Cats Face 'Breds in Second Exhibition Contest
Kentucky’s players got to have their fun last Friday night in finally competing against another team.
This week, it’s their coaches’ turn.
“It’s just good to get some stuff on film against an opponent that’s not their teammates,” assistant coach Tony Barbee said. “We got a lot of growing to do. It’s no different than any team this time of year for us.”
Practice, no matter the exact circumstances, is beneficial. How much the Wildcats have grown in the four months since they arrived on campus in June is proof of that. But with a little game tape in hand ahead of a matchup with Kentucky State University at 7 p.m. on Friday, it’s even better.
“You get so caught up in practice going against each other, you really never see them on the same sideline, the same bench,” Barbee said. “So we finally got everybody on the same bench. We kind of get to see what a rotation would look like, different combinations playing together.”
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| Kentucky vs. Kentucky State | ||
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Fri., Nov. 1 – 5 p.m. ET |
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| Coverage | ||
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TV: SEC Network |
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| UK | 2018-19 Stats | KSU |
| 0-0 | Record | 0-0 |
| 0-0 | Conference Record | 0-0 |
| 75.8 | PPG | 76.0 |
| 64.4 | Opp PPG | 77.2 |
| .477 | FG% | .436 |
| .400 | Opp FG% | .444 |
| 38.5 | RPG | 37.1 |
| .354 | 3PT FG% | .319 |
| .345 | Opp 3PT FG% | .346 |
| .739 | FT% | .676 |
| 13.5 | APG | 11.9 |
| 5.9 | SPG | 5.6 |
| 4.8 | BPG | 3.4 |
There were plenty of positives to take away from No. 2 Kentucky’s first exhibition against Georgetown College, an 80-53 win. UK’s backcourt, with returners Ashton Hagans (14 points and 10 assists) and Immanuel Quickley (16 points) and freshman Tyrese Maxey (14 points), was as advertised and the Wildcats shot well.
Rebounding, on the other hand, is an area for improvement. The defending NAIA national champions won the battle on the boards, 45-39, and rebounded 16 of their own misses against Kentucky.
“I just think we’re teaching habits,” associate head coach Kenny Payne said. “Right now their habit is to look at the ball. Well, as you’re looking at the ball as it’s being shot, somebody’s running to go get an offensive rebound. Our habit has to be hit first and block out and attack that basketball and get that rebound, which is vital for us to get out in transition where we’re really good. So we’re working on it.”
Complicating matters on that front is the status of a player who will be counted on to grab plenty of rebounds, Nick Richards. Richards sprained his left ankle against Georgetown and is listed as day to day, meaning the Cats might need to adjust in their second and final exhibition. The good news is they’re well equipped to do just that.
“The thing about this team is we can play a lot of different styles, how we talk about positionless basketball,” Barbee said. “… We can play small. We can play big if we wanted to. We could play a traditional game. I think that’s what’s a plus for this team, that if one guy is down we can play a different style.”
It seems likely UK will need to be ready for an up-and-down style against Kentucky State. The Thorobreds (13-14 in 2018-19) averaged 76.0 points per game last year and played many of their games in the 80s as they closed the regular season on a six-game winning streak.
The matchup will be the second ever between the Cats and Thorobreds, with the last a 115-58 exhibition win in 2015. This one will hold special significance as the Wildcats face an in-state historically black university in Kentucky State on the evening it commemorates 70 years of integration at UK.
Colleges and units from across the campus are involved in creating a year-long calendar of events and programs that will allow UK to reflect on the legacy of Lyman T. Johnson, who became the first black man to enroll at the University of Kentucky, and continue to carry out the conversations he started 70 years ago. Johnson is featured on game tickets for Friday’s exhibition and Kentucky players will wear shooting shirts saying “Adamstown,” the black community located at the current site of Memorial Coliseum before construction began.
Come tipoff, the game will provide a chance for both teams to prepare for the impending start of the regular season.
“This team has been very teachable, very coachable,” Barbee said. “Individually, they know they gotta get better. Collectively, they know they gotta get better. I go back to, it’s no different than any of the team we’ve had this time of year.”
Kentucky’s Final Tune-Up Comes Against Kentucky State
Following an 80-53 win over the defending NAIA national champions in Georgetown College, Kentucky will play its final exhibition game on Friday against Kentucky State.
Under the direction of head coach John Calipari, UK has made a concerted effort to play at least one in-state foe during its exhibition season. This season’s exhibition opponents both call Kentucky home.
This marks the second exhibition game in program history against Kentucky State. The Wildcats won 111-58 on Nov. 6, 2015, in the first meeting. The Thorobreds were picked to finish fourth in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s West Division following a 13-14 season a year ago.
Friday’s game won’t officially count in the record books, but the Wildcats have a knack for taking care of business in exhibition games nonetheless. UK is 137-12 all-time in exhibition games and has won its last 16 such contests, dating back to Nov. 2, 2014, vs. Pikeville. Kentucky is 34-1 in exhibition games with Calipari at the helm.
Richards Listed as Day-to-Day with Sprained Ankle
Junior forward Nick Richards suffered a sprained left ankle in Kentucky’s win over Georgetown College on Sunday. He is listed as day-to-day.
Richards played 14 minutes in the exhibition game and was 3 of 3 from the field with six points, five rebounds and a blocked shot.
He’s appeared in 74 career games with 40 starts. Richards has averaged 4.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game during his two-year career and is connecting on 60.8% of his shots from the field and 70.4% from the free-throw line.
At 6-foot-11 — with a 7-5 wingspan — and 247 pounds, Richards is Kentucky’s biggest body. With a thin frontcourt depth wise, freshman forward Keion Brooks Jr., considered more of a wing player, spent time at the four when Richards left the game.
UK Paying Homage to Adamstown, Commemorating 70 Years of Integration
Kentucky players will don new shooting shirts during pregame warmups against Kentucky State on Friday with “Adamstown” across their chests.
Adamstown was a black community that was placed at the bottom of a hill on what was the edge of Lexington in the 1870s. By 1880 there were 65 black families in the community. Adamstown was on Adams Street, located near what is today Euclid Avenue. The neighborhood moved in preparation for the building of Memorial Coliseum in 1949-50.
Friday’s game is part of an ongoing year-long celebration of the university’s “70 Years of Integration” series and commemorating 50 years of black studies at UK.
In 1968, African American and Africana Studies began with an interdisciplinary course, Afro-American Life and Culture. Later that year, the Black Student Union launched a campaign for more courses. As a result of their successful efforts, the African American Studies and Research Program was born. The program, founded by Emeritus Professor Doris Wilkinson, would eventually become African American and Africana Studies.
Students can now major and minor in AAAS, opening a world of possibilities in today’s rapidly diversifying, global economy. A background in AAAS gives students an edge in understanding cultural and structural forces. What students learn throughout the program could lead to career opportunities in business, education, communication, medicine, law and politics.
Commemorating integration will feature a series of events, academic courses and special presentations throughout the 2019-20 academic year. Colleges and units from across the campus are involved in creating a year-long calendar of events and programs that will allow UK to reflect on the legacy of Lyman T. Johnson, who became the first black man to enroll at the University of Kentucky, and continue to carry out the conversations he started 70 years ago.
Wildcats Down Georgetown College in Exhibition Opener
The Wildcats said they were eager for their first chance to face someone wearing colors other than blue and white. When the tip went up for UK’s exhibition against Georgetown College, they certainly played like it.
Kentucky, ranked No. 2 in the preseason editions of both major polls, scored the first 11 points of Sunday’s game and built its lead to as large as 27 points in the first half. The reigning NAIA national champions never wilted and got as close as 12 points early in the second half, but the Wildcats were too much to handle in an 80-53 victory.
Immanuel Quickley – starting alongside Ashton Hagans, Keion Brooks Jr., EJ Montgomery and Nick Richards – played a leading role in UK’s hot start. He scored seven of the Cats’ first nine points and 12 of their first 21, drilling three 3-pointers and again looking like a different player as a sophomore. Quickley finished with 16 points, three assists and no turnovers.
Hagans, another returning sophomore, had a nice night of his own. He scored 14 points, dished 10 assists and snagged four steals in playing the kind of defense he came to be known for as a freshman. That included taking over guarding Jake Ohmer, who had 21 points with 16:17 left, after the guard engaged in some friendly trash talk with Hagans. He only scored four more after that.
Freshman Tyrese Maxey joined his backcourt mates in scoring in double figures with 14 points, once again showing UK’s strength on the perimeter, but the Wildcats did not leave Sunday without areas for improvement.
Though graduate transfer Nate Sestina was impressive with 11 points and 10 rebounds in his Kentucky debut, he was by far the most productive of the Wildcat bigs. Montgomery had five points on 2-of-7 shooting to go with five rebounds and three blocks, while Richards had six points and five rebounds in 15 minutes before departing with a left ankle sprain suffered early in the second half.
Georgetown actually outrebounded Kentucky for the night, losing the battle of the boards by a count of 45-39. Toughness, it seems, is likely to remain a point of emphasis for Coach Cal.
To close the game, UK went with a small lineup featuring Whitney and Brooks at the four and five, a capper for Calipari’s constant lineup experimentation. All nine of the Wildcats’ available scholarship players played at least 15 minutes, and none more than 26.
Hagans played 24 minutes, but the other 16 proved to be problematic for UK. On a night when the Cats held Georgetown to 25% shooting, the Tigers’ best scoring opportunities came when Hagans was on the bench.
• UK improved to 137-12 all-time in exhibition games, including 3-0 vs. Georgetown College
• Kentucky has won its last 16 exhibition games dating back to Nov. 2, 2014, vs. Pikeville. The last loss was Aug. 17, 2014, vs. the Dominican Republic in the final game of the 2014 Big Blue Bahamas exhibition tour
• UK is 34-1 in exhibition play under Coach John Calipari
• Kentucky limited Georgetown College to 25% shooting
• UK made 49.2% of its shots, including 40.9% (9 of 22) from 3-point range
