Kentucky wins gold medal vs. Canada, goes undefeated in GLOBL Jam
No one knew what to expect of Kentucky when they arrived to play in the GLOBL Jam this week. Now, as they leave Toronto, the program has given the Big Blue Nation a lot to be excited about while also picking up some hardware for themselves.
Kentucky went 4-0 over a quartet of contests while north of the border this past week. That includes an 89-72 victory over Canada in the gold medal match on Sunday night inside the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
After the win, their second over the Canadians this week, John Calipari spoke with SportsNet on the court. He said what impressed him the most was their control after only being together for a short time. He also loved their individual abilities to go out there and, at the end of the day, just be basketball players.
“Our average age is 19. Most of the guys in here are a little bit older. And for them to have the poise when the moment hit?,” said Calipari. “When Canada made their run? All of a sudden Antonio (Reeves) bangs a three, Tre (Mitchell) gets a tip-in, DJ (Wagner) gets a three. I mean just seeing it? I’ve got a bunch of kids that play basketball.”
“This isn’t wrestling, it’s not the decathlon, it’s not a track meet. It’s basketball. And they’re skilled,” Calipari said. “So you might look at them and say they’re not very big, they’re skinny. (But) they’re basketball players.”
Reeves put up incredible scoring numbers as the GLOBL Jam MVP in Canada. He averaged 23 points per game while shooting a blistering 57.5% from the field. He also connected on 18 three-pointers as he shot a scorching 53.5% from three.
Kentucky’s freshman also showed out in a big way while in Toronto. Wagner along with Justin Edwards, Reed Sheppard, and Rob Dillingham all had moments throughout the week that justified their rankings as the top recruiting class in the nation coming into the year.
Again, Kentucky was a complete mystery coming into the week considering how many new faces are on their roster due to how their offseason went. They remain one in a few aspects, especially with both Ugonna Onyenso and Aaron Bradshaw missing the event. Even so, several of those questions about them just got answered in a big way with the ‘Cats coming back to Lexington as gold medalists ahead of next season.