‘Lob, lob, lob.’ Middle of the night message leads to Collins’ big game for Kentucky.

Not that Kentucky Coach John Calipari claimed to be a psychic, but he said had a eureka moment that foretold a big game for freshman Daimion Collins on Saturday night.

“I don’t know what woke me up in the middle of the night saying lob, lob, lob,” Calipari said after UK beat Alabama 66-55 in Tuscaloosa.

Another contributing factor was a routine of coaching: watching video of the opponent to find opportunities to score and enhance defense.

In the case of Collins, Calipari noted that Alabama’s defenders would collapse on a ball handler who got into the lane. Ipso facto, a lob pass can result in a dunk.

“If you have that, you have to have a guy to throw it to,” Calipari said.

That’s where Collins, a five-star freshman who had played mostly cameo roles this season, factored in the game planning.

“I told him at the shootaround: we’re going to throw this lob and I’m putting you in for that reason,” Calipari said.

Collins was ready. His 10 points had a where-did-that-come-from quality from a player who had scored two points since December. He also made six of six free throws. That nearly matched his season’s total going into the game: seven of nine.

Collins also grabbed six rebounds, which doubled his total since December.

“Daimon Collins was the difference-maker,” Calipari said.

Kentucky needed Collins to suddenly blossom. Star big man Oscar Tshiebwe got off to a slow start against Alabama 7-footer Charles Bediako.

Kentucky fell behind 9-1 at the start. Substitutions — which began with Lance Ware and Davion Mintz — changed the tenor of the game.

TyTy Washington, who led UK with 15 points despite being substituted for early, saw the team having multiple options in big men.

Tshiebwe, who posted his 17th double-double (10 points and 15 rebounds), can be a “dominant force,” Washington said.

Ware is “the smart one with the IQ” that the team can take advantage of.

Adding to the mix is Collins. “A tall, lengthy kid who can jump,” Washington said. “You really don’t know how to guard all three of them.”

Washington noted the mix of size and athleticism that Collins possesses. Collins has the widest wingspan (7 feet, 5 inches), the second-highest vertical leap (42 inches) and has tied for the fourth-fastest three-quarter court sprint time.

“You just throw the ball as high as you can, he’ll catch it,” Washington said. “. . . We knew what he could do. I knew this day was going to come. He just got his opportunity.”

When asked about Collins being able to help Kentucky not only survive, but thrive Tshiebwe’s slow start, Calipari said. “It was huge today.”

The UK coach also noted that the team won despite Washington struggling early and Sahvir Wheeler “overdoing it” at times, which resulted in four turnovers.

“When you have that kind of depth, you have a lot of room for error,” Calipari said.

Defense also contributed to Kentucky improving its record to 19-4 overall and 8-2 in the Southeastern Conference.

Alabama made only 28.1 percent of its shots (18 of 64) and only 10 percent of its three-point shots (three of 30). This spelled defeat for a team that had come into the game having taken 46.8 percent of its shots from beyond the three-point line. The shooting percentages and total of 55 points were all season lows for the Tide.

Losing at home for only the second time in 12 games, the Tide fell to 14-9 overall and 4-6 in the SEC.

Guards Jaden Shackelford and Jahvon Quinerly came into the game as the highest scoring duo in the SEC with a combined average of 32.4 points. The pair made only four of 22 shots (zero of 10 from three-point range) and scored 13 points.

Calipari stopped short of attributing Alabama’s poor shooting simply to UK preparation.

“They missed some open threes,” he said. “And it wasn’t their night to make threes.”

As for Collins’ big game, the UK coach said his waking up with an idea is nothing new.

“What happens is I wake up in the morning early, and what wakes me up is I’m thinking basketball,” Calipari said. “. . . We’re going to do this.”

Next game

No. 5 Kentucky at South Carolina

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday

TV: ESPN

This story was originally published February 6, 2022 at 12:38 AM.

Jerry Tipton

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-472-4091

Jerry Tipton has covered Kentucky basketball beginning with the 1981-82 season to the present. He is a member of the United States Basketball Writers Association Hall of Fame. Support my work with a digital subscription