Wildcat Basketball Preview: #20 Doron Lamb

DORON LAMB

FRESHMAN

6’4 195

QUEENS, NY

OAK HILL ACADEMY

BEFORE UK:

Doron was a standout player at the famed Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, where he averaged 23 pts, 6 reb, and 4 assists a game. He also averaged 31 ppg during his AAU season. He was ranked the 3rd best SG and 21st overall (5-star) by Rivals.com and the 6th best SG and 29th overall by ESPN.com (4-star). He was also named a McDonald’s All-American and named to play in the 2010 Jordan Brand Classic, where he committed to Kentucky.

FROM ESPN:

Lamb was unstoppable all game long scoring 15 in the first quarter, 24 in the first half, and finishing with 49 (PrimeTime Shootout). He made a living with his dribble pull-up and is as good of a mid-range scorer as there is in the country. Most impressive was that he scored in such high volume without forcing much, getting the vast majority of his shots in the flow and making a variety of nice passes up the floor in transition as well as off the dribble. While Lamb made a couple of threes in rhythm early and also attacked the rim going right, his bread and butter was always his mid-range game and he could get to his pull-up with his cross over, turning the corner or rejecting ball-screens, or stopping quickly in transition. Down the stretch though his go-to move was a lefty drive (either lefty inside out or right to left cross) into a step back with great lift that St. Peter’s simply couldn’t stop. Lamb missed 3 of 4 free-throws at the two minute mark but kept his team close at the end making three-consecutive pull-up threes from the top of the key with a hand in his face.

LAST SUMMER:

Over the summer, Lamb as well of the UK team traveled up north to Windsor, Canada where they participated in three exhibition games. Lamb averaged 17.7 ppg over the span of the three-game trip. His average in points was just behind that of Brandon Knight (25.5 pts) and Darius Miller (20.7 pts).

WHAT TO EXPECT THIS SEASON:

You can expect to see Lamb this season, and lots of him. He will contribute to UK in a way similar to what Eric Bledsoe did. He can score plenty of points as he is a deadly shooter from outside, but can also distribute the ball. In addition to playing shooting guard, Lamb as also stated interest in playing the point. He isn’t so much of a combo guard as Bledsoe was, but fills the void from last season in that he can score, as his mid-range game and three-point shooting is stellar. Unlike last season where the Cats usually just had Wall and Bledsoe in a traditional backcourt, Lamb will probably share time with Knight, Liggins, Miller, and Hood. Based on a realistic scenario, as that in Canada, look for Lamb to average between 20-25 minutes per game.

CALIPARI ON DORON:
“Doron is a terrific guard from New York and Oak Hill who will come in and contribute right away. With the Dribble Drive Motion and the way we play, his ability to score and his mid-range game will flourish. I think he’s going to be a great defender and a great addition for us this year.”

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