Hot shooting inspires Kellan Grady to mimic his basketball hero, Steph Curry
Kellan Grady led the way as Kentucky settled matters early in the second half against High Point on Friday. He contributed three three-pointers in a 14-0 run that put UK ahead by 27 with less than 14 minutes left. Only the final score — 92-48 — remained in doubt.
An air of anticipation filled Rupp Arena as Grady caught passes. Then three swishes within 91 seconds inspired ever louder cheers.
“I’m more grateful for the anticipation,” Grady said. “That points out that essentially the people are telling me to take it. … The last couple games here in Rupp, that’s become just an amazing feeling.”
Grady scored 2,000 points for Davidson before transferring to Kentucky this past offseason. He’s a fan of former Davidson star Steph Curry, now with the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.
Grady smiled when asked if his one-two-three blitz of three-pointers made him feel like Curry.
“A little bit,” he said. “I don’t know if you saw me do the four-point play (gesture) like he does.
“But, of course, I missed the free throw.”
That came 98 seconds after the third of Grady’s trio of threes. It was a relatively inconsequential setback for a player who equaled a career-high seven threes (he had seven for Davidson against Southern Virginia last season) and scored a game-high 23 points.
The performance continued a hot streak for Grady. In the three most recent games, he had made 13 of 21 three-point shots.
After the High Point game, Grady has made half his three-point shots this season (38 of 76). Only three Division I player shot with better accuracy from beyond the arc going into Friday. The best percentage was 56.9 percent by Keller Boothby of Cornell (33 of 58).
UK Coach John Calipari said he spoke to Grady before the game about creating more shots for the graduate transfer. Grady took only five shots — all three-pointers — against Missouri on Wednesday.
Of Calipari’s call for more shots, Grady said, “it’s a rewarding feeling.”
Overall, UK made 10 of 26 three-point shots. The only game the Cats made more this season was against Robert Morris (12 of 23).
Said High Point Coach Tubby Smith: “If they make threes like that, they’re going to be very hard to beat.”
Unity
Calipari offered several examples of a selflessness exhibited by UK players.
Although Lance Ware contributed five rebounds and two blocks in the first half, Calipari said he told him another “big,” freshman Daimion Collins, would get minutes in the second half.
“He gave me a thumbs up, and said, ‘I’m good,’” the UK coach said of the halftime exchange with Ware. “Can you imagine the maturity?”
Just in case, Calipari said he asked Ware and Collins to hug before the second half begun.
Although Grady was a hot shooter, he suggested that freshman Bryce Hopkins get minutes in the second half, Calipari said before adding, “We’re starting to become an empowered team.”
Oscar Tshiebwe, who has made double-doubles seemingly routine, grabbed “only” eight rebounds.
“You know what?” Calipari said. “The kid had a smile on his face and happy as heck for how we played.”
Calipari added that he was unaware of Tshiebwe’s rebound total. “If I knew he had eight, I’d have left him in for two more,” the UK coach said.
“I am enjoying this team because they want to be coached. They’re pushing away the clutter that comes at them.”
Working overtime
Calipari said he would be returning to his office Friday night to belatedly begin work on preparing for Tuesday’s game at LSU. Going into Friday’s play, LSU had a NET ranking of No. 5, which was the best of any SEC team.
“I haven’t watched them for one minute,” said Calipari, who added that he expected LSU to press and force the action.
“They can’t force their will on you,” he said. “You’ve got to force your will on them.
“But they’re really good. Like a top-10 team.”
LSU has a 12-1 record. The Tigers lost 70-55 at Auburn on Wednesday. Auburn has the SEC’s second-best NET ranking at No. 6.
NET
Kentucky came into the game at No. 21 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings. High Point was No. 267.
UK’s 10-2 record got a boost from a 7-0 record in Quad 4 games (the least significant in the NET rankings).
Kentucky was not the only team with a top 25 NET ranking that had played seven or more Quad 4 games.
No. 4 Gonzaga had a 7-0 record in Quad 4 games. No. 8 Duke was 8-0 in such games. No. 14 Texas was 9-0.
Next game
No. 18 Kentucky at No. 16 LSU
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday
TV: ESPN
This story was originally published December 31, 2021 at 6:15 PM.
