Several Kentucky players turned in strong performance on Tuesday night in New York City. That's always going to be the case when the outcome was a win against the top-ranked team in the country.
Others had less success.
Here's Cats Illustrated's first regular season report card with grades and analysis for all of UK's rotation players.
| Player | Grade | Analysis |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
Ashton Hagans | B- | Hagans has been fairly consistent in his play through two exhibitions and the MSU game. He has given UK offense at times, but his season-opener was always going to be judged by his defense. Hagans was visibly taking his "game within the game" matchup against NPOY candidate Cassius Winston. He prevented Winston from going on a flurry to take over the game, and with Joshua Langford out that greatly limited MSU's chances, but the senior Spartan still frequently got to the foul line (10/11 FT) and finished with 21 points. Hagans' stats: 11 points (3/9 FG), two rebounds, three assists, three turnovers, one steal. |
Immanuel Quickley | B | Quickley was excellent in Kentucky's exhibition games and did not show any obvious or worrisome signs of regressing in skill or confidence vs MSU but he was less productive, making just one of his six field goal attempts. What he did well was get to the line (7/8 FT), after not attempting more than five free throws in any game from mid-November on last year. Quickley also had five defensive rebounds, key in helping UK keeping it close on the glass, plus two assists, two steals, and a single turnover. |
Tyrese Maxey | A+ | We didn't have to wait long for a breakout performance from Maxey, who finished with an historic 26-point night on 7/12 shooting. Maxey had a quick trigger finger but made them count, going 3/7 from outside, and was 9/10 from the line. He was in attack mode in transition and in the halfcourt throughout the game and had the look of someone Calipari's better freshman scoring guards when they were in a zone in previous years. Maxey also had five rebounds and only one turnover. |
Keion Brooks | F | Brooks only played 15 minutes, finishing 0/3 from the field and 0/2 from outside. At least one of those threes was very ill-advised in a second half situation with MSU attempting to mount a comeback. He didn't get to the line, had only two rebounds after really crashing the class in UK's second exhibition, and finished with zero assists, steals, and blocks. This was a step back from the Brooks of the preseason. |
Kahlil Whitney | C | Whitney was all but absent against Georgetown College and vastly improved against Kentucky State. He split the difference and played an average game against MSU. He had four rebounds but in 22 minutes of action, so he wasn't exactly an asset on the glass. But two of those were offensive rebounds, something UK struggled with as a team otherwise. He was 1/3 from the foul line but connected on a three-pointer for his only made field goal. Whitney also had a couple of turnovers and finished with just four points. |
Johnny Juzang | N/A | This is filed as the season's first "incomplete" grade because Juzang surprisingly only played two minutes. His only statistical contribution to the game was a foul. The plummeting playing time in Kentucky's first real game could have been a matchup concern or a deeper-rooted Calipari reluctance based on Juzang's readiness to perform on the defensive end. UK was 6/18 from outside without the sharpshooter, so not excellent but also not hurting. |
EJ Montgomery | D | Montgomery appeared a bit hobbled so this may reflect him being less than 100-percent, which would have been significant against a physical, athletically gifted Spartan team. But it was frankly more of the same difficulties for Montgomery. He got good looks and struggled to finish (2/6 FG), showing touch but not succeeding through contact. He grabbed only two rebounds in 14 minutes, appearing less quick to the balls in his vicinity than at some times in the past. Montgomery did have two blocks and four points. |
Nate Sestina | B | Sestina quietly turned in a solid game and was once again the best big man on the floor for Kentucky. It wasn't showy as this was a guard-dominated victory but Sestina led Kentucky in rebounding (6), holding his own better after halftime, was 3/4 from the floor, had two assists, a block, and zero turnovers. This was the steady, all-around solid game UK needs from him in order to have some steadiness up front. Sestina played 31 minutes, more than any player other than Tyrese Maxey (32). |
Nick Richards | B | The stat sheet probably doesn't do justice to how well Richards played, especially after having his preparation schedule altered by the exhibition injury. For someone who appeared likely to miss the game, and going against one of the more physically challenging teams UK will see all season long, Richards played strong defense, played sound on both ends, and matched the moment. He was just 2/7 from the floor but battled for position and called for the ball on the block, showing confidence. He could have had more rebounds (4) in 25 minutes. Richards fouled out but that reflected his gritty play. |
