It’s crazy to draw conclusions about UK basketball after one game. So here we go.
When Kentucky opened its 2020-21 men’s basketball season with an 81-45 mauling of Morehead State on Wednesday night before a socially-distanced Rupp Arena crowd of some 3,075, something rare occurred.
With UK sophomore forward Keion Brooks sidelined by a calf injury, UK began a season without a single player who had ever scored a point in a Kentucky uniform in a real game.
The only time one can be sure that had ever happened before in UK’s regal hoops history was in a 15-6 loss to Georgetown College on Feb. 6, 1903.
Which is the first game in Kentucky’s recorded basketball history.
“What I was encouraged about, we looked like an organized basketball team,” John Calipari said after running his UK record in season openers to 11-1. “Ten new guys, never played together, never played for me.”
It would be beyond foolish to draw any kind of conclusions about, literally, a brand new team off of one victory, especially one over a foe as overmatched as Morehead State was.
So here we go.
Kentucky’s defensive length is going to swallow up a whole bunch of teams in 2020-21. The Wildcats went 6-foot-3, 6-7, 6-7, 6-10 and 7-foot in their starting lineup, then came off the bench with an array of bouncy athletes in the 6-6 to 6-10 range.
“They’re crazy long,” Morehead State Coach Preston Spradlin said of the Cats. “They’ve got guys who are interchangeable who are going to meet you at the rim. … They are going to collapse on driving lanes. That’s going to be a big strength of theirs.”
Offensively, UK appears to have an array of weapons that should yield a team of unusual balance.
Against MSU, seven Kentucky players scored between eight and 15 points. Massively-hyped freshmen wings Brandon Boston (15 points) and Terrence Clarke (12 points) flashed the ability to generate their own offense.
Point guards Devin Askew (two of three three-point shots, 12 points) and Davion Mintz (two of three treys, 10 points) drained open jumpers. Big men Isaiah Jackson (nine points) and Olivier Sarr (eight) combined to make eight of 11 shots.
“We need to throw it to the post more,” Calipari said. “(But) is it Olivier or Isaiah (who should be the primary low-post option)?”
Defensive length and offensive balance are two fairly robust cornerstones upon which a fandom can base its hoops optimism.
Alas, it is not the full Kentucky basketball experience if intense worry is not part of the recipe.
So what should Cats fans fret over?
On the SEC Network broadcast of the game, color analyst Jimmy Dykes — an Eddie Sutton-era UK assistant coach — wondered aloud how Kentucky’s long, lean roster will fare if confronted by a physically-mature foe with a muscular roster that gets physical with the youthful Cats.
In his postgame remarks, Calipari raised the issue of who on the UK roster would be equipped to defend “a really fast and quick point guard. I mean, who’s guarding that guy?” the Kentucky coach asked.
On the other side of the court, as polished as Kentucky’s Askew and Mintz look as jump shooters, will either Cats point guard be able to create shots for teammates off the bounce?
Of course, it’s possible that wings Clarke and Boston are so talented, they will be UK’s primary offensive creators.
“When (I) get downhill, I can get to places to create shots,” Clarke said.
There have not been an abundant amount of positives coming out of the coronavirus pandemic, but by shortening the NCAA basketball preseason, it has given a loud segment of the Kentucky fan base something for which it has long clamored:
A non-league slate filled with traditional powers and absent the usual November array of “directional schools.”
After Kentucky faces Richmond, one of the favorites to win the Atlantic 10, on Sunday in Rupp Arena, it’s following five games (as presently scheduled) are against Kansas, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, UCLA and Louisville
When contemplating taking a truly brand new team against so many college hoops brand names, Calipari said, “I’m going to have to be as positive and patient as I have ever been.
“We didn’t have exhibition (games) to get going. We didn’t have three or four or five games (against teams from less prominent leagues) like we should have. No, we’ve got nine (non-conference) games and seven of them are ridiculous.”
We’ll obviously have a much better idea where Kentucky stands after its neutral-court tilts with Kansas (Champions Classic in Indianapolis) and UCLA (CBS Sports Classic in Cleveland) and the annual instate Armageddon with Louisville (played at the KFC Yum Center this year).
Yet even if it is the height of basketball imprudence to render any lasting analysis out of one game against an overwhelmed foe such as Morehead State, what the hey.
After one viewing, it is easy to take Calipari at his word when the UK coach says he likes his 2020-21 team.
