Not the perfect game? If Kentucky’s win over Kansas wasn’t it, what’s left to refine?
After Kentucky won decisively at Kansas, assistant coach Ron “Chin” Coleman texted a couple of UK players. He followed up with more texting on Monday.
“Here’s what I said to these guys: We didn’t come this far just to come this far, right?” Coleman said during a teleconference Tuesday. “We came this far to go further.”
This echoed something UK Coach John Calipari said on his radio show Monday night. He referred to the hosannas inspired by a thorough whipping of Kansas — which included a rise from No. 12 to No. 5 in The Associated Press top 25 poll — as “rat poison.”
The next test of Kentucky’s state of competitive health comes Wednesday night against visiting Vanderbilt.
During his turn on the teleconference, Lance Ware suggested the UK team will not rest on the laurels thrown its way.
“It’s obviously nice,” he said of the praise. “But we know there are bigger goals, and we still have to win games.
“Obviously, beating Kansas was a big win that we needed. But there’s still more to accomplish. Hopefully, (beating Kansas) gets us going and we can build off that. We just don’t want that to be our last big win.”
The numbers suggested Kentucky (17-4 overall and 6-2 in the Southeastern Conference) beat Kansas in every way possible. UK shot better overall (50.8 percent to 40.7), shot more free throws (16-10), out-rebounded the Jayhawks (41-29) and had a better assist-to-turnover ration (19-9 to 12-11).
Coleman spoke glowingly of Kentucky’s performance.
“They just followed the game plan put together by Coach Calipari,” he said. “They were able to perform it almost to perfection.”
Later, Coleman suggested the word “almost” was key to his appraisal of Kentucky’s play at Kansas.
When asked how the UK team would improve going forward, he said, “it’s the pursuit of perfection. There’s never been a perfect game. We coach from the standpoint of the glass as half-full. We’re always trying to fill it. . . .
“We’re nowhere near where we near to be.”
Kentucky’s star of stars at Kansas was Keion Brooks. He scored a career-high 27 points.
Ware called Brooks “definitely our leader.” Of the performance, Ware said, “When we see our leader (produce in such a way), obviously, we want to show love and praise. . . .
“We knew Keion could do stuff like that, and we were kind of waiting for him to have a game like that. And I couldn’t be happier.”
Brooks became the fourth UK player to score 26 or more points this season. On his radio show, Calipari set a goal of six or seven players with that on their resume this season as an attribute that can pay dividends in the make-or-break environment of the NCAA Tournament.
In addition to Brooks, other UK players who’ve scored 26 or more points are Oscar Tshiebwe, TyTy Washington and Sahvir Wheeler.
Curiously, Kellan Grady is not on the list. But he gives UK a plausible fifth option given he scored 23 points against both Western Kentucky and High Point.
On a teleconference Thursday, Vanderbilt Coach Jerry Stackhouse spoke of Kentucky’s victory at Kansas as a reflection of a deep team with multiple options. He noted how Kansas tried to limit Tshiebwe, Grady and TyTy Washington.
“Then Keion Brooks comes and gets 27 (points),” Stackhouse said with a knowing smile. “They’re a really good team. We’ve got to be prepared to guard them.”
Kentucky made 52.5 percent of its shots (six of 12 from three-point range) in winning 78-66 at Vanderbilt on Jan. 11.
“I thought we guarded them a little bit soft,” said Stackhouse, who suggested a variety of defenses might be an effective strategy. “It’s going to be important for us to mix it up with them, to not give them a steady diet of anything.”
Vandy guard Scotty Pippen Jr. presents a challenge. Among SEC players, he has the second highest scoring average (18.6 points). He had 32 points against UK in Nashville last month.
“You can’t let guys get 30 points,” Coleman said. “A guy like that . . . can beat you.”
Coincidentally, Tshiebwe had 30 points in the same game.
A concentration of defense to contain Tshiebwe can create greater opportunities for other UK players. Brooks credited that give-and-take as helping fuel his performance at Kansas.
When asked about how Kentucky’s multiple scoring threats can challenge an opponent’s defensive strategies, Coleman said, “We hope that it’s a big challenge. We hope they have nightmares before they play us.”
Wednesday
Vanderbilt at No. 12 Kentucky
When: 7 p.m.
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Records: UK 17-4 (6-2 SEC); Vanderbilt 11-9 (3-5)
Series: Kentucky leads 152-47.
Last meeting: Kentucky won 78-66 on Jan. 11, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn.
This story was originally published February 1, 2022 at 2:02 PM.
