When John Calipari sleeps at night he probably dreams big. The University of Kentucky coach likely imagines having an athletic, large frontcourt centerpiece to anchor his championship hopes. Wouldn’t it be nice for the Wildcats to get instant low-post scoring? It sure would be great to have a terrorizing shot-blocking threat in the paint.
Then Calipari wakes up and confronts his reality. There’s no Anthony Davis nor DeMarcus Cousins. Karl-Anthony Towns doesn’t live in Lexington anymore either. They’re all playing for a paycheck in the NBA. The 2015-16 Wildcats have some serious frontline deficiencies when compared to Calipari’s past teams.
The 6-foot-11 Skal Labissiere (pictured below) was supposed to be the next great Kentucky big man. But so far the freshman’s raw skills haven’t translated into consistent production. He’s had four games where he’s failed even to snare a rebound. Calipari, the great beneficiary of the one-and-done system, has a team that’s talented but is it talented enough?
http://gty.im/499038522
“Anytime you have a young team you’re going to be up and down,” a longtime college coach said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “They have had teams in the past that have been young but because they were so overwhelmingly talented, they still found a way to win games. This is team is talented but not nearly as talented as the last couple of teams they’ve had.”
That doesn’t mean that Kentucky can’t make a deep run in March. The Wildcats’ best chance lies with a backcourt than can be as good as any in the country. Check the footage of the 80-61 destruction of Florida. Sophomore point guard Tyler Ulis (18 points, 11 assists) and backcourt mate freshman Jamal Murray (35 points) overwhelmed a Gators team that crushed then No.9-West Virginia 88-71 the previous week.
“They were incredible,” Florida coach Mike White said after the game. That might be an understatement.
http://gty.im/460555552
Calipari tapped the breaks slightly. When asked how much better Ulis and Murray have become in term of playing together, the UK coach said. “Still learning. Still learning.”
Last season, Ulis was a pint-sized backup. He’s evolved into an indispensable pint-sized star (5-foot-9, 160 pounds). His 11 assists against Florida were a career-best. Ulis is one of 10 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award, which is given annually to the nation’s top point guard.
If there are five better point guards than Tyler Ulis, at least some of them are in the NBA.
— Tim Sullivan (@TimSullivan714) January 31, 2016
The small guard is also tough-minded, once famously confronting 6-11, 270-pound Cousins in a pick-up game. That moment made an impression on his teammates. Forward Marcus Lee told the Lexington Herald-Leader: “The first time I met him he tried to fight DeMarcus Cousins, the biggest person I ever met.”
If there is a major concern about Ulis, it might be fatigue. He not only leads Kentucky in minutes player per game – he’s 33rd in the nation (sixth among Power 5 conference teams). His workload over the past three games: 45, 38, 38 minutes. In the 90-84 overtime loss at Kansas, the Wildcats had a chance to win in regulation but Ulis made an uncharacteristic turnover with 2.2 seconds left. He played all 45 minutes and had only three turnovers in the entire game. As much as Kentucky needs Ulis, Calipari has to find a way to give him a break during games so that he doesn’t wear down during the NCAA tournament.
However, the coach we spoke to believes that Ulis won’t tire. He raved about Ulis’ motor and his general basketball IQ.
“He seems to be one play ahead of everyone else,” he said. “He does a great job of making his teammates better. He’s stronger finishing at the rim and getting by guys.”
When Ulis is looking to pass, he has been finding Murray lately. After Murray’s career-best 35 points against Florida, he became the first freshman in school history to have multiple 30-point games (He scored 33 against Ohio State). His eight 3-pointers were one shy of the Rupp Arena record (Tony Delk had nine against TCU in January 1995).
Every season Calipari brings in a star-studded recruiting class at UK. Labissiere, Isaiah Briscoe, and Murray were the key additions in this season’s freshman class, but so far only one has truly made an impact. Murray (18.3 ppg) is a reliable, big-time scorer for the Wildcats.
Jamal Murray goes OFF for 35 points to lead Kentucky over Florida 80-61! https://t.co/FqTDbPjfuE
— NPH (@NorthPoleHoops) February 6, 2016
It’s hard to imagine where this team would be without Murray. Not only is he UK’s leading scorer, he’s the best 3-point shooter (39.1 percent) for a squad that struggled from beyond the arc (33.3). As a team, Kentucky is tied for 224th in the nation in 3-point accuracy. Murray’s 66 treys are over twice as many as Ulis (32) who is second.
The coach we spoke to said Murray reminds him somewhat of NBA Hall of Famer Joe Dumars.
“He’s got great range,” he said. “He can shoot it off the catch. He can shoot it off the dribble. He really spaces the floor.”
If Murray and Ulis continue to thrive, Kentucky could overcome its frontcourt issues. That might be enough for what figures to be a wide-open NCAA tournament.
A small backcourt could help Calipari achieve big dreams.
