Kentucky freshman guard Kayson Wallace had 15 points and five rebounds in the Wildcats’ first of four exhibition games in the Bahamas as Great Britain defeated the Dominican Republic Team 108-56. , had 3 assists, 2 blocked shots and 1 steal.
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Yield for 2 consecutive years Worst Kentucky Basketball Season modern and Worst British NCAA tournament loss. The Big Blue Nation always deserves a feel-good Bahamian beatdown on their four-match summer exhibition tour of the UK.
Blue backers have every reason to be excited Improved Daimion Collins; of Shooting outside Antonio Reeves; of Jacob Toppin’s confident demeanorand the freshman’s obvious promise Chris Livingston, Adu Tierro, Cayson Wallace.
Enjoy the kind of cull the Wildcats have applied to the Dominican Republic National Select team (108-56) at the exhibition opener Wednesday night. The Cats look likely to deal a similar blow to his three remaining exhibition opponents (starting Thursday with Mexican college team Tech de Monterrey).
As a warning, it would be wise to leave only one caveat. The last time Kentucky was on the exhibition tour of the Bahamas before the 2018-19 season, Britain won four games by margins of 24, 23, 36 and 33 points.The Cats then called the regular season Lost 118-84 to Duke.
Given that disclaimer, I think Kentucky quality on display at the Baha Mar Resort Convention Center this week bodes well for Britain’s destiny in the next March Madness.
Defensive length is back for the Cats.
Kentucky stole a basketball 13 times and had 10 shots in Wednesday’s fistfight with the dominant Dominican Selectos. After a one-year hiatus, John Calipari-era English basketball synonymous with his roster, the long, athletic adjective will once again apply to his 2022-23 Cats.
“I feel we have a pretty decent team.” Kentucky Assistant Orlando Antigua “We have the size and the athleticism,” he said after serving as acting head coach for Great Britain’s victory over a Dominican Republic selection team.
In the 4th spot, 6-foot-9 Toppin (8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks) and 6-9 Collins (15 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks) were the stats staff. -6 Livingston (11 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block) and 6-6 Tierro (7 points, 3 blocked shots, 2 steals) were the active threats.
That was exactly what Kentucky lacked a season ago.
Throughout the Calipari era, it was defense and athleticism that consistently kept Great Britain from a crushing defeat in the NCAA Tournament.
A typical Calipari roster tends to feature shot blockers in the post (think Anthony Davis and Willie Cauley-Stein). Wing long arm stoppers (DeAndre Liggins, Darius Miller, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist). And tall point guards (John Wall, Andrew Harrison, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) chase the ball.
Before the fateful 2022 NCAA Tournament meeting with 15th-seeded St. Peters, Calipari-led Kentucky has 13 teams outside the seven most prominent basketball conferences (Football Power Five, Big East, American) in March Madness. I was playing against
Of those 13 teams, only two, Princeton (46.2) in 2011 and Wichita State (55.1) in 2014, have exceeded 40% against Kentucky in an NCAA Tournament game. Britain were 13 to 0 for her in such games.
Alas, last season brought a very different scenario. When Kentucky entered his NCAA Tournament against St. Peters, the Pelicans actually had a size advantage over Great Britain in two starting spots, and he was tied with the Cats in two spots. did. Only Oskar Zibwe (6-9), who is an inch taller than St. Peters Clarence Rupert at center, could give Britain the upper hand.
St. Peters didn’t face the traditional long-arm Kentucky Defensive Vortex, but posted a shocking 85-79 overtime upset, shooting 50.9% in the game and 52.9% in 3-pointers.
The addition of Livingston, Tierro, 6-5 Reeves and 6-4 Wallace to the British roster should fix Kentucky’s defensive bugaboo from a season ago. St. He only continued a late-season trend when Peters guards Darryl Banks and Doug Edhardt lit up Britain with 27 and his 20 respectively.
In 2021-2022, Kentucky was repeatedly set on fire by security guards on the other side. His JD Notae of Arkansas multiplied the cat by his 30. Alabama’s Keone Ellis said he was 28. Vanderbilt’s Jordan Wright 27; LSU’s Xavier Pinson 26; Mississippi’s Matthew Murrell 25.
An influx of backcourt lengths in Kentucky should put an end to gouging in 2022-23. In fact, Britain’s defensive promise could even lead to changes in the usual defensive methods of the team Calipari is coaching.
“We’ve tried a few things this summer knowing we need to play to our strengths,” says Antigua. “Playing the lane (to pass) and using defensive IQ to predict where the pass will go (and then) go, run through, and play off the defense (attacking) can be put into a variety of positions. be able to be placed in
No matter how much fun a dramatic dunk, rain three shoot, or team strafing at the convention center is, the number one reason Cats fans should enjoy what they’re seeing from the Bahamas is the quintessential Calipari-era defense. It’s a return to length and ferocity. .
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