So maybe Kentucky basketball needs to bring in a new offensive coordinator, too?
Maybe while Liam Coen is seeking to re-energize the Kentucky football offense, he might work on the Wildcats’ basketball attack, too?
In a game where the offensive basketball was so ugly it hurt to watch, Kentucky let a winnable game get away at Auburn on Saturday, falling to Bruce Pearl’s Tigers 66-59 in the Auburn Arena.
As has been an all-too familiar problem for UK (4-8, 3-2 SEC), the Wildcats were done in by their continuing inability to put points on the scoreboard.
“No one wanted to shoot,” a frustrated John Calipari said on his postgame video news conference. “(UK players) passed up (open shots) until I am yelling, ‘Shoot the ball!’ That’s what it got down to.”
Any reluctance to take shots on the part of Wildcats players might reflect the natural loss of confidence that can follow when one repeatedly attempts an endeavor with limited success.
The 2020-21 Wildcats have consistently struggled to get the basketball through the rim.
In 12 games so far this season, UK has been held to 65 points or fewer eight times.
On Saturday at Auburn, the Cats shot a chilly 40.4 percent from the field (23 of 57). UK made only four of 17 three-point tries. The Wildcats hurt themselves, too, by missing seven of 16 free-throw tries.
“We missed wide-open shots,” Calipari lamented. “We had our chances.”
To go with the errant shooting, Kentucky also continued to struggle with ball security.
UK had 18 turnovers Saturday, 12 in the decisive second half when UK was outscored 15-2 on points off of miscues.
What made Kentucky’s offensive struggles even more frustrating is that the Wildcats defended well enough to earn a much-needed road victory.
With Devin Askew and Jacob Toppin mostly splitting the primary responsibilities, the Cats largely contained Auburn freshman phenom Sharife Cooper. UK held the dynamic point guard to three of 13 shooting and 11 points.
With Cooper being stymied, Auburn (8-6, 2-4 SEC) began the game missing 18 of its first 21 shots. The Tigers had only eight made field goals in the entire first half.
Yet Kentucky’s offense was not effective enough to take advantage of the opportunity UK’s defense provided.
A frustrated segment of the Kentucky fan base has begun to question whether the 21st century revolution in offensive basketball, with a heavy reliance on three-point shooting and spreading the court, has passed UK by.
Just as Mark Stoops turned to the NFL to hire Los Angeles Rams assistant Coen to bring some fresh ideas to what had become a stagnant UK football passing attack, there are calls for Calipari to modernize his program’s offensive approach.
Long term, there is a case to be made that Kentucky needs to modify its recruiting approach to put greater emphasis on perimeter shooting and players who can space the court from each position.
After the Auburn loss, Calipari certainly sounded like he is aware of calls for Kentucky to make greater use of the three-point line.
“I wish we would have taken about 35 threes,” the UK coach said, “because we would have made about three. We are a different kind of team. … We are built different.”
So, in the short term, what can be done to save Kentucky’s season by finding some offense?
Calipari called for more from Olivier Sarr (six points and five rebounds Saturday), the 7-foot Wake Forest transfer who continues to struggle against physical post play.
“Olivier, in this kind of game, he’s really got to start dominating games,” Calipari said. “And I’m telling you, instead of worrying about offense, just go rebound. Just go play with leverage. Then (the offense) happens.”
The UK coach implored struggling freshman wing Brandon Boston (five points, 2-for-9 shooting with five turnovers) to alter his approach at the rim.
“I told B.J., ‘Drive to get fouled, just drive and get fouled,’” Calipari said. “Instead of flipping (the ball toward the rim) and avoiding (contact).”
Calipari also extolled outside-shooting ace Dontaie Allen (eight points, 3-for-7 on field goals, 2-for-6 on three-point attempts), to be more aggressive in seeking shots.
“We were running stuff for Dontaie and he wouldn’t shoot the ball,” Calipari said. “That’s why I took him out the one time: We ran two things for him, he had shots and he wouldn’t take them. I’m like, ‘Look, you are in there to make shots.’”
If Kentucky is to get its offense untracked in time to make a run for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, it needs to happen now.
With a losing record and no signature victories, Kentucky must make a statement over its next four games — a road contest at Georgia, followed by meetings with three teams — LSU, at Alabama and Texas — that are all in the top 25 in the NCAA NET rankings.
“I’ll never stop tweaking and trying to figure something out that works in (the) minds (of the Kentucky players),” Calipari said. “We’ve got to make extra passes. We’ve got to play for each other.”
