Teammate defends Devin Askew: ‘He’s not the reason we lost the game’
Missing the front end of a one-and-one with 23.5 seconds left punctuated a gloomy night in Georgia for Devin Askew.
After UK’s 63-62 loss, John Calipari expressed sympathy for the freshman guard.
“That last free throw, I know, crushed him,” the UK coach said. “And that wasn’t the game.”
Keion Brooks offered a similar comment.
“He’s not the reason we lost the game,” he said of Askew. “It was a group effort.”
Askew also missed all six of his shots and committed five turnovers.
“I know he’s probably taking it a little hard right now,” Brooks said. “We all have been in those situations where we felt we caused the team to lose or we didn’t do our job. …
“All I can say to him is keep your head up. The whole team is with you.”
That Askew was in the game in the final minutes was a testament to the coaching staff’s belief and trust in him, Calipari said.
Not for the first time, the UK coach shared how he wanted Askew to play.
“I don’t want him to have a lot of dribbles,” Calipari said. “I want him to come down, give it up and get away from the ball. The reason I like that is away from the ball, he can make plays and he can make shots. On the ball with everyone watching him, he’s not effective. He’s just not.”
Future shock?
Going forward, Kentucky’s schedule does not get any easier. Of the remaining 12 games, stats savant Ken Pomeroy favors UK in only four: home against Arkansas (53 percent chance of winning), Auburn (64 percent) and Texas A&M (76 percent), plus at Vanderbilt (70 percent).
Judging by the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) ratings going into Wednesday’s games, Kentucky’s remaining schedule is challenging. UK was at No. 94 in the NET.
Kentucky’s next five opponents (LSU, at Alabama, Texas, at Missouri and Tennessee) had an average NET of 15.6.
The average NET for Kentucky’s remaining 12 opponents is 47.
“You know what? We better start playing better,” Calipari said. “It ain’t going to get easier. Every game we play from here on in (is) really hard. So, we’re going to have to step on the gas.”
Role reversal
In more ways than one, Brandon Boston and Dontaie Allen had a role reversal at Georgia.
Allen started in place of Boston. It was Allen’s first start and Boston’s first time in a reserve role.
Allen, who had been a spark off the bench, made only one shot and finished with three points and two turnovers.
Boston, who had struggled as a starter (10-of-33 shooting in the previous four games), thrived in the reserve role. He led UK with 18 points (two shy of a season high) and grabbed seven rebounds.
“It woke up BJ,” Calipari said of Boston.
When seemingly speaking of another player, but without naming names, Calipari said, “I’m telling a guy, if you don’t shoot, I’m taking you out.”
Of the role reversal that still resulted in one player excelling and the other struggling, Calipari said, “We had guys in roles that they were comfortable with. Now, you get them in other roles, you see they’re not as comfortable.”
Then seemingly speaking of fans who lobbied on social media for Allen to start, Calipari added, “This is why I say I know my team. I’m with them every day.”
Allen became the 10th player to start a UK game this season. Olivier Sarr is the only player to start all 13 games.
Point guard standard
In Georgia’s first 12 games, sophomore point guard Sahvir Wheeler posted a double-double in points and assists four times.
That equaled the second-most point-assist double-doubles by an SEC player this century.
Tremont Waters of LSU did it twice: in 2017-18 and 2018-19. Phil Pressey of Missouri did it in 2012-13.
The most point-assist double-doubles by an SEC player this century? Tyler Ulis did it seven times in the 2015-16 season, and he didn’t feast on overmatched non-conference opponents: 20 and 10 against Ole Miss, 18 and 11 against Florida, 27 and 12 against South Carolina, 22 and 11 against Texas A&M, 19 and 10 against Alabama, 19 and 11 at Florida, and 14 and 14 against LSU
Against Kentucky, Wheeler flirted with another double-double. He finished with 10 points and seven assists.
Camp Cal?
The period between semesters, which is dubbed “Camp Cal,” is hyped as a time when marked improvement is made. Now, with spring semester classes about to begin, Calipari was asked if that’s an additional problem.
“It may be good we have less time on the court,” he said.
Anthem update
UK players stood with arms interlocked during the playing of the national anthem.
Looking ahead
Karl Ravech and Dick Vitale will call Saturday’s Kentucky-LSU game for ESPN.
This story was originally published January 20, 2021 at 11:44 PM.
