10 things we learned about Kentucky on the court in the Bahamas
Four games, four blowout wins for the Kentucky Wildcats in the Bahamas. It started with a 52-point victory over the Dominican Republic Select National Team, followed by back-to-back 62-point wins over Tec de Monterrey and Carleton University, respectively. Then to close things out, a 24-point win over the Bahamas National Select Team, giving UK a 50-point average margin of victory on the week.
One week later, what did we learn about John Calipari‘s 2022-23 roster? What were the top takeaways from the team’s foreign exhibition tour? KSR breaks it all down from top to bottom.
Antonio Reeves is a professional bucket-getter
Replacing the likes of TyTy Washington, Kellan Grady and Davion Mintz, Kentucky needed to find immediate scoring production in the transfer portal this offseason. Illinois State transfer Antonio Reeves — a 20 point-per-game scorer — emerged as a clear option, but how would he adjust from the Missouri Valley to the SEC? Could he be relied on as a go-to scorer on the wing?
The 6-foot-6 guard out of Chicago put all of those worries to rest in his MVP performance in the Bahamas last week, finishing as the team’s leading scorer at 17.0 points per game on 52.4% from the field, 51.9% from three and 100% from the line. Reeves was nothing short of sensational, breaking down defenders, knocking down shots and getting to the charity stripe (10-10 FT) with ease. He’s still coming along defensively, but in terms of scoring, you really couldn’t ask for more in the Illinois State transfer’s debut as a Wildcat.
“Happy to see Antonio do what we know he’s capable of, for you all to finally get a chance to see it,” Orlando Antigua said to close out the trip.
Some people are wired to score. Antonio Reeves is one of those people.
Jacob Toppin is ready to make a jump
Playing behind Keion Brooks Jr. his first two years at Kentucky, Jacob Toppin showed flashes of brilliance, but never consistent stretches of real production. He was a gadget athlete capable of making a defensive stop or throwing down a big dunk, not a go-to contributor.
That’s no longer the case, as Toppin is now the top option at the starting four spot going into his senior season in Lexington. And in his first stint in an expanded role, he clearly looked the part, averaging 16.8 points on 56.5% shooting and 53.3% from three to go with 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.75 blocks per game. He did so averaging a team-leading 24.5 minutes per contest.
He found himself in a few hot streaks from three, but also knocked down pull-up jumpers inside the arc, scored on turnarounds and fadeaways out of the high post while also finishing strong around the basket. That’s on top of the freakish athletic plays he continues to convert — how about that 360 slam in transition?
“I’m proud of him. He stepped up, made some plays,” Antigua said of Toppin. “… The stuff he’s worked on all spring and summer has translated to competitive games. Playing lower, playing through contact, playing through the first initial physical bump against the defense. Being able to make shots in transition when he’s open, his post-up game, high post turnaround jump shots, all of the things he’s been working on with his game.
“To see him do it against other competition in a competitive atmosphere, that’s what you want. Now he’s got to continue working to get ready for the season.”
The skill is finally catching up with the length and athleticism.
Sahvir Wheeler may be underrated at this point
Is it possible for a Bob Cousy Award finalist to be underrated going into his senior season? That seems to be the case with Sahvir Wheeler, who quietly put together a terrific week in the Bahamas, averaging 14.5 points per game on 61.1% shooting and 93.3% from the line. He also had a 24-6 assist-to-turnover ratio, good for 6.1 assists and 1.5 turnovers per game, along with securing 1.75 steals per contest.
His 3-point shot didn’t fall (0-9 on the week), but Wheeler missed just five shots inside the arc across four games, good for 81.5% from two. The veteran point guard struggled in game one (six points, 2-6 FG, four assists, two turnovers), but was nothing short of sensational in games two through four.
“He’s very underrated. He is really a great passer and he is all about winning,” KT Turner said of Wheeler. “One thing he does as a point guard is he knows who is on and where to get them shots. He’ll find you and he gets his teammates a lot of open shots.
“He keeps up with the game, notices what happens. He knows who’s hot but he also knows who has not had a shot in a while.”
The 5-foot-9 point guard is who he is at this point — and that’s a good thing. At his best, he’s an elite playmaker and crafty finisher with the ability to push the pace and be a disruptor defensively. As shooting improves around him the way it did in the Bahamas — 38.1% from three on 26.3 attempts per game, including five scholarship players shooting at least 40% from deep — the better he looks.
Oscar Tshiebwe doesn’t have to do it alone
11.5 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals in 23.5 minutes per game for college basketball’s reigning National Player of the Year. Oscar Tshiebwe was efficient as a scorer and free-throw shooter (55.6% FG, 75.0% FT), rebounded well and fought defensively. John Calipari praised his improvements with mobility and lateral quickness, working to become a more well-rounded and versatile player.
Even still, Tshiebwe’s on-court play was hardly discussed, with the spotlight shining brightest on his teammates in paradise. And that’s the beauty of Kentucky’s deep and talented roster, knowing you have a safety net anchoring the post, one capable of taking over games if necessary.
Everyone knows what Tshiebwe can do. This trip was about figuring out what the rest of the roster is capable of and establishing roles elsewhere. Mission accomplished on those fronts — all while the 6-foot-9, 260-pound star is averaging a double-double.
“That’s what’s going to make us hard to deal with,” Sahvir Wheeler told KSR. “You watch film and you’re thinking, ‘Man, Jacob,’ ‘Man, Chris (Livingston), Cason (Wallace), others.’ But you’ve got the National Player of the Year back. How are you going to guard him? Are you going to double him and let CJ (Fredrick) and everybody shoot? Or are you going to play him one-on-one? Come on, we saw that last year.
“It’s crazy — and he’s getting better.”
CJ Fredrick is more than a shooter
A career 47% 3-point shooter, it’s no secret CJ Fredrick can let it fly from deep. It’s his best trait, the greatest value he brings to the floor at the collegiate level.
But it’s not the only value he brings.
Fredrick opened his trip to the Bahamas with a zero-point, one-attempt performance, his first game action since his time at Iowa during the 2020-21 season. Just looking at the box score, you’d assume it was nothing more than an opportunity to get back to game speed and dip his toes in the water of competitive basketball again. After watching film, though, John Calipari singled out Fredrick as one of the game’s top performers for everything he did outside of shooting and scoring. The redshirt senior even got his own individual highlight segment breaking down all of the ways he impacted the game.
“I may be on your ass, and then next day, ‘I was wrong. I watched the tape and you were right. You were better than I thought,'” Calipari told the team in a private meeting. “Well, CJ, I watched him — I mean, come on.”
“We showed you guys the star — and you could see it on film,” Chin Coleman added. “6.7 (points allowed per 40 minutes). There’s a reason why he is what he is, and he guarded their best player.”
“He did good,” Calipari said. “His first time out, too. I said, ‘Wow.’ He was hungry.”
The film breakdown highlighted Fredrick’s emphasis on making the extra pass, taking care of the ball and being a disruptor on defense. That’s on top of being a coin-flip 3-point shooter.
Daimion Collins isn’t human (and his growth is real)
There wasn’t a bigger highlight-maker in the Bahamas than Daimion Collins, easily leading the team in posters per game — including two non-human throwdowns to open the event.
“Daimion Collins, phew. That boy is crazy,” Oscar Tshiebwe told KSR. “… We see it in practice, that boy is working. He’s Superman, he flies. Every time I see him in the air, I just say, ‘Go ahead man, I’m not going up there. You’re too high.'”
Overall, Collins averaged 10.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals per contest, shooting 60.7% from the field and 85.7% from the line. Take away his five misses from three (0-5), he shot 74% from the field overall (17-23). He was efficient and scored in a variety of ways outside of dunks and easy lay-in opportunities — though his presence as a serious lob threat and rim-runner was felt.
Maybe the most positive development? His ability to finish through contact, an area of his game he struggled with as a freshman due to his slight frame. Now listed at 6-foot-9, 210 pounds, he’s visibly bulked up, and that translated to production on the floor in Kentucky’s four-game exhibition tour. Now he’s got two-plus months to add even more muscle before the real games begin.
Kentucky’s trio of freshmen are grown men
Chris Livingston? 6-foot-6, 220 pounds. Cason Wallace? 6-foot-4, 193 pounds. Adou Thiero? 6-foot-6, 200 pounds.
This isn’t your typical crop of college freshmen. These three are grown men — and they may not be done growing.
“They’ve got some size with them,” Wheeler added. “Cason is not a small dude. He’s 6-4, athletic, can jump and he’s built. Chris has shoulders like Chin (Coleman). He’s got big shoulders, and for him to be able to move around and shoot like that, it’s crazy. And Adou, everyone says he’s growing — to me, he ain’t getting no taller (from where I stand) [laughs]. But he’s stupid athletic, can jump off either leg and competes at a high level. Those dudes are fitting right in.”
“(The freshmen are) coming in ready to go,” Tshiebwe told KSR. “Like, they have no fear.”
Wallace led the freshmen with 10.5 points per game, good for fifth on the team. He shot 48.6% from the field and 40% from three while adding 4.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.0 steals in 22.3 minutes per contest. Livingston was just shy of the double-digit mark, averaging 9.8 points on a terrific 65.2% shooting and 60% from three (6-10) to go with 5.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game. And then the big surprise, Thiero, who averaged 6.3 points on 58.8% shooting and 50% from three along with 3.0 rebounds, 1.75 assists, 1.75 steals and 1.25 blocks in 14.3 minutes per game.
Wallace and Livingston were seen as college-ready pieces when they signed with Kentucky, and they clearly looked the part in their unofficial debuts. Thiero was seen as the long-term, wait-and-see project when he joined the fold late. He, too, produced when his number was called.
“Obviously we were excited about the impact that Adou had in the minutes that he played,” Antigua said.
How about those free throw numbers?
66 free throws drawn, 56 makes, good for a conversion rate of 84.8% on the week. Kentucky’s primary backcourt pieces of Wheeler (14-15, 93.3%), Wallace (2-2, 100%), Reeves (10-10, 100%), Livingston (3-4, 75%), Fredrick (1-2, 50%) and Thiero (2-3, 67%) combined for 32-36 overall, good for 88.9%. No player missed more than two free throws the entire week, with Toppin (7-9, 77.8%) and Tshiebwe (6-8, 75%) each missing a pair.
It wasn’t just a strong shooting week from the line, it was an extraordinary week across the board. The Wildcats not only drew fouls — 16.5 free throws per game — they knocked them down with efficiency.
Kentucky finished the 2021-22 season shooting 72.6% from the line, an average of 12.8 makes on 17.6 attempts per game. Of the players with at least one attempt from the line per contest, none shot above 78.3% on the year.
Only a four-game sample size, sure, but the Cats got the job done at the line.
A final assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.19 — “Are you s****ing me?”
John Calipari was blown away by Kentucky’s event-opening win against the Dominican Republic National Select Team, singling out the team’s ridiculous assist-to-turnover ratio in its first unofficial game as a unit.
“That wasn’t like a high school JV team, that was a mid-major team,” Calipari told his team during film review. “28 assists, five turnovers — woo-hoo. It’s August 10, are you s****ing me?”
The Wildcats’ ball security held strong the rest of the week, finishing with just 42 turnovers compared to 92 assists, good for a smooth 2.19 AST/TO as a team. Individually, no player averaged over 1.75 turnovers per contest, while five players averaged at least two assists per game. Antonio Reeves was the only scholarship player with a negative AST/TO on the week (six assists, seven turnovers).
Playmaking was strong, ball security was stronger.
All-around rim protection (with more help on the way)
29 blocks on the week, good for 7.25 per game. Toppin and Collins averaged two swats per contest, with Thiero adding five blocks overall, as well. Tshiebwe was only credited with one block in four games, but his physical presence inside was a factor, while Wallace and Livingston both made plays at the rim.
Overall, Kentucky’s size and length overwhelmed the competition all week long, with teams second-guessing essentially every shot attempt around the rim. In transition, opponents could only pray Toppin wasn’t trailing to pin their shot on the backboard. Collins had a few ridiculous swats on perimeter close-outs himself.
Oh yeah, and Ugonna Kingsley Onyenso — previously high school basketball’s top shot-blocker in 2023 — just reclassified and enrolled at UK for the upcoming season. He’s now on campus and available to help if necessary.
Kentucky has the tools to be an elite defensive team this winter.
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