Who won when Kentucky scrimmaged Transylvania on Tuesday? ‘Not Transy.’
Kentucky got some relief from this foreboding early season Tuesday night. It came in the form of a scrimmage against crosstown neighbor Transylvania.
Dontaie Allen shot well. Olivier Sarr was a presence around the basket. UK’s defense made scoring difficult. UK’s offense executed.
That’s how Transy Coach Brian Lane saw it.
“I’m sure (UK Coach John Calipari) may mention at some point whether it was good or bad for them,” Lane said Wednesday. “But from my take on it, I think it was helpful.”
With a roster full of players who had not played together, the preseason exhibitions and early-season so-called “buy” games “are crucial,” Lane said. Of course, the coronavirus led to the cancellation of such games.
Positive COVID tests inside the South Carolina program caused the postponement of Kentucky’s Southeastern Conference opener scheduled for Tuesday. UK (1-6) intended to play Hartford, which had earlier backed out of the Multiple Team Event to open the season. But Hartford could not play. Transy was the backup to the backup plan, Lane said. The scrimmage was played in Rupp Arena. “It was just a weird feeling with all those seats and no fans,” Lane said.
UK wore practice gear. Transy wore game uniforms. The referees who worked the scrimmage had been assigned to officiate the game against South Carolina. The crew included Pat Adams.
Lane said he could not share statistical details from the game.
When asked which team won, he said with a laugh, “Not Transy.”
Allen, the 2019 Kentucky Mr. Basketball from Pendleton County, played in only four of UK’s first seven games. Calipari had alluded to an injury sidelining Allen. He played and shot well against Transy, Lane said.
“I think he was 6-of-10 from three,” the Transy coach said. “He was on fire.”
It became well documented that Sarr did not make a field goal in Kentucky’s last two games (against North Carolina and Louisville).
“I thought he handled our (big men),” said Lane, who added that playing against smaller but quicker opponents can be a challenge for a post player. “I thought it was a good opportunity for him to show what he’s truly capable of.”
Lane also recalled a dunk by Jacob Toppin in which he spun 360 degrees in the air.
“About as impressive as I’ve seen,” Lane said. “He did a lot of good things.”
Kentucky’s primary focus going into the game was to improve its offensive execution, Lane said. UK has struggled with turnovers and poor shooting, both linked by Calipari to poor execution.
“We changed things up and tried to get them off balance,” Lane said. “We just could not.”
Transy, an NCAA Division III team, has six seniors on its roster. That kind of experience has been beneficial in the scrambled world of a pandemic.
“In our first practice, I called out 10 plays,” Lane said. “And all our guys knew every single one of them.”
Last season saw Transy win the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship and play in the D-3 NCAA Tournament.
This season the Pioneers have lost their four games, all on the road against Division I opponents. Morehead State won 77-55 and 81-55 on back-to-back nights. An 81-60 loss at Eastern Kentucky was a third game in four nights. Then Transy lost 90-49 at Murray State.
Lane saw hopeful signs in an early 12-2 lead in the second game at Morehead State, a halftime deficit of only nine points at Murray State and trailing by 15 with eight minutes to go at EKU.
Transy next plays Friday at Bellarmine. The Pioneers open conference play Jan. 16.
