Vanderbilt Shows Glimpses of Potential Impact in Debut
John Calipari wanted to ease Jarred Vanderbilt into things. He wanted Vanderbilt to play some low-stress minutes as he shook off nerves and continued to build confidence in the foot that had forced him to miss the first two-and-a-half months of the season.
The circumstances of Vanderbilt’s debut didn’t allow that to happen. Not at all.
Kentucky was being whistled for fouls at a rate that had the Wildcats on track to commit their most in a non-overtime game in 21 years. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was among them, picking up three in the first half alone while UK’s other point guard, Quade Green, stayed home from a trip to South Carolina to continue his recovery.
So there Vanderbilt was, a freshman triggering UK’s offense as point forward in a hostile road environment.
“When Shai was in foul trouble, we needed another point guard,” Kevin Knox said. “Jarred stepped up.”
The circumstances of Vanderbilt’s debut – a 76-68 loss in which No. 18/16 UK (14-4, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) blew a 14-point lead – also rendered his first appearance more of a footnote than would have seemed possible.
The build-up to it was so all consuming it demanded its own hashtag, with pregame warmups and Vanderbilt’s participation in them becoming the subject of obsessive interest. So when he was finally summoned by Coach Cal to check in at the 13:08 mark of the first half, #VandoWatch had finally reached its culmination.
For the 14 minutes he played at Colonial Life Arena, Vanderbilt proved there was good reason for the hype.
“He was pretty good for the first time out,” Calipari said. “He’s trying to figure out what we’re doing. We really haven’t scrimmaged with him in. We’ve done some half-court stuff. I thought he was pretty good for the first time out.”
Sure, he had an unforced error or two, not to mention a couple easy scoring opportunities missed out of sheer excitement to be on the floor, but Vanderbilt’s skillset is unique. The mere sight of a 6-foot-9, 214-pound forward bringing the ball up the floor was proof of that.
“Jarred’s a great ball-handler,” Knox said. “He has a good feel for the game, good passing skills so he can definitely help us handling the ball sometimes.”
Vanderbilt possesses abilities that could transform this Kentucky team if they are channeled properly. As Coach Cal has often said, Vanderbilt is a willing a passer, a fact borne out by the team-high three assists he dished out and a number of passes that could have added to that total had he and his teammates been more accustomed to playing together.
Vanderbilt also snagged five rebounds in his limited time, the third-highest total on the team, including a couple far outside his area. UK needed every rebound it could get, as South Carolina owned a 40-35 edge in that category. After Tuesday night, the Cats are 1-4 in games in which they fail to outrebound their opponent and a perfect 13-0 when they have a positive rebounding margin.
More generally, Vanderbilt plays with the same kind of energy he showed when he was limited to cheering on the bench. UK was lacking that kind of energy as South Carolina erased a 14-point deficit over the final 13:25. It was Vanderbilt, in fact, who scored UK’s final basket with 6:12 left, but Coach Cal didn’t deem him quite ready to play in the game’s final minutes.
But Vanderbilt will get there.
“I thought he did a good job and it was his first game back, so once he gets the feel for it and gets the plays down it could be another great addition to the team,” Knox said.
