Watch the Tape: Howard Bison

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It was an encouraging opening night on the hardwood for the Kentucky Wildcats. Despite missing two starters and a third primary rotation player, the #4 ranked ‘Cats took down the Howard Bison 95-63. Oscar Tshiebwe and Sahvir Wheeler sat out with their respective knee injuries while Daimion Collins is with his family in Texas following the passing of his father. However, the offense was still clicking on all cylinders.

Antonio Reeves and CJ Fredrick were both excellent leading Kentucky with 22 and 20 points, respectively. The two sharpshooters also combined to go 8-17 from beyond the arc. Their elite shooting ability really helps to open up the offense. On the defensive end, Ugonna Onyenso showed off his excellent rim protection with four blocked shots. Overall, it was as complete of a game from the Wildcats as anyone could possibly expect on November 7th. That is even more true when you consider the missing pieces.

Now it is time to step inside the KSR Film Room and look back at Kentucky’s win over the Howard Bison. We’ll be focusing on the offensive highlights and Onyenso’s push to become Oscar Tshiebwe’s backup at the 5-spot. Let’s dive into the season-opening edition of Watch the Tape.

Antonio Reeves Elite Offensive Skill Level

It doesn’t take much to realize that Antonio Reeves is an excellent shooter. You can look at the box score and figure that much out about his game. However, it is some of the other skills that will make him such an important addition to the Wildcats. Reeves is a very high IQ player who reads screens well, makes good cuts off of the ball, and displays a high level of confidence. Having played the role of best player and go-to guy at Illinois State appears to really be paying dividends in Lexington.

This is such simple, but beautiful, offense from Kentucky. Reeves has the option to come off of a pindown screen in either direction. After faking his defender out, he cuts to the left wing and flared the screen just enough to lengthen the closeout. On the catch, he immediately attacks the baseline away from his man and knocks down the pretty floater as a help defender steps up.

The great thing about this play is that Reeves could have also thrown a lob to Ugonna Onyenso at the rim or taken one more dribble and delivered a drift pass to CJ Fredrick in the corner for a three. Elite offensive execution off of a very simple action.

When you have the ability to go 6-12 from beyond the arc in a game it is going to open up some opportunities to cut to the rim. In this clip, the Howard Bison defender is so worried about getting back to Reeves on the perimeter that he completely misses Reeves sneaking along the baseline. This is another example of the high basketball IQ of Reeves. You’ll see a lot more plays like this throughout the season as opposing defenses start to overplay him on the perimeter.

There is something to be said for recruiting a guy who has been a 20-point-per-game scorer at the Division I level. Reeves is certainly not lacking in the confidence department. Kentucky started the game 0-5 for deep against the Howard Bison. Just before the under-12-minute timeout, Reeves had taken a somewhat rushed corner three in transition that missed. However, coming out of the timeout, he gets open from deep again just five seconds into the shot clock and has the confidence to let it fly. He would go on to finish 6-12 from beyond the arc. Not many guys would take this shot in this situation.

Improved Spacing Creates Improved Offense

The addition of CJ Fredrick and Antonio Reeves makes life easier for every player on the floor. Two of these next three clips feature someone other than Fredrick or Reeves scoring, but the buckets could be directly attributed to the defense being worried about where the shooters were. Let’s take a look at how spacing helped the Wildcats’ offense defeat the Howard Bison.

This is the same offensive action we saw Reeves come off of earlier. However, this time head coach John Calipari ran it for Fredrick to come off the pindown. He is so good at moving off of the ball and reading screens. Fredrick explodes away from his man at the point of the screen, is able to recognize the defender chasing over top of the screen, and straight cut directly to the wing. The footwork and athleticism necessary to fire off this catch-and-shoot three so quickly is very, very high level. Fredrick is special to watch.

Jacob Toppin recorded a double-double on Monday night with 15 points and 11 rebounds. His aggressiveness was nice to see, but he still needs to reign in his decision-making a little. However, this post move was excellent. He displayed patience and a nice, soft touch on the right-handed hook shot. It would be great to see more of this from Toppin. Also, with Wallace and Reeves interchanging on the perimeter the Bison are not willing to go help for fear of giving up a three-pointer.

At 6’4″, Cason Wallace should have a ton of success finishing at the rim this season. He is an excellent straight-line driver and can be a high-level finisher. On this play, Wallace is able to get all the way down the lane line to the rim because Howard’s defender guarding Reeves simply won’t come in far enough to stop the drive. That is why having shooters on the perimeter is so important. Kentucky had great spacing throughout Monday’s blowout victory.

Ugonna Onyenso Pushing for Backup Center Minutes

Everyone around Big Blue Nation can’t wait for Oscar Tshiebwe to return to the floor. However, even the returning National Player of the Year can’t play 40 minutes per game. Lance Ware has provided some solid spot minutes at times over the last two seasons. He is very limited offensively, but the toughness and energy he provides are invaluable. This season, Coach Calipari will have another former five-star prospect at his disposal in Ugonna Onyenso. His elite rim protection was on full display against the Howard Bison.

Onyenso picked up three blocked shots in his first rotation off the bench. He went on to finish with four total blocks. However, his most impressive defensive possession is this clip where he didn’t record a single stat. The 6’11” big man, who should be a high school senior, really impressed on Monday night with his communication. On this play, he does a good job helping on the back screen, recovers to closeout out to his man, moves his feet to stay in front on the drive, and then bothers the shot enough to force a miss. Excellent possession from the young big.

With his insane 7’5″ wing span, Onyenso does not need to leave his feet prematurely. He does an excellent job of staying grounded until the shot goes up. Onyenso’s ability to stay in front of #3 Hawkins off the ballscreen and then swat away the shot is really impressive.

In the pregame scouting report, we talked a lot about transition defense. The Howard Bison play very fast and Kentucky was going to have to be good at guarding in transition. The principles are simple: protect the basket, stop the ball, and then matchup beginning with the next most dangerous guy. Onyenso’s matchup is #12 who is trailing the play. However, he sees #11 rim-running so he sprints along with him to protect the rim instead of worrying about his matchup. You do not have a matchup in transition defense. Big time block that led to a three on the other end for Reeves.