Competitive Blue-White Game a Good Early Step for UK
From the moment John Calipari took the microphone before the Blue-White Game, it was clear Friday night’s event would be unconventional.
Coach Cal revealed the scrimmage would start a bit late with a couple players rehabbing from injuries. And even more startingly, Calipari told the thousands assembled in Rupp Arena they would see some zone defense.
But when the Blue-White Game did begin, in spite of the uniqueness of the format, things weren’t all that different from normal. The Wildcats, as they have in every such scrimmage, flashed talent, potential and all the work they have ahead of them in equal parts.
“It’s about learning,” Calipari said.
White defeated Blue 81-80 in a competitive edition of the annual scrimmage, with all nine scholarship players scoring in double figures. Immanuel Quickley, looking like a sophomore breakout could be coming, led the way with a game-high 25 points and added seven rebounds and six assists in splitting his time between the two teams.
“You’re all seeing what I’ve been telling you, that he’s not even the same guy that he was a year ago,” Calipari said. “And it’s because he’s freed up his mind. There’s less anxiety, he’s in better condition, he’s stronger, he has a better idea of what we do and what we want him to do.”
Nate Sestina wasn’t far behind in scoring 22 points for Blue, flashing a potent inside-out game by making four 3-pointers in eight tries and vocal leadership throughout.
“I had three people stop me on the way in who are basketball people and said, ‘That kid works hard and has so much energy and talks. He’s going to play himself into minutes,’ ” Calipari said. “And he is. I tried to say that he’s a little bit like Derek Willis, where you can stretch out that guy. He’s a big guy that you can stretch the court with.”
Nick Richards and Keion Brooks Jr., meanwhile, had identical double-doubles with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Richards’ go-ahead free throws in the final two minutes were the game’s final points.
Playing on opposing teams throughout were point guards Ashton Hagans and Tyrese Maxey, and they were impressive in doing so. Maxey seemed in command from start to finish in posting 17 points, five rebounds and five assists against just one turnover, while Hagans had 14 points, six assists and just one turnover himself. Hagans also made 3-of-6 3-point tries, an encouraging sign for the sophomore, and Maxey took advantage of the running clock when he was fouled in the final seconds.
“That’s just the competitive spirit in us,” Maxey said. “I wanted to win. I didn’t want them to get the ball back. I didn’t want to give them the chance of me missing the free throw, none of that. So I took my time, kind of walked around a little bit, messed around, let the time run off.”
The zone defense finally surfaced coming out of the under-16 media timeout of the second half, with both teams deploying a 2-3. Quickley, however, quashed the notion of the zone seeing the light of day when it counts.
“Absolutely zero,” Quickley said when he was asked about the chances of UK playing zone in the regular season. “Absolutely zero.”
Zone-related levity aside, Kentucky got exactly what it needed from the Blue-White Game: a chance to play under the lights and in front of a crowd for the first time. Included in that crowd were dozens of Kentucky basketball alumni from earlier this decade to all the way back to the 1940s in town for this weekend’s reunion.
They all got to watch an early and important step for their successors in Blue and White.
“I told the guys after, ‘I’m going to learn about you, but you gotta learn about yourself too,’ ” Calipari said. “Some of you guys have to know the way I’m trying to get you to play, you fought it a little bit and you turned it over and lost balls and missed shots. You gotta understand that you have to look at it and not blame anybody. Look within and say, ‘OK, I gotta do this a little different.’ “
