DAVID SISK:

Keep in mind that this was not Arkansas in Barnhill. This was a summer scrimmage against an outmanned team, so I’m going to be glass half empty. But it’s hard not to get excited about the talent level. This is a deep, long, athletic group that dwarfs last year’s team in those perspectives. Inside, I thought Daimion Collins showed flashes. We knew about his dynamic athletic ability, but he hit two nice mid-range pull-ups, and has some pretty off hand passes. Chris Livingston was very complete, but if he shoots the three like that he is going to be a handful. Antonio Reeves was quietly 4-5 from three. Cason Wallace looked like a fifth-year senior at the point. He doesn’t get sped up and is always under control. He could end up with the ball in his hands a lot. Finally, Adou Thiero is going to get lots of second looks. He resembles a basketball player who has a nice body and a nice shot. There were some things I wanted to see, and the first impression was pretty positive.

TRAVIS GRAF:

It’s August, so it’s important not to get too high or too low based off of any performance, but at least it gave people something concrete to see for themselves outside of practice reports. This team’s physicality and length immediately jumps off of the page. They’re not going to get punked by any team that they play and their ability to get their hands on everything defensively (10 blocks, 13 steals, numerous deflections) was very intriguing for sure. Offensively, the ‘Cats assisted on 28 of 42 made field goals and did a pretty good job of making reads considering it’s August. Daimion Collins has to be on the floor for long spurts of games due to his ability to make game changing plays at the drop of a dime. Chris Livingston and Antonio Reeves provide great options on the wings. Jacob Toppin is clearly going to thrive with more playing time as well. However, Cason Wallace looks built to be the guy with the ball in his hands in late game situations.

JEFF DRUMMOND:

With the caveat that we know very little about UK's opponent in this one, I thought that was about as impressive a showing that the Wildcats could have hoped for. The biggest takeaway for me was the improved length and athleticism we saw from UK over last year's team. The result of that was a game in which the Cats recorded 13 steals, 10 blocked shots, and finished with 17 dunks. John Calipari loves defense above just about any other aspect of basketball, and I think these guys will eventually be a really formidable squad on that end of the floor. I liked the way they shared the ball (28 assists on 42 field goals) and shot the 3 ball (11 of 26, including a 4-for-5 night for newcomer Antonio Reeves). Daimion Collins looked much more confident entering his second year in the program, and Chris Livingston exceeded my expectations with a stat-stuffing night (11 points, 3-of-4 from the arc, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 blocked shot). Even though he came to UK with a lofty recruiting profile, I wasn't quite expecting him to be this advanced with his all-around game.

JUSTIN ROWLAND:

How much does it matter? Time will definitely tell on that. I almost hate to issue that disclaimer, but you really have to. When you're starved for basketball after the bulk of the offseason and are excited about the next team, you're going to grab onto everything good and explain away the parts that didn't look so hot. But tonight, almost everything did look good. I'll dwell on the things that could matter the most. Daimion Collins clearly has a different mentality this year and seems ready to at least try to take a big step forward. You don't do some of the things he did out there, in terms of the aggressiveness required, unless that is written into who you are. He looks like a difference maker this year. Chris Livingston was impressive. He made the right play, was smooth, and quicker than I expected him to be. He was one of the most pleasant surprises if not at the top of the list. It doesn't look like a young team because it's not nearly as young a team as we're so accustomed to seeing. I love the point David made on Twitter during the game about the athleticism in the backcourt being so much improved from last year. It looks like a top-10 team in the preseason. How high, we'll see, but there are a lot of reasons to like this team right now.