The Cats Illustrated UK Basketball Stock Report is updated following every win or loss for John Calipari's team.
Today's update takes the Cats' dramatic 71-70 win against Florida into account.
| 📈 | Nick Richards. Of Richards' 19 points against Florida, 17 came after halftime. He played 17 of the game's final 20 minutes and also added five boards after intermission. In short, Richards had an All-SEC game stuffed into one half when Kentucky needed it most. It was clear that UK wanted to feed him the ball coming out of the locker room. That worked, and Richards also went and got plenty for himself. Richards' second half was better than just about any full game he had played in two or three weeks. |
|---|---|
📈 | Nate Sestina. "Big Game Nate"? We've already outlined how Sestina seems to rise to the occasion based on the opponent. Auburn, LSU, Michigan State, Ohio State: These had been some of Sestina's best games of the season. Against Florida, with Kentucky on the ropes and not getting nearly as much from its backcourt as it usually does, Sestina chipped in with nine points and six rebounds. His work on the offensive glass was especially important. |
📈 | Second chance points. Kentucky had 15 second chance points in the second half alone against UF. The 'Cats had 14 offensive rebounds against the Gators, with 10 of those coming in the game's final 20 minutes. This stat aptly sums up Kentucky's desperation and will to win late when it was up against the ropes. |
📉 | Ashton Hagans. Time will tell if this past weekend away from the team will prove to be a good thing. It's reasonable to wonder if it might be. But part of that is because things were clearly not going well. There was Hagans' stretch of six weeks to two months with a dip in production and efficiency. There was barking at teammates in that home loss to Tennessee. There was the video that was the subject of scrutiny over the weekend involving Hagans holding up a wad of cash (which does not mean there's anything to worry about). And then he was home to reset, whether he was suspended or the choice was his own (we may never know). He's trending down here because of all that but has one more chance to right the ship. |
📉 | Block/charge calls. Immanuel Quickley was probably the best player on the court for either team going into Saturday's game and his 12 points on 5/8 shooting in just 21 minutes indicated he was well on his way to proving that. But he was essentially taken out of the game by a series of several offensive foul calls, some of which -- as always -- were controversial. There may be no good solution for the ongoing problem of 50/50 calls, at best, that seem to favor the defender who is sliding under the offensive player and putting the referee on the spot. But it's one of the things that makes the sport borderline unwatchable at times. |
📉 | Finishing inside shots. This has been a problem for Hagans and occasionally Montgomery this year and last year but not so much for other players. However, while Kentucky had four dunks against Florida, the 'Cats were 5/20 on other shots right around the rim. Some of that was because Richards missed far more than usual in the first half when the Gators' defense swarmed him and seemed to bother looks that are otherwise more clean. But perhaps its a good thing that Kentucky was able to win when there was a lid on the rim early. |
📈 | Brooks & Juzang offensive contributions. At times, Brooks has been an outstanding rebounder given his numbers and his relatively sparse playing time. At other times, Juzang has looked very competent on the court, making hockey assists and improving his defense. But rarely have the two sometimes interchangeable parts both had strong, efficient offensive games at the same time and never in such an important game as Saturday's. |
