How has UK’s No. 1 recruiting class looked in its first two games? Some observations.
With a team this young and inexperienced, you knew there would be growing pains.
They came early for the Kentucky Wildcats, who looked to be ahead of schedule with a season-opening blowout over Morehead State on Wednesday night only to lose 76-64 to Richmond on Sunday afternoon.
It’s worth noting that this is a great Richmond team — a veteran group that could very well be playing into the second week of the NCAA Tournament. The Spiders were not a good early-season matchup for this new group of Wildcats, and they certainly exposed some weaknesses of this Kentucky team. There were some positives to be taken from the first two games for UK’s freshmen, however. Some early observations on the Cats’ young newcomers:
Devin Askew
Kentucky managed just five assists in Sunday’s loss to Richmond, and none of those came after halftime. With a stat like that, the starting point guard will get much of the blame (and there were plenty who were quick to blame Askew on social media before the buzzer had even sounded on Sunday’s loss).
Obviously, it’s not all on him. Ball movement is a team concept. It starts with the primary ball handler, but it takes more than one player to get open looks. For the youngest player on this UK squad, an opposing team filled with veteran, crafty (and talented) guards in game two is not exactly an optimal matchup, and Askew is clearly (and understandably) still finding his way as a college point guard.
There was some speculation heading into opening night whether Askew or graduate transfer Davion Mintz would be the Cats’ starter to begin the season. In a Wednesday meeting with the SEC Network broadcast crew, John Calipari made it clear: “Devin Askew is my point guard,” he apparently told the announcers bluntly. He said the same thing to the team before that game.
Those annual UK growing pains are often seen most with freshman point guards, no matter how highly touted they are. The good news for Kentucky is that Askew shows the signs of a player who should progress greatly over the course of the season, as he and his teammates grow more comfortable with each other and with the speed of the college game.
When on the socially distanced bench in the Morehead State game, Askew was communicating with assistant coaches, asking questions. With UK trailing in the Richmond game, he would leave his seat to dap teammates as they came to the bench area. On the court, he’s clearly an intense competitor. Since high school, he’s shown all the hallmarks of a player who wants to lead and wants to get better, and that’s been apparent in his short time in Lexington so far.
He’s unselfish, perhaps even to a fault. In the first half Sunday, he attempted just one shot in 19 minutes and had the highest plus-minus on the team entering halftime. He’ll continue to be unselfish at UK, but look for him to start taking more shots from deep (he passed some up Sunday) and get more comfortable working to create open shots when off the ball (there’s already been evidence that he can do it).
As the game slows down for Askew, and he and his teammates start to jell, the results should come. But it’s going to take some time for that to happen. And he didn’t have a normal preseason practice schedule, or exhibition games, or cupcake opponents to get up to speed.
Stats so far: 7.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 3.0 apg, 7 turnovers — 5-for-12 FGs, 2-for-5 threes, 2-for-2 FTs.
Brandon Boston
All 80 minutes taken into account, Boston is probably the biggest bright spot so far.
What impressed most about the Morehead game is the shots he didn’t take. Coming in with the reputation as one of the best freshmen in America, he could have gone hunting for points early and often. He didn’t. Calipari noted that Boston didn’t force shots.
That’s not necessarily surprising.
Boston played on the Nike circuit with Sharife Cooper — perhaps the most ball-dominant player in that entire league last year — and was on a high school team stacked with high-major Division I talent last season. He knows how to play both with great players and within a team system, and he knows how to pick his spots.
It’s also important to note that what might be a bad shot for 99.9 percent of college basketball players isn’t necessarily a bad shot for Boston, who is a creative finisher adept at using his length and athleticism to score at unorthodox times and angles. There was plenty of that in Sunday’s loss. There’s still a fine line between good shot and bad — the “heat check” from deep after making a long two-pointer Sunday was unnecessary, for sure — but this is just his second college game, and, on the whole, he’s been mighty impressive. (He’s missed all seven of his three-pointers, but that will also shake out with a larger sample size).
Calipari noted Wednesday that Boston “fought on defense” and just generally tried hard. That carried over to Sunday’s game, especially on the boards. He had 10 rebounds against the Spiders and was still attacking the glass and coming up with balls late in the game, at a time when some UK fans had likely given up and turned off their TVs. After two games, Boston has three more rebounds than Olivier Sarr and just one less than team leader Isaiah Jackson.
Stats so far: 17.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg | 15-for-34 FGs, 0-for-7 threes, 5-for-7 FTs.
Terrence Clarke
UK’s No. 2-ranked recruit is bringing some energy early in the season.
Calipari joked (?) that he was cramping up Wednesday night because he’d never consistently played that hard for that long in his career. His energy is especially noticeable on the defensive end, where he uses his length and athleticism well and has the look of someone who wants to be a great defender. With players this young, the “want” is a major factor. Clarke has the physical tools to be great defensively, and his tenacity there — especially playing on the ball — is evident. (He also leads the team with four steals).
Offensively, Clarke has found ways to get points without forcing too many shots, an occasional knock in his high school days. He’s shooting better than 50 percent from the field, though he’s never been a great outside shooter (missed all four threes so far) and has to improve at the line, where he leads the team in free throw attempts but has made only half of them.
Like Boston, he’s also hitting the boards and coming up with some strong rebounds. Playmakers like those getting balls and starting the break will be big for this team.
Clarke is also getting to play some point guard, something he’s long been building toward — he mentioned this often as a recruit — and Calipari has talked about since the start of the season. UK’s coaches saw point guard abilities in Clarke when they recruited him. They’re going to give him some opportunities there, and there were several instances over the first two games where he passed on an OK shot for himself to get a better shot for a teammate. That’s a good sign. He still had some silly turnovers, and he still looked a bit uncomfortable under defensive pressure, but he seems to have Calipari’s confidence.
Offensively, it’ll probably be best for this team if Clarke can play to his strengths of driving and creating either shots or space, leaving most of the long-distance attempts to Askew, Boston and Mintz — three players who have been superior shooters, based on past results.
Stats so far: 13.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.5 apg, 4 steals, 6 turnovers | 10-for-19 FGs, 0-for-4 threes, 7-for-14 FTs.
Cam’Ron Fletcher
The biggest surprise of this young season might’ve been Fletcher’s name in the starting lineup Sunday. The lowest-ranked member of UK’s 2020 recruiting class played great in 17 minutes against Morehead State, going for nine points, five rebounds and three assists while showing plenty of fight on defense. Calipari singled him out after that game, and started him Sunday. (Isaiah Jackson, whose spot he took in the lineup, did tweak his ankle late in Wednesday’s game, but he still played 26 minutes against the Spiders; Keion Brooks missed each of UK’s first two games with an injury).
Coming into the season, there were doubts over how many meaningful minutes Fletcher would even play. The thinking was that he would have to excel with effort, defense, and grit to get and stay on the court. He’s doing that early on. Calipari applauded his fight after game 1 — “I love what I saw today because he just plays hard” — and he was back to attacking the glass and diving for loose balls Sunday. That’s what will keep him earning minutes.
What will keep him off the court is forcing offense. Until scoring four points in garbage time late in Sunday’s game, Fletcher took just one shot: a bad, contested long two-pointer that missed and had Calipari immediately on his feet and thumbing someone else into the game. That sequence made things pretty clear: any offense Fletcher provides at this point should come naturally and should be considered a bonus. Calipari’s best teams have featured players that deliver with grit, however, and Fletcher looks capable of providing in that department.
Stats so far: 6.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg | 6-for-8 FGs, 1-for-1 threes, 0-for-0 FTs.
Isaiah Jackson
The “buzz” player of Kentucky’s preseason started against Morehead, and — despite that tweaked ankle — played plenty in Sunday’s loss, including the first eight minutes of the second half. In fact, Jackson grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds in 26 minutes against the Spiders. That — along with his shot-blocking abilities — is what he was most praised for as a recruit, and the small sample size says those skills are translating.
Jackson’s second-jump ability makes him a dangerous rebounder whenever he’s around the basket, and that led to several bonus chances in Sunday’s game (he had seven offensive rebounds against the Spiders alone). Defensively, he can make up space in a hurry. Even if a scorer gets around him or he looks out of place as a help defender, he has the length, athleticism and timing to disrupt the shot anyway. That, too, has already been on display in the early going. He leads the team with four blocked shots.
It’ll be important for Jackson to not force things offensively. He’ll be dangerous in transition and has shown he can catch the ball on the move and make something happen in the halfcourt, but focusing on making those putbacks that should come in bunches (but he missed plenty Sunday) will be a key to his offensive game.
As with this entire freshman class, energy doesn’t look like it will be a problem for Jackson. It’s how to utilize that energy and where to focus his attention that will take some time to work out.
Stats so far: 7.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 4 blocks | 6-for-13 FGs, 0-for-1 threes, 3-for-7 FTs.
Lance Ware
The 6-9 power forward got plenty of early run against Morehead thanks to some foul trouble with Kentucky’s other bigs, but it was Ware who found himself in foul trouble Sunday, playing just two minutes thanks to three fouls. He saw the court just twice against the Spiders, fouling 15 seconds into his only first-half stint and 40 seconds into his only second-half stint.
It’s been an incredibly small sample size for Ware so far — just 21 minutes total — but one thing is clear: he plays hard. This was a common theme when talking to anyone who’s spent time coaching him over the past year or two, and he brought plenty of fight to UK’s first two games. While it’s perfectly fine for frontcourt players to give up some fouls, Ware will need to harness that hard work smartly — not get caught out of position and avoid going for shot and ball fakes. With Sarr and Jackson as the only other true bigs on UK’s roster, the Cats will need Ware to play some quality minutes, and he’ll need to show he can stay on the floor defensively against good teams.
Offensively, there’s not much to go on. Ware has not yet attempted a field goal or gone to the free throw line through Kentucky’s first two games.
Stats so far: 0.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg | Has not attempted a field goal or free throw.
This story was originally published November 29, 2020 at 5:05 PM.
