Kentucky Basketball hosted its annual Pro Day event at Rupp Arena Wednesday evening. The team went through drills and a scrimmage in front of scouts and executives from 30 different NBA franchises.
The roster was not exactly complete. Big men Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Kingsley Onyenso are sidelined with lower leg injuries. Recent addition Zvonimir Ivisic isn't expected to be available until Thursday after being meeting the entry requirements to the university.
ESPN's Kevin Negandhi and Seth Greenberg were also on hand for much of the SportsCenter broadcast. Jimmy Dykes and Jack "Goose" Givens also provided commentary on ESPN+.
As always, John Calipari was front and center over a large part of the show. Greenberg interviewed him during the five-on-five scrimmage, and had the following answers to a wide variety of questions.
On what he is trying to get accomplished on Pro Day with his team – “The biggest thing is how do you share the ball. Do you create good opportunities? Are you trying to score, and if I can’t then I throw it to you?”
On Rob Dillingham – “Today he has passed the ball. He has limited dribbles, because he doesn’t need all of that.”
On what the young guards bring over the big picture - “The first thing is you’ve got to play to score so you can be a great passer. Then make the easiest play. If you play to score and they stop you, you ready? Pass it to somebody. The way we’re playing which is now that guy may drive it, and he may swing it. We’ve got a bunch of basketball players here that can dribble. They can shoot it. They can pass it. So now all I’m trying to do instead of having to run plays, I’m trying to create space.”
On the difficulty of preparing two teams. There is a smaller team, and a bigger team. - “The problem is two of them are out five or six weeks. That’s going to be an issue. By that time we’re in December. That will be an issue, but they’re both great kids, and I think we will be fine. The whole point of this, how do we get them to play together? You’ve got talented guys here. How do we get them to play off one another? How do we get them to make that pass so you can make that shot?
On Jordan Burks – “Look at Jordan. Jordan has been so much better than we thought.”
On Justin Edwards – “Justin today is not making shots, but you watch him. He made shots.”
On Zvonimir Ivisic – “We hope he’ll be in here tomorrow. Let me say this. He turned 20 three weeks ago. He’s an old player for me. He just turned 20. He has no hair on his face. I had him raise his arms, because I wanted to see if he had hair under his arms. So now here’s my point. Each week he didn’t get here he became bigger and better, and oh my God. He’s the savior. Look, he is a great piece to this. My job is to help him come in this and feel comfortable. Show me pretty fast what he can do, so we can incorporate him in alright this is when he is at his best, and try to help him as he helps them. He gives us right now that one guy who can protect the rim. He’s a good athlete. He’s a good shooter, but he’s a piece, and he’s young. European players they train different, and they play against the older guys. So even when you are on a development team which he was, you are playing against guys 28 and 30 not all of the time, but that’s what they do. Hopefully he’ll be ready.”
Later in the evening, Calipari sat down with Negandhi and Greenberg to talk further about this season's team.
ESPN also provided a special treat for Wildcat fans. Negandhi went behind the scenes with Coach Calipari to tour the Kentucky practice complex. It was a great opportunity to showcase to Big Blue Nation and recruits alike what one of the very best basketball facilities have to offer.
SportsCenter did not air the drill work, and very little of the scrimmage action. ESPN+ on the other hand did show provide the play with Dykes and Givens providing commentary. Here is a full look for those who did not get to see the livestream.
