK is coming
Williams downplayed the notion that playing Kentucky can further elevate his team.
“We’re just thankful,” he said. “The next game, and who it is and where it is, after all that we’ve been through … I think our guys are exhausted because they’re absolutely giving everything they have. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally.
“To be thinking, ‘Oh, here comes Big Blue Nation and Coach Cal (John Calipari) and he’s the best,’ none of those words are going on amongst our team, our staff or our players. We’re just grateful to have the chance to see what our work has been able to do. There’s a level of excitement that’s like, ‘OK, good. We get to try again.’”
Home stretch
Stats savant Ken Pomeroy favors Kentucky in three of the final four regular-season games. He gives UK a 72-percent chance of winning at Texas A&M.
The chances of UK beating Auburn and Tennessee in the final two home games are 68 and 76 percent, according to Pomeroy.
He rates the chances of Kentucky winning at Florida in the regular-season finale as 42 percent.
By contrast, Pomeroy made A&M a significant underdog in its final four games. After Kentucky, the Aggies play at LSU (13 percent chance of winning), at Auburn (14 percent) and home against Arkansas (36 percent).
A&M’s final four opponents are all among the SEC’s top six in the NET ratings.
Player of the Week
The SEC named Immanuel Quickley as its Player of the Week. That marked the second time he’s been named. The first time came on Jan. 13 after he made eight of nine three-point shots and scored 34 points in UK victories at Georgia and over Alabama that previous week.
Last week saw Quickley score a team-high 21 points in UK’s victory at LSU, then a career-high 26 in the home victory over Florida.
“The kid lives in the gym,” UK Coach John Calipari said in a news release. “He’s kind of like Tyler (Herro). He’s like Shai (Gilgeous-)Alexander, those guys. He’s just like them.”
Others who have been named SEC Player of the Week twice this season are UK teammate Nick Richards, Alabama guard Kira Lewis Jr., and Mississippi State “big” Reggie Perry.
Arkansas guard Mason Jones has been named SEC Player of the Week three times.
Etc.
Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes and sideline reporter Marty Smith will call the game for ESPN.
