Willis, Gabriel Working to Earn Trust, Lock Down 4 Spot

There’s no question about the position where John Calipari sees the most room for improvement on his team.

It’s the four spot, where Derek Willis and Wenyen Gabriel are splitting time almost exactly evenly.

The rest of the rotation is pretty well set. In the backcourt, De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk and Isaiah Briscoe have things locked down, with Dominique Hawkins and Mychal Mulder backing them up. In the post, Bam Adebayo is emerging as a dominant force.

Of course, each player can grow individually and Adebayo could use a more clear-cut backup, but it’s with Willis and Gabriel that Coach Cal is spending much of his time and energy.

“We’re being a little more specific in how we’re playing things,” Calipari said on the first SEC Coaches’ Teleconference of the season. “The biggest word with those two is the word trust. Your teammates have to trust that you’re going to do the job you’re supposed to do. And if they can’t trust you, it’s hard to keep you on the floor.”

Just as Willis – a senior – and Gabriel – a freshman – are different in age and experience, so too are they different in their path to earning that trust.

A year ago, Willis’ primary role was to serve as a third scorer and floor-stretcher alongside Tyler Ulis and Jamal Murray. Now, as No. 6/6 UK (11-2, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) prepares for a home matchup with Texas A&M (8-4, 0-1 SEC) on Tuesday at 9 p.m., the Wildcats have plenty of scoring whether Willis is on or not. 

For that reason, UK is looking for defense and rebounding from Willis as much as anything else. And on those counts, Willis is starting to find his way. 

“Derek’s gotten better,” Calipari said. “His thing is, ‘I’m focusing so much on defense and rebounding, I can’t make a shot.’ Because I thought he was better last game.”

In spite of hitting just 1-of-4 3-pointers against Ole Miss, Willis was able to chip in with seven rebounds and a pair of blocks in UK’s SEC-opening victory. For the season, Willis is just 13 of 39 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc after shooting 53 of 120 (44.2 percent) overall and 35 of 70 (50 percent) in SEC games last season.

“I don’t know; I think it’s one of those things too where maybe I need to condition a little bit better,” Willis said. “Maybe it’s getting to my legs or something. I don’t know, just hopefully playing at Rupp, a comfortable environment, I can get it going offensively. Hit a little more shots and go from there. But I do want to continue doing what I’m doing defensively with rebounding and all that.”

Because Willis has taken steps forward in that regard, it’s been he who has seen the lion’s share of the minutes in close contests in spite of the fact that Gabriel has started seven of UK’s last eight games.

“(Wenyen’s) one of those guys that has to get better for us,” assistant coach Tony Barbee said at a media availability before the A&M game. “Derek’s gotta get better. Wenyen’s gotta get better. Isaac’s (Humphries) gotta get better. Tai’s (Wynyard) gotta get better. Those guys have gotta step their games up. And Wenyen’s had his moments, but he’s a typical freshman. He’s going to be up and down. You just expect more out of our freshmen.”

Gabriel’s effort has never been in question. Early in the season he drew rave reviews from opposing coaches for his nonstop motor, but channeling it in the right way hasn’t come as easily. Making matters more complicated is the fact that Gabriel doesn’t have the physical maturity of many of the players he’s having to battle with.

“He’s playing against some older, strong, veteran players, so he gets moved out of the way physically from time to time,” Barbee said. “But for Wenyen, it’s not (a matter of) a want to; he’s got a motor that just won’t stop, and sometimes physically he can’t get to where he wants to be. But he’s improving every single day. I mean, he’s improved night and day from when he stepped on campus, so you project him out and he continues at this rate, he’s going to be a fantastic player.”

Gabriel will face a test in that regard against a physical Aggie bunch that ranks ninth nationally in offensive-rebounding percentage and fourth in average height, according to kenpom.com. Facing the likes of 6-foot-10, 270-pound Tyler Davis is a challenge for a true freshman, but it’s what Gabriel signed up for when he signed with Kentucky. There’s no better way to earn the trust of teammates than by overcoming it.

“The only way we can trust you is you’re disciplined in your approach on both offense and defense and that you do your job,” Calipari said. “ ‘What is my job? I’m going to do it. If I need help, my teammates are going to have my back.’ We’re just not there yet.”