Aug. 15, 2014
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By Eric Lindsey, CoachCal.com
NASSAU, Bahamas – This was supposed to the best competition Kentucky would face in the Bahamas, a step up in talent and the stiffest test yet for the loaded Wildcats. After all, it was the Dominican Republic national team, ranked No. 26 in the FIBA world rankings (though those rankings are with NBA veteran Al Horford and current Wildcat Karl-Anthony Towns).
But just like the first two opponents UK played in its previous three games on the Big Blue Bahamas tour, Kentucky took the Dominicans’ best shot early in the first half Friday and then ran away with things in the second half.
Platoon after platoon, player after player, wave after wave, the Cats just wore out the professionals and broke them down.
When it was all said and done, despite an entertaining and back-and-forth first 15 minutes and a late comeback attempt, UK wiped another opponent off the floor Friday at the Kendal Isaacs G.L. National Gymnasium in Nassau, Bahamas.
Former UK assistant coach Orlando Antigua, who was on the other end of Friday’s 83-71 Kentucky win as the Dominican Republic national team head coach, was impressed at how far along his former team is.
“They’ve kept it going from how we ended (last) year,” Antigua said. “Obviously the chemistry, the knowing one another, knowing the expectation from the coaches, all those things early on in a season … they already have. They’re on step five instead of step one or two, which is what we had to (start with) the past few years.”
For the fourth game in the Bahamas, UK combated professional experience with an overwhelming amount of talent, depth, dunks and Alex Poythress.
The junior forward continued his best string as a college player with arguably his best game yet. In just 20 minutes of action, he posted a game-high-tying 20 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block.
On a team that’s shined from top to bottom, he’s shined the brightest.
“That is the reason I came back: I want to prove I’m still one of the best,” Poythress said. “I’m just trying to show the world.”
Poythress wasted little time in making an impact Friday, scoring six points in the opening five minutes as the Cats took a 14-9 lead. His bucket at the 8:50 mark ignited a 7-0 UK run, but the Dominicans, as expected with a talent-loaded roster that features a much-improved Eloy Vargas, NBA veteran Francisco Garcia, Edgar Sosa and Jack Michael Martinez, hung around early.
When Sosa cut UK’s lead to 34-30 on a steal and a layup with 6:20 left in the first half, it appeared everyone was in for the first close game of the week. But Poythress stepped up again.
The catalyst of a 13-6 run at the end of the half, Poythress threw down a dunk and followed it with a 3-pointer to give the Cats a little halftime separation.
“What’s different is just his whole mindset,” teammate Dakari Johnson said of Poythress. “He’s more in attack mode. Whenever he gets it he’s looking to attack more and also he’s just playing to his strength. He’s just increasing on that.”
Dakari Johnson was in attack mode as well on Friday.
The Dominicans elected not to double team the 255-pound big man to start the game, and they paid for it dearly. Though he’s leaner this season, Johnson still threw his weight around Friday, scoring six points and grabbing four rebounds by the first media timeout.
“I felt like Dakari set the tone,” said assistant coach Kenny Payne, who served as UK’s head coach for the second time in three games as John Calipari evaluated from the stands. “I thought he did a good job in the post. I thought he played well down there. He’s tough to deal with, and if you’re not going to trap him, I mean, he’s really hard to deal with.”
Johnson slowed down as the game wore on, but he still ended up with 10 points and 12 rebounds, his first double-double of the trip. He looks slimmer, more athletic and poised to have a big sophomore campaign.
“It’s just been great,” Johnson said of the trip so far. “Just the balance and the overall team, everybody contributing and everybody doing their job and playing their roles, it’s been really fun for all of us.”
Johnson said he’s been motivated to step his game up by the superb play of freshman Karl-Anthony Towns. With those two, Marcus Lee and the eventual additions of Willie Cauley-Stein and Trey Lyles, UK looks to have the most formidable front line in college basketball.
“We’ve got so many different, legitimate players that it’s very difficult to find out, who are you going to take away?” Payne said.
It was Lee’s turn to contribute to start the second half.
The dunking specialist started the half with two straight slams, one of which he caught on a lob, cocked back with his right hand and then flushed in the basket with authority. He finished the game with eight points, all on dunks, and his last 10 field goals over the last two games have all been slams.
“His energy is what is important for us,” Payne said. “We need his energy. He’s an energetic player. That’s his personality and that’s what he brings to the table.”
Lee’s back-to-back dunks sparked a 9-0 run to start the second half, all but putting the game out of reach for the Dominicans.
“The first five minutes of the second half, which they’ve done in every one of their other games, they get that separation,” Antigua said. “Then you’re swimming upstream after that.”
The Dominicans fought upstream in the second half and nearly made a game out of it with an 8-0 run. They got as close as 12 several times with time remaining and then 10 in the final few seconds, but they could never get it back to single digits.
“We did not dictate the pace of the game defensively and they outrebounded us,” Payne said. “They only had two bigs, so that says a lot right there. We’ve been outrebounding teams by 20-plus. … Some of this could have been attributed to the two days off. They were maybe a bit rusty, but at the end of the day we got the W. They played OK, not great.”
And yet, UK won by double digits, beating another professional team – its best competition yet – by double digits. That has to say something.
“I think it says a lot when you’re playing grown men opposed to other college kids,” Payne said. “The fact that that team was full of NBA players and European players says a lot.”
