Shai, PJ Came to Play: Freshmen Lead UK to Semis
ST. LOUIS — John Calipari said before the Southeastern Conference Tournament that it’s impossible to know what to expect from freshmen in the postseason.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t waste much time showing he can handle the big stage just fine.
“I felt good,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I was ready to play, first postseason game. When the plays broke down a couple times, I just knew I had to make a play. They were leaving the lanes open and I got to the basket.”
With most of his teammates cold in the early going, Gilgeous-Alexander stepped up and allowed Kentucky to grab a lead. When they heated up, fourth-seeded UK (22-10) surged past Georgia (18-15) for a 62-49 win to move into the SEC Tournament semifinals on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET. There, UK will face ninth-seeded Alabama, which upset top seed Auburn on Friday.
“It was a good win,” Calipari said. “First game out is always hard, especially when the other team has played.”
Gilgeous-Alexander did a little bit of everything for his team, scoring 15 points and adding nine assists, four rebounds and two steals. He came out firing, hitting his first five shots and bringing exactly the kind of tone-setting energy UK needed. He said after the game the way he and the Wildcats played last time out motivated him to do so.
“I think it was due to the fact that I didn’t like the way I came out and we came out in our last game against Florida,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I felt like we weren’t competing and mentally locked in, and I just wanted to do that today.”
Gilgeous-Alexander was primarily a scorer in the first half, but shifted into more of a distributing role in the second. He dished six of his nine assists after the break as UK built a lead as large as 17 points. The normally even-keeled Gilgeous-Alexander was as effusive as he’s even been in a Kentucky uniform celebrating his teammates’ plays.
“It’s just good to know,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s a good feeling when we’re playing well together. I just have so much fun when my teammates are having fun. It’s a family thing and it’s fun.”
Three of Gilgeous-Alexander’s assists led to layups or dunks for PJ Washington, who scored 18 points on Friday – his most since Jan. 23 – and grabbed seven rebounds. Even more impressively, the big performance came opposite Yante Maten.
“I’ve always played well against guys I feel like that are great players,” Washington said. “I just try to come out and prove to myself that I can play with guys like that. I’ve been doing that since I’ve been playing basketball, as far as I can remember. I just took this matchup really serious and I’m looking to take the next two really serious and then on in the tournament.”
Not only did Washington produce on offense and on the boards, but he also served as the primary defender on the Associated Press SEC Player of the Year. Maten managed just nine points, tying a season low set on Jan. 9 vs. Missouri.
“Our game plan was as soon as he got the ball and took one dribble we tried to trap him and get it out of his hands and get it to somebody else,” Washington said. “We just wanted to make someone else beat us and not let him beat us.”
Neither Maten nor the Bulldogs were able to beat UK, not even with Jarred Vanderbilt sitting due to an injury sustained in practice this week.
“We’ve got time, but learning to play without him was a big part of today,” Calipari said. “And, again, let me say this: When we lost four in a row, he was playing. Like when we lost four, he was playing. … Now we’re not playing with him, and we’ll have to see.”
Calipari said after the game that he does not expect Vanderbilt to play on Saturday, making UK’s success without him all the more important.
“Look, for these guys this is all brand new,” Calipari said. “For them to perform like they did in this tournament this first game, come on. I mean, we’re out there with all freshmen.”
