Kentucky Basketball: Trust the Process

The University of Kentucky Wildcats are 9-1.  Senior forward Alex Poythress has shown that he’s back from missing the majority of last season with a torn ACL (have you seen the dunk vs. ASU?). Junior Marcus Lee appears to be ready for primetime minutes. Junior Derek Willis is doing the things he needs to do to stay in the rotation and get minutes. Sophomore Tyler Ulis is the unquestioned leader of the team, seemingly both on and off the floor. And freshmen Jamal Murray, Isaiah Briscoe and Isaac Humphries are showing flashes of promised mixed with those mind-numbing freshman mistakes. The one concern for the majority of Big Blue Nation is the play of freshman big man Skal Labissierre.

Against Arizona State, Skal Labisierre played only 13 minutes before fouling out. His final stat line: zero points, zero rebounds. For the season, Skal is averaging 10.6 points and only 3.5 rebounds, numbers that have been decreasing as the quality of opponents has increased. For comparison, 5’9″ Tyler Ulis is averaging 3.8 rebounds per game. It’s obvious that Skal isn’t as bulky as previous big men that John Calipari has brought to campus. What also should be noted is how little basketball Skal has actually played. He’s talented, but he’s raw, perhaps the most raw player Cal has recruited.

Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

The question on everyone’s mind is: Will Skal Labisierre get better? After the 72-58 win over the Sun Devils, Calipari addressed Skal and his lack of production. Whether it’s coach speak or not, Cal said that he’s not worried. Cal says that he works with every player that comes through the program and Skal will be no different. That being said, Coach Cal said that any player improvement has to begin with the player himself. It’s easy to question Skal’s mental toughness, but I’m not going to do it because I’ve never survived a hurricane and its aftermath like Labissierre did in his native Haiti. It’s totally fair to ask if he will heed what Calipari is teaching him.

To be a successful big man, you don’t necessarily have to be the strongest or bulkiest. What Skal needs to do is to learn to use his body to be as effective as possible. Again, after the Arizona State game, Coach Cal said that Skal needs to learn to “bend,” that he’s not getting in any sort of defensive position. Instead of crouching and moving his feet, Skal is trying to play defense using his hands and reaching, which leads to fouls. He may not have the defensive timing of Anthony Davis, Nerlens Noel or even Willie Cauley-Stein, but Labissierre can be and should be better than he is.

As with any freshman, Skal is a work in progress. There is time for him to learn and become the player the Cats need him to be. In the meantime, Kentucky has the luxury of Marcus Lee and Alex Poythress and Isaac Humphries to anchor the middle until he does. John Calipari always refers to the process his teams have to go through to get better. While it’s different for every team and every player, the premise is the same: what you see in early December, you won’t see in March. This team and Skal Labissierre are a work in progress, but John Calipari is an artist and I trust his process completely.