Gilgeous-Alexander’s Example Key to UK’s Growth
Kentucky, undisputedly, is playing its best basketball of the season.
The Wildcats have won three straight games by double figures against Southeastern Conference foes all likely to make the NCAA Tournament. UK didn’t even manage such a streak in nonconference play.
That’s a far cry from a little less than two weeks ago, when the Cats were mired in a four-game losing streak and the dreaded word “bubble” began to pop up in conversation.
“You see I’m getting my second wind,” Calipari said on Tuesday. “You watch me, I’m whistling and skipping in there now. But it’s not – I was dragging about three weeks ago.”
As No. 23/25 UK (20-9, 9-7) looks to keep its coach skipping in hosting Ole Miss (12-17, 5-11) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday for its home finale, Coach Cal knows who he has to thank for his second wind.
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| Kentucky vs. Ole Miss | ||
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Wed., Feb. 28 – 7 p.m. ET |
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TV: ESPN2 |
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| UK | 2017-18 Team Stats | UM |
| 20-9 | Record | 12-17 |
| 9-7 | Conference Record | 5-11 |
| 76.6 | PPG | 75.7 |
| 70.6 | Opp PPG | 77.1 |
| .467 | FG% | .422 |
| .409 | Opp FG% | .435 |
| 39.1 | RPG | 38.0 |
| .343 | 3PT FG% | .320 |
| .293 | Opp 3PT FG% | .367 |
| .695 | FT% | .732 |
| 13.4 | APG | 14.4 |
| 5.7 | SPG | 6.3 |
| 5.1 | BPG | 4.1 |
“It started with Shai,” Calipari said after UK dismantled Missouri on Saturday, 87-66.
Starting with a breakout performance in a blowout of rival Louisville and even during that losing streak, UK has nearly always been able to count on Gilgeous-Alexander. The 6-foot-6 freshman has played at least 32 minutes in 17 of UK’s last 18 games and scored in double figures in 13 of them, but it’s not his production Calipari credits for lifting the Cats to new heights.
Instead, it is his example.
“Shai comes in at 7 a.m. in the morning and work out, shoot, he would then watch video,” Calipari said. “He never missed a class. Never late, never late for a tutor, did everything he was supposed to. And every day when we practice, here he comes, teeth and feet, enthusiastic.”
Gilgeous-Alexander’s early-morning habit began back in December. His goal in getting on the practice floor to start his day was improve his quickness and shooting.
“I just wanted to be the best that I could possibly be for this team,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on Tuesday. “To do that, I had to put in extra work.”
With his office conveniently overlooking the gym at the Joe Craft Center, Calipari of course took notice even though Gilgeous-Alexander often beat him in.
“I looked at the guys and I said, ‘Who is our best player?’ ” Calipari said. “This is about three, four weeks ago. ‘Who is our best player? Shai, it ain’t even close. Well, let me tell you what he’s doing. Let me ask you, what are you doing? Any of you come in at night? Why don’t you join him in the morning? How about some of you that are late or miss a tutor or do that? He doesn’t. Well, you’re tired? What? He’s not? Has he got a different body than you?’ “
The answer, obviously, was no. The ensuing question – rhetorical in nature, of course – was even more obvious.
“How about people join him?” Calipari said.
They have.
The first player to set his alarm early was Quade Green, but others have since followed suit. Hamidou Diallo even has a late-night shooting routine all his own. The results, naturally, have followed.
“It’s a huge change,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “You go from being almost depressed and sad and disappointed in yourself to happy and ready for the next challenge.”
Gilgeous-Alexander appreciates his coach taking notice of his hard work, but he also deflects credit for the way his team is now playing.
“That could probably be a part of it, but I think that it’s each and every one of us realizing how much we need each other to do what we want to do, which is going to be something special,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Just trusting each other and that’s what we weren’t doing a couple weeks ago and trying to do it ourselves and stuff like that.”
That trust will be put to the test against the Rebels, who haven’t had the season they wanted but remain a dangerous team. Ole Miss has beaten Mississippi State, Florida, Alabama and Missouri this year.
“Now we have a tough one,” Calipari said on Tuesday. “We have a game coming up that it’s not the game, it’s us. (Mississippi) is good enough to beat us. They beat Missouri at Missouri. They had Tennessee – they lost by eight – and now they are coming here and a chance to play in Rupp. I know they are good enough to beat us. I’m worried about where are we.”
Pleased as he is with the progress Gilgeous-Alexander has helped fuel, it’s Calipari’s job to worry. After all, as well as UK might be playing now, the Cats are not far removed from their struggles.
“Have we learned or will we revert?” Calipari said. “Now, if you think there is no chance that we will not revert, you’re crazy. You’re crazy. There’s a chance that we could revert. Let’s hope these guys learned a lesson and they didn’t like how that felt and they are going to come out and play. I don’t even know if that is good enough to win, but you know what, I can deal with where we are as a team right now because we are getting better and they are about each other.”
Kentucky Blasts Missouri, 87-66, for Third Straight Win
Outside shooting helped get Kentucky going against Missouri before the Wildcats started hitting from inside the arc. On both fronts, baskets came consistently with many contributions.
Kevin Knox had 21 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 14, and Kentucky made 10 3-pointers and shot 54.9 percent to blow out the Tigers 87-66 on Saturday night.
The Wildcats (20-9, 9-7 Southeastern Conference) outscored the Tigers 16-6 over the final 4.5 minutes before halftime for a 44-32 lead. Several more spurts stretched the advantage to as many as 24 as they avenged a 69-60 loss three weeks ago, a game in which baskets were hard to come by.
This time, Kentucky seemingly couldn’t miss.
Quade Green and PJ Washington each added 12 points, while Jarred Vanderbilt had a career-high 15 rebounds and 11 points for his first career double-double. Hamidou Diallo made all three of his 3-point attempts for 11 points as six Wildcats scored in double figures. Kentucky was 10 of 16 from long range and shot better than 50 percent for the first time since Jan. 13 at Vanderbilt.
Kassius Robertson had 26 points including six 3s, and Jordan Barnett had 11 points for Missouri (18-11, 8-8), which made 10 of 31 from long ut shot 36 percent in losing its third in a row.
NOTABLES:
• UK made 8 of 10 3-pointers in the first half, the most 3s UK has made in any half this season
• Kentucky made 10 of its last 12 field goal attempts of the half
• Jarred Vanderbilt came off the bench to grab 10 rebounds in the first half, the first Wildcat to get 10 in a half this season. His 15 for the game are tied for the most by a Wildcat this season
• UK is 13-3 this season when leading at halftime
• Kentucky led by as many as 25 points, the Cats’ largest lead against an SEC opponent this season
• UK notched its 10th consecutive 20-win season
• Coach John Calipari reached his 24th consecutive 20-win season, the longest streak among active coaches
• It’s Kentucky’s 62nd 20-win season in school history, more than any other school in the country
• UK has scored 87 points in consecutive games, the most points UK has scored this season in SEC games
• Six Wildcats scored in double figures, the first time that has happened since Nov. 26 vs. UIC. This is the third game in a row that UK had at least five players score in double figures. That’s the first time that’s happened since UK did it five straight times during the 2016-17 season vs. Duquesne, Cleveland, UT Martin, Arizona State and UCLA
• Kentucky shot 54.9 percent from the field and is 12-0 this season when shooting at least 46.4 percent from the field
• UK shot a season-best 62.5 percent from 3-point range, making 10 of 16. That is tied for the fifth-best 3-point percentage in a game under Calipari
• Kentucky had 17 assists, the most for the Wildcats since the Dec. 16 game vs. Monmouth
• UK had only nine turnovers. The Wildcats are 10-0 this season when making 11 or fewer turnovers
• Kentucky won the rebounding 36-32. UK is 18-4 this season when outrebounding the opponent
• UK is 227-5 under Coach John Calipari when the Wildcats lead by at least 10 points during the game
• The Wildats’ 21-point margin of victory was its biggest since the Louisville game
• Kentucky improved to 70-1 (.986) in the Calipari era when scoring at least 87 points
• Knox scored 20 or more points for a team-leading eighth time this season and the second in a row
With Two Games to Go: UK’s SEC Tournament Scenarios
In what has become one of the nation’s toughest leagues, the Southeastern Conference Tournament picture is still blurry with two games to play and a week left in the regular season thanks to the competitivness of the conference regular season. Eight different teams have an opportunity to finish with 10 or more victories and all but three are in the race to finish with a .500 record with a week to go.
With a 9-7 record against league foes, Kentucky has secured a first-round bye and at the earliest would play in St. Louis on Thursday. The coveted double-bye is still very much in play for Kentucky. UK plays Ole Miss on Wednesday before traveling to Florida on Saturday, which currently owns the third-place seed in a head-to-head tiebreaker over UK.
Kentucky can finish as high as third place should the Cats win out. UK cannot catch Tennessee because the Volunteers own the tiebreaker between the two teams with a 2-0 record in head-to-head matchups. If Kentucky were to lose one or both of its next two games, the Cats could fall out of the double-bye category and begin competition on Thursday of tournament week.
