Photo by Quinn Foster, courtesy of UK Athletics
We might be 28 games into the season but John Calipari has found his six guys that he can trust late in games. After back to back impressive wins vs. Alabama and Arkansas, expect Calipari to ride certain guys during the home stretch of games.
It’s clear that Kentucky is at its best when Quade Green, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kevin Knox, PJ Washington, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Wenyen Gabriel are playing the bulk of the minutes. Any combination of those six has been really good, especially in the last two games.
As usual, John Calipari started his lineup of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Hamidou Diallo, Kevin Knox, Wenyen Gabriel, and Nick Richards. However, Arkansas started the game with an 11-0 run, which forced Calipari to insert Quade Green, Jarred Vanderbilt, and PJ Washington.
With Green and SGA together in the backcourt, the Wildcats have two guys that can handle and take care of the basketball. He isn’t the Wildcats leading scorer but Green hits shots for Kentucky at the right time.
One thing helping Kentucky the last couple of games is Vanderbilt’s energy on the defensive end and the glass. It took him a few weeks to settle in but his physicality on both ends of the floor completely changes the way Kentucky looks. In the last two games, he has combined for 22 points and 18 rebounds.
Also, Washington is starting to find the version of himself from early in SEC play. The freshman forward had a quiet double double tonight, scoring 13 points and grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds. The combination of Washington and Vanderbilt on the offensive and defensive glass is unstoppable for opponents.
If you have noticed, we haven’t even talked about Knox and SGA’s offensive game. For the majority of the season, those two had to score big or Kentucky had no chance of beating a quality opponent. Knox scored a game-high 23 points tonight and SGA added 18. A combined 41 points from those two, coupled with the offensive emergence of Green, Vanderbilt, Washington, and Gabriel, makes you feel really good about the direction this is trending.
