Kentucky was supposed to dominate Illinois-Chicago — and for the first time this year coach John Calipari’s team did exactly that. There was no falling behind early. There was no sleepwalking through long stages of the game. There was no lack of hustle and effort. The defense was not stellar, but certainly was more than adequate in a fairly fast-paced game. There was no letting off the gas with a big lead.
By halftime, UK had three players in double digits and a 52-35 lead and went on to win 107-73 in the final game of the Adolph Rupp Classic. Kentucky made 42 of 63 shots — 66.7 percent — from the field and 19 of 28 free throws — which is not bad for this team.
“I told coach Calipari I was sorry we didn’t give them more of a look today but I give his team a lot of credit. I thought they were really crisp in what they were doing and the guy who really got going for them was Kevin Knox,” Illinois-Chicago coach Steve McClain said. “Everything they did was very sharp. That was not what I had seen on film. That created problems for us all over the place. They not only got the open shot, they made the open shot.”
Kentucky coach John Calipari liked a lot of what he saw.
“I think we are trending the right way,” Calipari said. “That was the best we have played.”
“I didn’t think the game was ever going to get over,” McClain joked while praising the way UK played.
Other top college teams went to holiday tournaments in exotic locations or to the one in Portland, Ore., sponsored by Nike.
But Calipari wanted the four home games and time in between to practice with his young team. No, the competition was not that strong and didn’t lead to cutting down any nets for winning the classic — even though I thought maybe the team should practice doing that like baseball coach Nick Mingione had his team practice victory celebrations last year.
Kevin Knox (15 points), Hamidou Diallo (11) — who had not been in double figures the last three games — and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (10) combined for 14 of UK’s 20 first half field goals and 36 of the 52 points.
Knox finished with 25 points on 9-for-13 shooting from the field and 7-for-10 at the foul line. Diallo had 19 on 8-for-11 shooting along with four assists and three rebounds. Gilgeous-Alexander was 6-for-10 from the field and had 14 points, six assists and five rebounds. It was a UK high total for all three freshmen.
McClain was especially impressed with Knox and his versatility.
“I think he is really hard to guard. You want to shoot the gap but when we started doing that, he came underneath and posted us. That’s a credit to him,” McClain said. “When you do close it hard, he can put it on the floor and get his little floater and make it.”
Calipari wants Knox driving more. He missed all four 3-pointers he took, but Calipari was fine with that.
Another encouraging sign for UK was the play of freshman forward P.J. Washington. He had been turnover-prone and a step out of sync in recent games. He responded with 17 points, five rebounds and four assists while making just one turnover in 24 minutes. He played with much more poise and confidence.
“I am still trying to figure out the most efficient way to use both him and Hami,” Calipari said.
Nick Richards also came back off his first UK double-double with a solid game stat-wise and effort-wise. He had 11 points, three rebounds and two assists.
Then there was point guard Quade Green. He just keeps making shots (5-for-7) and handing out assists (4). He also had six rebounds to go with his 12 points. His only negative — he had four of UK’s 19 turnovers.
“I am all over Quade. I am trying to get him to play a way he never has. But why do we need him on the floor? Shooting,” Calipari said. “I need him to get rid of the ball so we can get it back to him to shoot.”
Now the games slow down and the practices pick up. After playing seven games in 16 days, Kentucky has just six games the month of December — and two are Dec. 29 (Louisville) and Dec. 31 (Georgia). There will be plenty of time for Calipari to refine and retool after seeing what his team has done — or not done — so far this season.
“There are so many things we have to figure out,” Calipari said. “I thought this was the closest we have played to a 40-minute game this year. But there’s some stuff we need to do in the press to change the game. But we are so big and long I don’t want to press a lot. I like the zone and the way we are playing. Tonight in the second half we switched everything (defensively). The reason we haven’t worked on that is I need them to learn how to play half-court defense.”
